[Q] New to Android, ROM Selection Help - Wildfire General

Hello Mates,
Some of you might be in here that I've dealt with in the past. I am new to Android, but did a good share of work in here with WinMo and just came back from iOS. My iphone was stolen and I was bored with it, so I have just ordered a HTC Wildfire. While it gets here I am wanting to ask some questions. Obviously i tweak all the phones I own (have a BB too) and wanted to know who can recommend a good ROM that for now that keeps the Sense UI, but has most of the garbage sorted out (Language packs, and other unneeded stuff) so I can start reading. Two years ago, there were perhaps 4 or 5 ROMS per WinMo device, I see the game has changed.
Paul

Well, from the list of Sense ROM's, I would recommend WildPuzzle or Sunnabh. I have used both (Not that others like DK/DS etc., so cant really comment), and, both are fine ROM's. WildPuzzle allows a bit more customization by way of more packages and stuff, and, Sunnabh allows for stability minded approach, but, its your call.
I would say, try out both, and use the one which suits you. Ultimately, have a look at CM7 as well, even though it doesn't have Sense, I was mighty impressed with it. (Initially, even I was more of a "Sense" user)
Finally, hope that your Wildfire does not come with 2.2.1 pre-installed. Else, you will have to hunt around for someone with an XTC Clip.

The best sense ROM imo is Wildpuzzle . I love the transparent status bar and lock screen, its fast and since its just a customized version of a stock rom everything works and its as stable as an elephant on 4 legs.
But if you want a ROM with a bit more customization and android 2.3 (wildpuzzle only have 2.2) CM7 is a very good ROM (mh, what could u expect, Jacob compiled it ). The only problem with it imo is the slow gallery (not sense gallery) and the videocam quality.

Moved to general

I moved away from sense a few months ago and started using CM7, definitely not planning on going back any time soon! It should definitely be your first option if you decide to look beyond sense.

a1exander said:
The only problem with it imo is the slow gallery (not sense gallery) and the videocam quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of CM7 are you using? RC2 has a much faster version of the gallery than it used to, or at least it does on my Wildfire?

After months of testing, I am now using Leaf r3 and it's the best I have ever tried.
ALWAYS stable, no freeze. It's almost stock FroYo ROM but Sense widgets and some useless apps that I hated have been removed (oh thanks).
In CM7, the font looks pixelated, much worse than in FroYo. I believe is a Sense thing. So, I took Leaf r3 and created a Gingerbread-style framework-res.apk and HtcResources.apk, combined with Metro homescreen.
Amazing!
Some Sense apps are much nicer than Stock android apps (specially Camera)

Related

Custom ROMs - - Sense or AOSP? What's your poison?

Firstly let me just as I give a MASSIVE congratulations to the guys in #g2root for all their hard work in achieving permanent root. I'm not going to lie, I thought Christmas time was an achievable target when it came to breaking the eMMC lockdown on the G2 and DHD but to do it in early November? (applause)
Anyway, my Black Ops addiction forces me to keep this short and sweet, as time is of the essence and I must earn some COD Points before work!
My question is, when we start seeing custom ROMs, will you be sticking with Sense or moving to an AOSP ROM? I'm interested in your reasons and also wondering whether there are any users who were fans of AOSP (Stock Android) and have been converted by the new and improved HTC Sense 'experience'?
Things to consider are speed, functionality, looks etc.
I'll weigh in with my opinion later on.
Please don't start flaming each other and turn this into some kind of epic fight between the OS and it's illegitimate shell UI of a child!
They both have pro's and con's.
Regards.
I much prefer stock android. Sense is nice, but i just don't really like the look of the dock (even though you can change it). Stock android with the transparent dock at the bottom, and all fancy animations for opening/closing apps, keyboard sliding up etc just looks awesome!
Also gingerbread im sure will probably have more eye candy, but again HTC might cut these from their roms. So i'll be sticking with stock. Cyanogen maybe..
No I couldnt get to grips with sense it looks really flash, but maybe it's because i came from the Magic that the system overhead of running all the ui effects worries me, so I have disabled it all and am waiting on Cyanogen
What counts more?
To me its not the UI that counts but the android version, in other words if i had a choice of CM 6.1 or my current sense rom id go for sense. Don't get me wrong CM is amazing but both being 2.2 id rather take the extra functionality, looks and ease of use of the new Sense roms than an AOSP build. However if i had the choice of CM 7.0 (ie gingerbread) or sticking with sense 2.2 i would move over to AOSP without a second thought!
After coming from the Hero and the amazing FroydVillain 1.5. I cannot wait for Hacre to start cooking ROMs for the DHD. So my choice is firmly in the AOSP camp.
Unless a custom rom offers something i dont have ill stick with sense. I like it graphically and much prefer htcs widgets.
Only phone ive loaded custom roms on before was my htc hero but that was because it fixed a message notification problem.
So far ive no issues with my DHD so see no reason at the moment for a custom rom.
bratfink said:
To me its not the UI that counts but the android version, in other words if i had a choice of CM 6.1 or my current sense rom id go for sense. Don't get me wrong CM is amazing but both being 2.2 id rather take the extra functionality, looks and ease of use of the new Sense roms than an AOSP build. However if i had the choice of CM 7.0 (ie gingerbread) or sticking with sense 2.2 i would move over to AOSP without a second thought!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, surely Cyanogen adds functionality, or did I miss something? Yes you'll lose the SENSE skin but I'd be surprised if any real functionality is lost
i prefer aosp clean roms,i always used to have aosp cooked roms on my ex-desire and looking forward for aosp roms on dhd
Bring the AOSP roms on !!!
Yes..
ghostofcain said:
Sorry, surely Cyanogen adds functionality, or did I miss something? Yes you'll lose the SENSE skin but I'd be surprised if any real functionality is lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im fully aware of the benefits of CM but being mostly a business user the utility i gain from sense is far greater than on AOSP, however the geek in me just cannot live with not having the latest and greatest OS. Simple as that.
Given the choice of a same version Sense UI and a CM ROM I'd likely stick with the Sense UI version. There is a lot more integration than normal flavour ROMs offer and it's one of the reasons HTC have been praised. Small touches like basic Facebore and Twatter integration without needing an app specific to them is nice, as it the browsing of Facebork photo albums as if they're on your device.
ghostofcain said:
Sorry, surely Cyanogen adds functionality, or did I miss something? Yes you'll lose the SENSE skin but I'd be surprised if any real functionality is lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on what you call real functionality. As I just said above I love the extra touches that Sense UI has such as the Facebork photo albums, cross-account linking with updates from social networks in their contact profile on your phone and for me the best implementation of copy and paste outside of iOS. It's basic things, not massively important but those touches are missing from stock Android.
skimminstones said:
Unless a custom rom offers something i dont have ill stick with sense. I like it graphically and much prefer htcs widgets.
So far ive no issues with my DHD so see no reason at the moment for a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too, i completely agree
I'm really torn between HTC Sense & AOSP. There are positive things for both, as this phone was supplied with android 2.1 and HTC Sense. So for me my first introduction to android was via the Sense UI so once I had rooted the phone and applied s-off I was keen to see what was difference for the user interface (ease of use) and to compare the battery life etc. I'm currently using cyanogen nightly builds, and I'm most impressed with its performance, I do miss some of the HTC widgets, but I get by! now for me my comparison between the two is like comparing kde vs gnome!
Currently my preference is with AOSP, but only by a slim margin as to some degree Sense is (for first time use) easier, but is quite taxing on CPU...
so there's my 2 cents worth!
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
AOSP !!!
I dont use any Sense widgets. I prefer the speed in a Senseless ROM
I prefer Sense ROM most of the time.. i will try to play around with AOSP once in a while but when a higher version of android is out but still no official sense rom is out yet, AOSP is a must.. this applies to Gingerbread and higher xD
How about that sense browser with the translate feature on long press, can't get that anywhere but sense, and LPP has similar widgets
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I'll be sticking with Sense, at least for a while anyway (until I get bored!).
It's nice to have something that just works. Coming from WM6.5 it's such a breath of fresh air to just have a phone that does what it's supposed to when you want it to.
I have a Kaiser flashed with CM6 and a Rhodium with AOSP if I ever want to play with that, but right now I just want a seamless environment, and Sense seems to provide that for me quite nicely.
Sense without any doubt!! The only setting I would choose AOSP is if Gingerbread comes out before an official Htc rom with Sense, as said by many. That would be the only scenario I would choose that, and then decide what to do if/when Htc comes to the upper Android version too. I really feel good with Sense, love it!
I'llstick to the first Sense rom "without all the Sense crap" I will see. Why?
The sense phone dialer is unbeatable, so useful! I don't need the clock, Fancy widget takes care of this. I don't need the news and weather stuff and all Sense crap, but because of the dialer, the contacts management AND the music interaface, it's worth having. In the Desire Android development thread, there was 1 rom like this, but I stuck with a AOSP rom because it was better. This sense rom was ok, but still, too many crap in it. The AOSP was ok, but with an update almost everyday, I could merely keep up. So I gave up and sold my Desire. Now I'm back again on the Android scene, let's see what it brings.
BIG THANKS AND RESPECT TO THE G2 TEAM WHO MADE A DESIRE COME TRUE!!!
f.
dazultra2000 said:
I'll be sticking with Sense, at least for a while anyway (until I get bored!).
It's nice to have something that just works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, i agree, im not bored with it yet and it works - no reason to change

Trying to decide on a ROM

CM6.1 or MIUI (probably Rod's).
I do like the look of MIUI but I'd rather have the fastest, most stable setup and one with the greatest functionality.
These are both looking very good indeed these days.
So which one and why?
try them both a decide for yourself that's what its all about...you r just gonna get back and forth comments/bickering asking a question like that in here..try searching next time
Enomther's The Official.
Stock, all sorts of optional features, easiest method ever for enabling apps2ext, and stable
how can u go wrong
You won't get many replies.
WHY?
Everyone will most likely tell you to just try it yourself.
Every ROM in my sig has proven to be stable. I like to try different ones out.
As long as you are rooted, and have a custom recovery installed, nothing is stopping you from doing a nandroid backup and playing with a new ROM.
"fastest, most stable setup and one with the greatest functionality."
That's all up to you. What you may consider "greatest functionality" may be bloat to someone else.
Personally, I really liked MIUI by Rodriquez.
ksc6000 said:
Enomther's The Official.
Stock, all sorts of optional features, easiest method ever for enabling apps2ext, and stable
how can u go wrong
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried that ROM myself for a couple of days during the week. Love the FM Radio and features. But stable? Meh. I suffered apps closing/crashing unexpectedly throughout the day. Stable it wasn't.
If you want super stable, then GEO's ROM is superb. Only downside is no FM Radio.
Just my personal experience.
why not cm 6 R2 ? (or nightlys)
If you want my personal opinion (other than 'try them out for yourself), MIUI is great because of all of the interface tweaks. The lockscreen is gorgeous, the theming capability is awesome, and the settings UI is awesome.
I've been more than pleased with Kang-o-rama 1.0 b1. It's a build of CM6 RC1 with a handful of graphical niceties and solid Apps2ext functionality. The support the author provides is incredible as well. I try a lot of other ROMs, but that's the one I keep coming back to.
But as the others have said, try them all and make up your own damn mind. What one person loves about a ROM might be another person's pet peeve.
cpm said:
Tried that ROM myself for a couple of days during the week. Love the FM Radio and features. But stable? Meh. I suffered apps closing/crashing unexpectedly throughout the day. Stable it wasn't.
If you want super stable, then GEO's ROM is superb. Only downside is no FM Radio.
Just my personal experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Geo's ROM's are great, I had one for quite a while. I don't know why you're getting issues with Enom's ROM, but it is very very stable. That's the reason people who use it, use it over CM. My uptime on my phone gets up to 100 hours without any force closes or issues, and even then it's me, I'm just flashing something else or changing a feature which requires reboot.
Geo's roms have been light, fast & very stable for me!
codesplice said:
I've been more than pleased with Kang-o-rama 1.0 b1. It's a build of CM6 RC1 with a handful of graphical niceties and solid Apps2ext functionality. The support the author provides is incredible as well. I try a lot of other ROMs, but that's the one I keep coming back to.
But as the others have said, try them all and make up your own damn mind. What one person loves about a ROM might be another person's pet peeve.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I love Kang-o-rama
Well I tried the MIUI one (Rod's) and it just rebooted on me for no reason today.
Looks like it's CM6.1 next for me.
I was using Geo's then I got a message saying it wanted to do an update, then failed, but I could not get rid of that message.
Perhaps I should have got a Desire as I do like Sense, but the Sense ROM for the N1 was not stable IMO.
I'm using Rod's MIUIMOD 1.9.1(with wildmonks kernel) and never had a single reboot or stability problem.
Also, i've tried Enomther and MicroMOD's(also the Desire SuperHybrid) ROMs, and they were stable for me.
If all were unstable in your case, then maybe you're doing something wrong.
Did you for example wipe three times from recovery before flashing a completely different ROM?
In the past i've also had stability problems when using titanium backup to restore settings, so keep that in mind.
Also, you could try to use different kernel with somewhat higher voltage ( wildmonks for example http://wildmonks.whoisthedrizzle.com/kernel/2.6.35/112610/Custom_Kernels/ ).
Most ROM"s use kernel which are slightly under-volted to increase battery life(1050mv is the default stock kernel voltage if I remember correctly), but some devices don't like the lower voltages.
Should be clear, I never tried the ones you mentioned, it was the NXsense one I tried - it had a few silly little bugs but nothing major, just enough to be somewhat annoying.
Yes I do wipe, and am using the wildmonks kernel now.
I'm using stock MIUI with english pack and in my opinion...is more stable and smoother than CM 6.1... I check out CM rom yesterday and the ADW launcher still sucks..and Launcher Pro haven't adjust very well with some of the new effects and setting that CM have put in...my opinion MIUI stock..(not Rods Rom) with english pack...way better for now...and if you are a Launcher Pro fan...works awesome with MIUI....just my opinion
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
IMHO:
MIUI, although a great show of design/function ingenuity, is a toy. It's a pretty, flashy toy. It's filled with stuff, and design is confusing. Everything's all over the place, there's too many features (yeah, I know, crazy) and too much stuff going on.
CM6.1, besides being more stable (majority would agree), it's android as google meant it. It's pristine, clean and just looking at it makes u feel confident in its stability. It's simple, yet advanced. Fast, yet reliable.
I definitely recommend CM over MIUI, but, of course, it's all individual prefs.
SamUserInterface said:
If you want my personal opinion (other than 'try them out for yourself), MIUI is great because of all of the interface tweaks. The lockscreen is gorgeous, the theming capability is awesome, and the settings UI is awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why is the theming awesome? I have yet to see a MIUI theme that themed the whole ROM. The ugly dialer, MMS and Contacts app are always left out. Most of the themes are just icons and wallpaper.
As to the UI if it is so great why do most use Launcher Pro with it. To me... JMHO it looks like Windows 3.1 with a splash of color
DarkDvr said:
IMHO:
MIUI, although a great show of design/function ingenuity, is a toy. It's a pretty, flashy toy. It's filled with stuff, and design is confusing. Everything's all over the place, there's too many features (yeah, I know, crazy) and too much stuff going on.
CM6.1, besides being more stable (majority would agree), it's android as google meant it. It's pristine, clean and just looking at it makes u feel confident in its stability. It's simple, yet advanced. Fast, yet reliable.
I definitely recommend CM over MIUI, but, of course, it's all individual prefs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup!
Windows 3.1 with a bunch of apps that look like the team never had a meeting
Definitely enomther's the official.
Tried CM, was ok, a tad unstable at times and I'm not a nightly person. If you want a rom to use for at least a month, don't use something that doesn't have a Final build and has to undergo nightly revisions. I got sick of having to flash CM everytime a nightly comes out.
I dislike MIUI. Enough said. Up to personal preference. Really dislike the iphoney crap.
If you want a somewhat stable sense rom, I recommend Evil's NXSense.
Like most others here have said, you gotta try them out to decide.
I originally tried a bunch of Roms and didn't like all the "bloat". I settled on Geo's rom because it basically is a pre-rooted and ready to go stock rom with some little bonuses.
After a while I tried MIUI's because of the newer UI. I quickly lost interest with the quirky lockscreen, phone, and messaging apps. I used Launcher Pro as I hate the cluttered iPhone desktop. Dialer Oned out the phone from the same lack of dial-by name and quirky facebook intergration. I tried Stock MIUI and Rods (I liked Rods).
Then I settled on CM6.1 which had the nice customizable dropdown menu toggles, taskbar color modifications, and additional features that were available.
Since I've seen the new MIUI theming capabilities but I don't think I'm quite ready to switch from CM's. I use the nightlies now and I'm now using a lot of the tweaks that I know I will ultimately regret on other roms.
But this is the perk of a Nexus. I just download and keep a bunch of roms on my phone's SD card... able to switch to whatever in minutes. Thus don't be afraid to do the same.
Also what I've learned is that no matter what rom you use, once you install Dialer One and Launcher Pro... they all feel the same aside from the little perks one may offer over the other.

[Q] What is the smoothest, trouble free......

Custom ROM for the Desire Z Bell NAM phone? Please post you opinions if you have used a custom ROM with the Bell Desire Z and have had a good or bad experience. I ask this because the Bell and C2 threads are intertwined for the most part but there has to be subtle and not so subtle differences due to carriers, services, etc.
Most of the customs ROMs are built around T-Mobile G2 platform.........sooo any recomends for the Bell platform specifically? I read a whole bunch but the ROM threads are seriously long, lol, and I may have missed a few things that may be missing for specific providers.
Use the latest Virtuous ROM and kernel. They run flawlessly on my Desire Z from Bell (on the Rogers network). I use the Sense version for the social phonebook functionality and other functions. The Vanilla version is great if you want stock Android, but you miss the awesome Sense widgets which I believe creates an amazing Android experience.
I'm currently running CM 6.1.1 on a Bell DZ (although i'm unlocked and on Telus) and haven't had any issues. GPS works, WiFi works, haven't tried Bluetooth yet however. Everything runs smoothly and I got a cool new boot animation as well
bongd said:
Use the latest Virtuous ROM and kernel. They run flawlessly on my Desire Z from Bell (on the Rogers network). I use the Sense version for the social phonebook functionality and other functions. The Vanilla version is great if you want stock Android, but you miss the awesome Sense widgets which I believe creates an amazing Android experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I second this. It runs very well "out of the box" and the latest (0.9.0) version the "default" (not "advanced") flavour is comfortably overclocked to ~1GHz when running tasks and underclocked when screen is off so it has great battery life too.
I've been using it as my daily driver. I, too, like the Sense integration of social networks and contacts. This is a really great communications device with this ROM.
MIUI , no questions
I've used Virtuous and it is one of the best I've tried. It doesn't have many new things, since the DZ already has Sense, but it's still a really nice ROM.
From my experiences, cm 6.1.1, virtuous 0.9.0 and MIUI are all reliable enough to use daily, and dangit! you couldn't ask for 3 more diverse choices.
Give each one a try, set them up how ya like em, do nandroids of each, then restore a different one every couple of days and just settle into one.
I prefer Virtuous because I personally dig Sense...But MIUI with laucher pro is sick and slick. Then again, CM6 has to be the most popular custom ROM out there...for good reason!
I guess you'll just have to try em all!
Oh yeah, I used gingervillain for a day. Think it has a little bit of work before it's a daily rom, but yeah, that'll be great when cm7/gingervillain get all sorted out.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Thanks guys.....will give the Virtuous first try.
I've used stock, the Euro WWE, CM6, Virtuous 0.8.1, MIUI, and CM7 nightly #11.
My feelings towards them all:
Stock - Overloaded with crap. Slow. Takes forever to boot (excluding the fast boot, ie Sleep mode).
Euro WWE - Same as stock w/o the extra apps
CM6 - I did not like this AT ALL. It also ate my battery. Cool boot video though.
Virtuous 0.8.1 - I liked this one quite a bit but there was an annoying bug with the trackball wake and I was almost never being notified of new emails. I used this on 3 desire z's with the same results. I recommend Virtuous if you are into Sense. It's not too different than stock, though.
MIUI - This one opened my eyes and I really wanted to stick with it, but it had a ton of issues for me. The lockscreen kept disappearing and Wifi would not stay on after reboots. The trackball wake option would not turn off after turning it on the first time. Things like that made me weary of this ROM. I tried an early version and also a later one from the beginning of Jan. I don't see anyone else complaining of those specific issues, though, so it may have just been me.
CM7 nightly #11 - This one is my new favorite by far. I really like gingerbread and this ROM is very lean and mean. Between trying MIUI and CM7 I have ditched Sense completely. It's so much more of a 'cleaner', 'pure' experience without Sense. There's less clutter, things just seem simpler, there's less crap that I don't use (browsing facebook stuff through contact list, etc.) The stock dialer is so much better since the contact list is just on another tab, instead of another app completely, and it has a favorite contacts tab (which also automatically adds frequently called people to the list).
I would definitely recommend trying a non-sense based ROM such as MIUI or CM7. They both have better dialers, contact lists, and SMS apps (the HTC one has bugs). They are both leaner and simpler. HTC menus are packed with way too many options, even just adding items to homescreens is overkill. There are some nice things such as the way you set the time on alarms in Sense, and the HTC hub (some nice ringtone sets in there), but not I don't miss much else. CM7 and MIUI both come with a lot of great rings as well. One of the things I liked most about Sense (the 'people' app) is now one of the things I dislike the most. I miss the Sense camera a lot, I am hoping someone can port that over to non-sense ROMs eventually. However the stock Gallery app is much better than the HTC gallery. Another reason not to use Sense is because certain things such as bluetooth are slightly crippled (can't use Wii-mote), and Samba wifi sharing has issues on sense too. Who knows what else. I found HTC sense syncing also brought my phone to a crawl at least once each day.
Hope that helps you in your journey!
I use a DZ on Bell and I would recommend updating the radio to the latest version as I had constant connection problems with reception for calling/data after using custom roms.
I'm currently using GingerVillian and its working great, very smooth and no lag. No major issues so far and I haven't had any fc's. The only issue so far is that I don't get voicemail notifications (not sure if its the rom or Bell). Also, keep in mind that this rom does not have Sense (I like sense, but I'm willing to use a rom without it so I can try out Gingerbread).
RiTZiE
Sent from my HTC DZ using the XDA App
Virtuous 0.9.0 works great with me. A lot of issues cleaned up since 0.8 Modified stock kernel is plenty fast and has no bugs. Everything just works. If you want to OC, use the virtuous kernels; I noticed a few bugs with the other.
In my personal opinion MIUI was great, but I found it slower and less consistent than virtuous.
Gingervillain was also really nice.
Last time I used a cm7 nightly, it was obvious that it was still a work in progress...
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Im running gingervillain 1.5 on my NAM and I absolutely love it. Its smooth, no lag, pretty much perfectly stable.
Currently testing the Virtuous 0.9.0 Sense ROM with the advanced kernel and quite happy with it so far, 3 days now no issues at all. Stable and smooth.
Will back up in a few days and test the MIUI, Cryo and Ginger as well, may as well........
Tried out the GingerVillian 1.5 & wow!!! Really smooth ROM & works perfectly with NAM Bell! Will keep this baby for a while!
cmccollough said:
Im running gingervillain 1.5 on my NAM and I absolutely love it. Its smooth, no lag, pretty much perfectly stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTC Vision Baby
Still using GV 1.5 and will not change it for quite a bit. Every thing works beautifully with Bell.
HTC Vision Baby
Hell yea it is lol. Can't wait til 2.0 comes out that thing is gonna be vicious..
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

Cyanogen vs Virtuous

Just wondering what your thoughts are. I like them both, so hopefully you can all help me make a decision.
Notes:
*if option to customize lock screen exists, HUGE plus
*I'll probably overclock / use SetCPU, so good balance of performance / battery is huge for me.
Duke it out!
I've had experience with both, virtuous is nice but CM is so much faster. It is also nice to have Android the way it was meant to be and not some companies highly modded version.
Sense uses quite a lot of memory whereas CM does not and this makes a big difference with how responsive your phone can be.
I've been using CM 7.0 Nightlies for quite a while now and the speed is awesome, plus I also like the fact that it's Android the way it should be. Battery is great for me with Cyanogen as well, about 26-30 hours with average usage (stock battery).
Having had experience with Cyanogen-based ROMs on my previous Hero and Virtuous on my current DZ, i am actually torn. For me, personally, I would have to give the edge to Virtuous. Having the wide customizability of CM was great and having LauncherPRO was so flexible. That being said, however, I like how HTC's Sense just gets you and assumes many of the things you would like to do instead of you doing it yourself.
One example would be facebook linking to your contacts. I hate seeing a generic photo when I get calls and would rather see the picture of the person calling. Having this kind of assumed integration is great. Other features like the dialer, working GPS and rmk's other small tweaks (see: Virtuous advanced kernel for use with SetCPU) make the Sense experience that much better.
On the otherhand, AOSP or CM versions of android are much lighter as they dont have the kind of assumptions and integrations of a Sense-based rom. Being highly customizable, you can implement different launchers, skins, lock screens, docks, etc.. but I did find myself cursing at some points because I am just a Sense kind of guy deep inside.
It really comes down to personal preference. Try them both for a week and see how you feel about them. Alot of people have been saying Virtuous is laggy, but I have not seen any of that lag. As with all flashes, clear data, cache, battery and davlik through recovery! Have fun and i hope you find the rom that fits you.
Sent from my Virtuous Desire Z 1.0.1 using XDA App
Athrun88 said:
Having had experience with Cyanogen-based ROMs on my previous Hero and Virtuous on my current DZ, i am actually torn. For me, personally, I would have to give the edge to Virtuous. Having the wide customizability of CM was great and having LauncherPRO was so flexible. That being said, however, I like how HTC's Sense just gets you and assumes many of the things you would like to do instead of you doing it yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense is definitely nice, and it's something that easily sets HTC devices apart from the pack. That being said, I'm much more of an AOSP kind of guy, because as nice and pretty as Sense is, it just takes up too much RAM for my liking, and the launcher is just not customizable enough for me. Having only 3 buttons at the bottom absolutely drives me nuts; I've got to have the scrolling bottom row like Go Launcher and Launcher Pro provide. Obviously you can use these on a Sense rom, but what's the point in having a Sense rom when you don't use the Sense launcher? For me it boils down to this, and I'm sure the many other features that Cyanogenmod has that I use on a daily basis. I haven't used Virtuous since I got the phone in October, so I'm sure there's more stuff on it now than before, but I'm definitely a Cyanogenmod kind of guy. Plus there are roms based off Cyanogen, like Mexdroid, that add all kinds of pretty and additional functionality that I like.
Gwanatu said:
but what's the point in having a Sense rom when you don't use the Sense launcher?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HTC camera app is far better than on CM, and the camera button does not lag like it does on CM. And I'm not completely sure about this (and haven't really seen it discussed here much), but it seems the Sense based ROMs have more/better hardware codecs for playback of a wider variety of videos without lag or sync issues. Also, the Sense fastboot feature is pretty nice if you have to turn off/on your phone frequently (which I do, due to frequent air travel).
I haven't given the latest and greatest CM7 versions a test drive yet, but I tried RC1 and RC2, and there were still enough bugs (GPS, video camera playback) to turn me off. I might wait until Gingerbread is officially released for our hardware before trying a GB ROM again.
For a daily, I would pick CM7 since it's quick and I'm pretty much guaranteed a full day of usage no matter what.
Virtuous, Sense, is nice and all, but the lag is a deal breaker for me. The only perks I see from Sense is the refined UI and better FaceBook integration, other than that, I don't really need it. And the battery life on Sense roms seems to be half of what I get on CM7.
CM7, stock android, is catching up though, with Gingerbread the UI has been given a cleaner look and my contacts do sync with FaceBook, but every now and then I'll have a duplicate contact, which in Sense it would allow me to link the two together. The only problem I would see with CM7 would be all of the customization options. I'd say that I'm an above average Android user, but all of the options I have available to me to customize the phone look is a bit overwhelming, in my opinion. It takes me a good hour or two to get the phone set up in a way I prefer, whereas Sense kind of has it's settings put in such a way that creates a better user experience.
So as I said before, CM7 would be my preferred ROM since when I do get it set up the way I want, the phone is easy to use and everything is quickly accessible to me. Virtuous, as nice as it is, is just a bit too slow and too much of a battery drainer for me to use it every day.
redpoint73 said:
The HTC camera app is far better than on CM, and the camera button does not lag like it does on CM. And I'm not completely sure about this (and haven't really seen it discussed here much), but it seems the Sense based ROMs have more/better hardware codecs for playback of a wider variety of videos without lag or sync issues. Also, the Sense fastboot feature is pretty nice if you have to turn off/on your phone frequently (which I do, due to frequent air travel).
I haven't given the latest and greatest CM7 versions a test drive yet, but I tried RC1 and RC2, and there were still enough bugs (GPS, video camera playback) to turn me off. I might wait until Gingerbread is officially released for our hardware before trying a GB ROM again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what about using CM6? Isn't that a Froyo build?
If so, is it just lacking in features compared to the Gingerbread builds?
As a side note, can anyone tell me if CM has some sort of Facebook-to-Contact link like Sense? And if so, is it actually nice and doesn't load my entire phone app full of people I will never ever call? LoL
Bloodlvst said:
As a side note, can anyone tell me if CM has some sort of Facebook-to-Contact link like Sense? And if so, is it actually nice and doesn't load my entire phone app full of people I will never ever call? LoL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an app called contapps or something like that on market that has similar facebook to contact integration.
Speed = CM or CM based (GingerVillian)
Ease of use = Sense based (Virtuous)
It is really boiling down to personal preference. I did find myself jumping between AOSP and Sense before but could never really shake my love for Sense. The slight bloat and 0.001% lag that i experience is a good price to pay . I hope you find the rom that fits you, whatever that may be
Sent from my Virtuous Desire Z 1.0.1 using XDA App
Bloodlvst said:
So what about using CM6? Isn't that a Froyo build?
If so, is it just lacking in features compared to the Gingerbread builds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, pretty much. CM6 is very stable. But for me, if you're going to go Froyo, you may as well go Sense. I like the extra features, and you can use an alternative launcher, since the lag on the Sense ROMs is mostly when using the stock launcher, IMO. And I didn't seem to experience any worse battery life with Sense ROMs versus CM7, like a previous user mentioned. But I didn't stay on CM6 long enough to compare battery life. Plus, the theming aesthetics of the Sense ROM and Gingerbread are nicer than Froyo, in my personal taste.
Actually there is also a sense gingerbread out accurately named 'senseginger' made by teamvillain aswell. It is very good. It is the middleground of froyo sense and stock gingerbread.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
CM is a lot smoother and simple.
The sense part on Virtuous takes up toooo much memory and slows the phone down, but the widgets are nice.
Android always comes down to user preference. You want a suggestion? Try both. And give it a good week. Even if you HATE it at first, give it a good while before deciding against it. You may find that once little aspect that will keep you from ever changing.
Me personally, I like CM7 over any sense based rom hands down. With the new gingerbread based cm7 I can easily link all of my facebook contacts with the ones in my contact list. If at first the picture doesn't show up, make sure you have the facebook app to sync all and then just long press your contact and join it to the facebook one. Boom, instant gratification. I personally rely on my ram being free, and the ability to overclock smoothly for playing ps one emulators. SetCpu has been known to cause glitches in cm7 for underclocking or overclocking too much, but as long as you do a minimal amount of research for your setup, it is easily avoided. As some others previously stated, it's all dependant on your preference and what you use your phone for. Try them both for a week at least, then decide, that's the best advice I could give
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
My first experience with a ROM was CM7 RC1-4 and a few days ago I was bored and installed Virtuous and it's not bad but I definitely prefer CM7, it's way faster and smoother. The main reason I got the G2 was because it's Vanilla Android and CM7 has it all!
___________________________
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Android 2.3.3
OC'd to 1017 Mhz
CyanogenMod 7.0.0 Stable
ClockworkMod Recovery 3.0.2.4
Main question: do you like Sense or no? I've tried miui, virtuous, gb sense, etc. I always go back to cm7. Just smoother.
Virtuous (and all sense roms I've tried) send blurry MMSs as well.
Sent from my CM7 GDeux
I like sense so i have virtuos, cm7 has too many bugs for me, maybe the last release is better!
mattew83 said:
I like sense so i have virtuos, cm7 has too many bugs for me, maybe the last release is better!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of bugs? I haven't found any.
Sent from my CM7 GDeux
joe3681 said:
What kind of bugs? I haven't found any.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On Camcorder, taking a video landscape, then trying to playback in portrait mode results in the screen showing white and blue lines. Same with taking the video in portrait and trying to playback while in landscape mode.
Also, there is a Gmail margin problem. And there is a decent amount of people with non-GPS (although probably most CM users are fine on this).
But similar to the previous response, I have not tried the more recent CM releases, to see if these were fixed.
As others have said, it comes down to personal preferences. I've come to like Sense recently and am really liking the amazing standby times I've been getting with Virtuous, so I'm sticking with that for a bit. After a couple releases I may look into CM7 again, though, since I miss the customizable automatic brightness levels it has (a little feature that is a big deal to me).

[Q] Even with all the stickies, can't find a decent rom, maybe with sense too

Its for my father's HD2, Windows Mobile is pretty much useless nowadays, and he loves the Voice Search feature on my Evo 3D. Its going to be a NAND rom, not booting from SD, that would be too annoying for him to use.
Thing is, there are only about 1000 roms for this thing....... even dozens of versions of Cyanogen.
And on top of that, I don't know how well some of the custom roms with Sense 2.0 or 3.0 would work, or if any are missing hardware support.
I understand you lose performance if you add-on alternate UIs like sense, but how big is the performance hit? Hes not going to be playing high-end 3D games or performing protein folding or anything on the thing, so as long as the performance loss doesn't hit the "Phone becomes laggy, input lags, and it takes forever to load anything" range, I would actually prefer a sense based rom than one without.
Again, I am doing this for someone that isn't TOO technical, though no stranger to computers either, so I don't need a rom packed full of overclocking and root tweaking options (though a rooted rom would still be preferred).
So then, are there any good Sense 3.0 roms for the HD2 available? Got any you recommend? Do they still support all of the phone's hardware?
If not, what would be your next choice? Is there much point in using Sense 2.0 over vanilla android other than the extra sense widgets which he would probably not care about? Sense 3.0 does have the looping home screens and the very functional lock screen that I know he would find useful.
Thanks, I know a lot of people ask for recommendations, but after searching for roms for days and basically flying blind in the "maybe this one will be good, its got a lot of people installing it" category I could really use some advice, especially for a Sense 3.0 rom... if they exist.
Cyber Akuma said:
Its for my father's HD2, Windows Mobile is pretty much useless nowadays, and he loves the Voice Search feature on my Evo 3D. Its going to be a NAND rom, not booting from SD, that would be too annoying for him to use.
Thing is, there are only about 1000 roms for this thing....... even dozens of versions of Cyanogen.
And on top of that, I don't know how well some of the custom roms with Sense 2.0 or 3.0 would work, or if any are missing hardware support.
I understand you lose performance if you add-on alternate UIs like sense, but how big is the performance hit? Hes not going to be playing high-end 3D games or performing protein folding or anything on the thing, so as long as the performance loss doesn't hit the "Phone becomes laggy, input lags, and it takes forever to load anything" range, I would actually prefer a sense based rom than one without.
Again, I am doing this for someone that isn't TOO technical, though no stranger to computers either, so I don't need a rom packed full of overclocking and root tweaking options (though a rooted rom would still be preferred).
So then, are there any good Sense 3.0 roms for the HD2 available? Got any you recommend? Do they still support all of the phone's hardware?
If not, what would be your next choice? Is there much point in using Sense 2.0 over vanilla android other than the extra sense widgets which he would probably not care about? Sense 3.0 does have the looping home screens and the very functional lock screen that I know he would find useful.
Thanks, I know a lot of people ask for recommendations, but after searching for roms for days and basically flying blind in the "maybe this one will be good, its got a lot of people installing it" category I could really use some advice, especially for a Sense 3.0 rom... if they exist.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you really want sense, go for a dhd sense 3 rom (Runnymede Sense 3.5 works well on mine), and if you really want looping homescreens, install launcherpro on any rom of your choice.
BUT I'd recommend a cm7/miui rom because in the end, it's still slow.
Linkies:
- Typhoon
- Dorimanx
- DHD Sense 3 - Dungphp
Moon2 said:
If you really want sense, go for a dhd sense 3 rom (Runnymede Sense 3.5 works well on mine), and if you really want looping homescreens, install launcherpro on any rom of your choice.
BUT I'd recommend a cm7/miui rom because in the end, it's still slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a fan of Sense 3.5 over 3.0 personally.
And just how slow is it compared to CM7? I mean, I understand CM7 will be faster than a sense rom, even CM7 with sense hacked in, but as long as its not laggy or sluggish thats fine, I don't need it to break benchmark records and run the latest 3d software.
I really like the sense 3.X roms... and i don't find them THAT slow (i have a DHD).
But that god damn graphic glitch is anoying, and i'm not going to disable GPU rendering of sense to get it working without glitches... must wait
daedric said:
I really like the sense 3.X roms... and i don't find them THAT slow (i have a DHD).
But that god damn graphic glitch is anoying, and i'm not going to disable GPU rendering of sense to get it working without glitches... must wait
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im new to NAND HD2, but not new to the HD2 ( sold my 1st one, just got another the other day ) but I just flashed my first Android NAND ROM and I noticed all thse graphic glitches, i thought it was something else. But apparently its a common problem for everyone? No fix Im assuming.
Anyways im curious what you mean by DHD?
GHetting to performance, HD2 isnt bad at all! Im old time Android owner going back to the G1 and myTouch 3G.If you wanna see degraded performance try flashing a Sense rom on a G1 or 32B device. OWwwo
Well I can recommend Rafdroid rom. Its Sense2 stock froyo. Works mostly well.
So, did they ever fix those graphic glitches people keep complaning about?
MIUI builds are very slick, very impressive on the HD2, can't imagine it being any slicker or faster as there seems to be zero lag whatsoever.
Cyber Akuma said:
So, did they ever fix those graphic glitches people keep complaning about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there are roundabout fixes yes
I have the same question (which ROM to use?) but this post still doesnt not give me a clear answer. I have been using Mikhei777 sense 3.0 version (original) but it has lots of lag and is fairly sluggish. He has upgraded it a few times but now seems to be spending more time on the sense 3.5 version. Its my wifes phone so do not want to keep trying new versions. Just want someone to recommend a known good stable version...
Thanks
rzw said:
I have the same question (which ROM to use?) but this post still doesnt not give me a clear answer. I have been using Mikhei777 sense 3.0 version (original) but it has lots of lag and is fairly sluggish. He has upgraded it a few times but now seems to be spending more time on the sense 3.5 version. Its my wifes phone so do not want to keep trying new versions. Just want someone to recommend a known good stable version...
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rafdroid from Rafpigna if you want sense without glitches
HyperDroiD CM7 5.3.0 from Pongster ... my actual ROM ... stable, fast, last gingerbread 2.3.7 ... simply fantastic
nystao said:
Rafdroid from Rafpigna if you want sense without glitches
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange, I can't find that one here:
http://android.hd2roms.com/
I've been using Mikhei777's Android 2.2.1 Sense 2.0 rom for quite some time. It works great and haven't had any problems at all with it. The wifi hotspot works also. Not sure about bluetooth and USB tethering stuff. Don't use them. He deleted a lot of the useless system apps but there is a rar file you can download from the first post that has all of the deleted stuff in case there is something you want to put back in it. I've only put on Facebook and the text to speech stuff. I'm not using an ext on my phone since I have a TMOUS HD2 so, I don't have memory issues. Give it a try. If you don't like it you can always flash something else.
bethybabes69 said:
MIUI builds are very slick, very impressive on the HD2, can't imagine it being any slicker or faster as there seems to be zero lag whatsoever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly, wise words...
if you want a good rom with everything working, miui is the way to go. If your friend is not a hardcore techie, he better stays away from those Sense roms. try it for yourself and compare.. but seriously feature wise Sense is so outdated compared to miui (except the htc widgets maybe).
cheers
The worst about MIUI, it's that laggish launcher/desktop.
I don't know why... it fells "low frame rate".
daedric said:
The worst about MIUI, it's that laggish launcher/desktop.
I don't know why... it fells "low frame rate".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I use PAT's MIUI Rom with Sense launcher. It combines the best of the 2 world's. Very fast,customizable and everything is working like in other MIUI rom's and a very good, customizable launcher with the most important sense widget's.
No graphic glitches, not a disabled GPU acceleration and camcorder with full resolution and without lags. And the newest Android 2.3.7 version.
Use this rom since some month's, will never go back to the slow sense rom's. Only the dialer facebook integration of the sense dialer isn't there, but I don't have facebook and Co. But there is already an alternative dialer on the market, probably he can also display the actual feelings (posted in facebook) of the incoming caller and such nonsense.
daedric said:
The worst about MIUI, it's that laggish launcher/desktop.
I don't know why... it fells "low frame rate".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now you have surprised me not sure which version of miui you are refering to, but i am on jan-willems miui and there is zero lag (its butter smooth) on the luncher. basically there are no issues at all.
btw installing a 3rd party launcher on miui is a no go, as it decrases the fuctionality.. people no offense, but you need to read the miui bible
@Nixda99
one question, what do you mean by:
"Only the dialer facebook integration of the sense dialer isn't there, but I don't have facebook and Co."?
When i get a call from a Facebook contact i can actually see its profile pic from facebook. On contact details i also see his status or last comment or whatever its called clicking on it, opens the facebook app and goes to this comment. is that what you meant?
If you are looking for a good ROM, Team Blue Droid have produced an excellent sense 3.5 Rom which looks the business and works far better than many others I have flashed recently on mh EU HD2. I am not that technically minded regarding SD card partition types, but I run mine via SD card after flasing a 1024 partition using CMR and the accompanying DAF.exe.
link is below
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1275119
marcusloosewire99 said:
If you are looking for a good ROM, Team Blue Droid have produced an excellent sense 3.5 Rom which looks the business and works far better than many others I have flashed recently on mh EU HD2. I am not that technically minded regarding SD card partition types, but I run mine via SD card after flasing a 1024 partition using CMR and the accompanying DAF.exe.
link is below
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1275119
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree. The latest version 2.2 is just fantastic
greg17477 said:
...
@Nixda99
one question, what do you mean by:
"Only the dialer facebook integration of the sense dialer isn't there, but I don't have facebook and Co."?
When i get a call from a Facebook contact i can actually see its profile pic from facebook. On contact details i also see his status or last comment or whatever its called clicking on it, opens the facebook app and goes to this comment. is that what you meant?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes!
There are missing also the hardware switching widgets (WLAN, Mobile Network...) but all is in the top status bar. You have only the contacts and the calendar widget, but it's enough for me.
---------- Post added at 12:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 PM ----------
car01 said:
I totally agree. The latest version 2.2 is just fantastic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But no hardware acceleration or with graphical glitches, only the new sense kernels should solve this problem. I don't know if there already stable.
How many free ram do you have after start with this rom?

Categories

Resources