Related
I mean im just wonder if the HD2 is capable with IPhone Pinch-to-Zoom for Internet becuase i cant seem to do that xD.
From what I have read, currently, the HD2 does not support multitouch. There is a theory thread on how one might develop multitouch for the hd2, so hopefully one is in the works and will be available soon.
PCBiased said:
From what I have read, currently, the HD2 does not support multitouch. There is a theory thread on how one might develop multitouch for the hd2, so hopefully one is in the works and will be available soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it works for the older opera builds. but not 10
so there is a way to hack it and make it Mult-touch correct?
mrleonx said:
so there is a way to hack it and make it Mult-touch correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
maybe i misunderstood the posts, but what are you guys smoking? most if not all of the custom hd2 roms support pinch to zoom in tons of things. if its not supported you can add it with bsb tweaks. opera 10, picture browser, etc... work out of the box. maybe you're talking about stock roms. in that case flash EnergyROM and you won't be disappointed
ndn715 said:
maybe i misunderstood the posts, but what are you guys smoking? most if not all of the custom hd2 roms support pinch to zoom in tons of things. if its not supported you can add it with bsb tweaks. opera 10, picture browser, etc... work out of the box. maybe you're talking about stock roms. in that case flash EnergyROM and you won't be disappointed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't that app just zoom the application itself in rather than zoom in toward to object?
Also, technically speaking the HD2 doesn't have multitouch, but is capable of pinch to zoom features. Pinch to zoom =/= true multitouch.
Addressing the original issue, though not entirely sure why it's here instead of HD2 General, Opera Mobile 9.7 for the HD2 does support pinch to zoom, BUT, if registry settings are changed related to certain functions it MAY cease to function (cannot recall which).
As for multitouch...someday perhaps. The hardware is certainly capable.
aethelbert said:
Doesn't that app just zoom the application itself in rather than zoom in toward to object?
Also, technically speaking the HD2 doesn't have multitouch, but is capable of pinch to zoom features. Pinch to zoom =/= true multitouch.
Addressing the original issue, though not entirely sure why it's here instead of HD2 General, Opera Mobile 9.7 for the HD2 does support pinch to zoom, BUT, if registry settings are changed related to certain functions it MAY cease to function (cannot recall which).
As for multitouch...someday perhaps. The hardware is certainly capable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HD2 can register two touches independently, therefore it is multi-touch by its most basic definition.
I suppose the rumors weren't true, then?
halorin said:
I suppose the rumors weren't true, then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw someone on here posting a quote about the multi-touch fix... lemme find it
by Paul22000:
Also "A scale gesture detector API provides improved definition of multi-touch events."
I wonder if that means the N1's multitouch axes will be fixed for gaming!
halorin said:
I suppose the rumors weren't true, then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since nobody has froyo yet, we dont know if it was fixed or not. i really hope they did though.
Thanks for the responses, guys. I guess in hindsight it might have been good to leave out any negative things in such a positive conference.
But still, some mention would have been comforting.
halorin said:
Thanks for the responses, guys. I guess in hindsight it might have been good to leave out any negative things in such a positive conference.
But still, some mention would have been comforting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I feel the same way halorin. It's natural to voice displeasure over something important missed in an update (I would have loved 360* rotation, colored trackball, fm radio, etc) but I know your happy about the update when it does occur and a great guy to have on the forum
All progress is still progress toward perfection, no matter how small.
Thing is, they were just demoing the OS, not device specific things like the N1's trackball & whether it has working FM etc.
Very valid point, Rusty.
Yup, each device will have their own seperate updates with device exclusive things.
Rusty! said:
Thing is, they were just demoing the OS, not device specific things like the N1's trackball & whether it has working FM etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*in Kramer voice* ........ you just blew my mind...
ap3604 said:
I saw someone on here posting a quote about the multi-touch fix... lemme find it
by Paul22000:
Also "A scale gesture detector API provides improved definition of multi-touch events."
I wonder if that means the N1's multitouch axes will be fixed for gaming!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That quote is from the highlights web page:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.2-highlights.html
The axis problem can never be fixed 100% because the hardware doesn't report enough info to do it for all cases, but currently it is pretty bad and I think better drivers/software could get it close. I believe that Cyanogen's ROMs have had some tweaks that have greatly improved its responsiveness for some time now so perhaps the Android engineers adopted similar fixes. It will hopefully get good enough over time that you'd have to know exactly how the sensors work and deliberately try to fool the drivers in order to get it confused.
I tested a nexus one on froyo today at google i/o, some things that were absent, colored track ball, touch screen wise they didn't have any multi touch analysis program installed, but just pinching around I don't detect any notable differences, so i'm guessing no to those 2 features on nexus, at least on their current build
I was also at I/O and while I did play with a few different Nexus Ones that were loaded with FroYo, I was unable to determine if any screen fixes were applied.
I asked a few times and each time I was politely told that they could not talk about anything that was not already made public (fair enough btw).
However, pinching and zooming on maps seemed to be smoother (not sure if it just my impression or some actual change) and it seemed to respond overall to my finger movements more smoothly.
Also, some games that I demoed on a few different Nexus Ones did employ finger gestures and those games functioned flawlessly from the touch perspective.
I am not sure that translates into any real fix or just my biases, but I am putting it out here for whatever it is worth.
Dan
dan1431 said:
I was also at I/O and while I did play with a few different Nexus Ones that were loaded with FroYo...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you notice if there was 360 rotation? ie could you flip it from 12 to 3 O'Clock clockwise and get it to rotate to landscape when in a rotating app like Maps?
logger said:
Did you notice if there was 360 rotation? ie could you flip it from 12 to 3 O'Clock clockwise and get it to rotate to landscape when in a rotating app like Maps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to admit this, but I did not even think about testing that feature.
Dan
Dorick said:
I tested a nexus one on froyo today at google i/o, some things that were absent, colored track ball, touch screen wise they didn't have any multi touch analysis program installed, but just pinching around I don't detect any notable differences, so i'm guessing no to those 2 features on nexus, at least on their current build
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dorick, by any chance have you noticed wifi-n connection?
I'm almost certain from the API improvement and UI modifications listed on the Android SDK site that we have a software fix for the crazy multitouch issue.
Having said that, it means the screen won't go crazy when the paths "swap". But, it's still limited to two touchpoints and not 10 like the 3000 series screen.
A fix is a fix though. =)
Personally if the have fixed up pinch zooming somewhat and made it smoother that will cover me 99% of the way as I use the device so that will be pretty much a fix assuming we actually see it in the official N1 rom.
Hi,
I'm a little curious why people are so anxious to update to 2.1 or higher, are there any special features that are critical to you?
My main reason is tethering, it's such a huge deal it's not even funny. A lot of the time I'm on the go without any kind of "real" interweb so I'm using my phone as a wireless modem. It's only 7.2 mbits but it's unlimited traffic.
Basic USB-tethering is easy, you can use PDANet or on of the other apps out there but the problem is that those apps only support Windows and Mac. A lot of the time I spend on my laptops using either Linux, *BSD or even spend time writing code in Haiku. So the wifi tethering in 2.1 has really got me foaming at the mouth in excitement.
What are you looking forward to?
Not really critical but I'd like to get my hands on 2.2 because of:
1. The reported increase in performance of 2.2 vs 1.6 and 2.1
2. Live Wallpapers
3. Flash in websites
4. They say flash when taking pics will be automatic? As in no more manually turning on of photo light?
5. Recent Games
6. Recent Software that are only 2.0 and above.
7. 16m Colors of the screen? I know I won't notice the difference but hey the X10's screen is capable of it right?
ojpd said:
3. Flash in websites
7. 16m Colors of the screen? I know I won't notice the difference but hey the X10's screen is capable of it right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I forgot about flash, yeah that would be nice too.
The added colours could be nice as long as it doesn't impact performance. I'd rather have a fluid display with less colours especially since I can hardly notice the difference anyhoo. Unless one spends their days staring at gradients I doubt many would even notice.
For me:
1.) Faster phone
2.) HD videorecording
3.) 16M collors on the screen because some of my wallpapers look ugly
4.) Live wallpapers
720p video recording.
Tethering without the usb crap.
Google Maps new features for 2.+
720p video
Applications on the market that are only 2.0 and above.
Flash support
Imp. speed on the phone with the new jit implementation.
And why not, 16M colors, live wp
- Better performance
- 16m color
- Live wallpapers
- Web Flash
- Apps that requires 2.0+
- HD recording
Google Earth... I know it is basically a fancy Google Maps, but thats kinda the point. Something to show the phone off a bit more. And considering it is one of the best phones out there (hardware wise, and not that I am too bothered about getting 2.x soon, cause if I was, I would have bought the incredible/desire/something else) we don't seem to be able to show off a lot
Mod. edit: not dev related, moved to general
Mostly just the satisfaction that the performance of my device is no longer being hindered by outdated software...
- Smoother experience
- HD recording/ Camera upgrades (software)
- 16mil colours
- All those apps that donut could not run !
So now that root has been achieved, is it only a matter of time until a custom ROM with Froyo comes out? Are there other technical limitations that might prevent X10 owners from updating to 2.2?
Devotpohats said:
So now that root has been achieved, is it only a matter of time until a custom ROM with Froyo comes out? Are there other technical limitations that might prevent X10 owners from updating to 2.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well root does not mean that we can flash custom ROMs. Root means that we have full access to the system from within Android but we still (afaik) can't touch the bootloader. Since the bootloader checks to see if the OS is valid we won't be able to flash until someone "fixes" the bootloader. So it'll be a while longer before we can run Froyo.
Great answer. Thanks for the reply.
OnCe rooted the current version will also support wifi tethering.
cvchetan said:
OnCe rooted the current version will also support wifi tethering.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, but there are two "problems" with that.
1. It won't be as slick, ie "Press here to enable tethering supported by the OS"
2. The "once rooted" bit, not that I don't believe that root is coming. It's just that with Froyo it's a guaranteed feature whereas root has yet to materialise.
Hey guys,
I previously reviewed JMC firmware that was noted as recent on the development scene of firmwares.
Here is a quick run down of JME, which by all means deserves its own review.
I did however also want to give a quick overview of what I've seen so far in in JMC having started on stock Bell firmware and then going to JPK5, then JM6, JMA, JMC and then recently moving on to JME. Currently I'm using Roto-JME full flash with the samsung addons and no OCLF.
For most new people, or people afraid or unsure of whether to flash here is a really quick breakdown of what I've seen changed, improved so far since JM6, JMA, JMC:
Pros:
-Fastest ROM yet - even faster than JMC by quite a bit.
-Smoothest browser yet. In JMC it was a bit above Miren's performance but this time its no comparison. Engadget with flash loads insanely fast and scrolling is super smooth. Its impressive, in fact comparing to the bell stock tab, its almost mind boggling.
-Smoother drop down bar (seems to remain smoother now, so a noted improvement over JMC, though observe below)
-Great performance in TWUi - on par with JMC
-Email app is responsive, smooth and works perfectly. (Exchange not tested yet)
-No more issues with Screen timeout. (Some people reported issues with this in JMC but after heavy testing there is no way I can reproduce this old issue.)
-No more jagged browsing experience like in Bell Stock firmware
-Gallery app is still silky silky smooth even when browsing 2.5 gb of pictures.
-Browser multi-touch, two finger zoom has improved vastly. (on par with JMC)
-Full Bluetooth HID support (compared to Stock Bell Firmware) which means full keyboard/mouse support!
Cons:
-No updated Market App (quick fix)
-Swype still not scaling properly (Lol.. pm me for how to fix that if you must)
-Smoother drop down bar (still not as smooth as it should be. If this thing was silky smooth like it is on phones it would make this Tab such a sexy beast IMO)
Untested/Unknown:
-Batterylife affected? -Battery life on JMC was superb, so we'll see.
-Pinch to zoom in Dolphin HD
-DPI issues as others have reported (although I'd stay away from DPI modifications as of now)
-Performance improvement with OLFC (for tab) untested yet
Comments:
Having HEAVILY used Stock Bell and JMA and most recently JMC, since I use my tab at work.. I will say, the browser performance in this build truly blew my mind. It was so much better than stock. Having compared 2 tabs, one Bell Stock and JMC I am absolutely stunned at the difference when browsing sites like Engadget or Gizmodo. The multi-touch to zoom support is so much better in this build. I feel the browser is near perfect. Infact when compared to my iPhone it handles these kind of pages without a hiccup (as it should lol)
Props to Samsung for their great work! Thanks to Rotohammer as I've used his cooked JMA, JMC and JME. This dude is a pro! Click here to find his guide on how to flash JME and also his JME cut.
Also:
READ UP before flashing. There are things you must know about protected bootloaders and such. All of this can be found here. Despite these warnings, Roto's JME cut is already futureproofed and this issue no longer applies if you are doing things carefully and in an educated manner.
That is interesting. I am so running the JME packaged by rotohammer, however the stock browser is still way too laggy IMO. It doesn't even compare to my iPhone and Miren is so much smoother than it. It is however, the best stock browser on the tab that I have used yet.
caveman999 said:
That is interesting. I am so running the JME packaged by rotohammer, however the stock browser is still way too laggy IMO. It doesn't even compare to my iPhone and Miren is so much smoother than it. It is however, the best stock browser on the tab that I have used yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey
So quick question:
Full format install? Or upgrade?
Full format install.
Hate to disappoint...
seven2099: Thanks for the detailed review, I'm sure it will help quite a few while forming their opinion - but I think you set their expectations bar higher than it should...
So just to clarify: I came to share my next-to-nothing experience in regards to the way its "fastness" being described, because frankly - I don't see/feel/taste it.
The Flash experience, from POV, is either:
A. Not useable
B. Laggy
So yes, obviously being laggy is an improvement, but it's still laggy.
---
I almost forgot to thank RotoHammer
ShaiH said:
seven2099: Thanks for the detailed review, I'm sure it will help quite a few while forming their opinion - but I think you set their expectations bar higher than it should...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so - my experience is much like seven2099s.
Note that "lag" is very subjective - my desktop browsers are not always silky smooth and neither are the browsers on my Macs. So, I don't expect my Tab to be either, but for the most part it works very well. On the latest JM builds, I find I don't even need to set plugs to "On Demands" to cope with flash heavy sites.
Regards,
Dave
You're right that being 'laggy' needs to be compared, compared to my friend's IPad (with flash) - which behaves rather smooth,... My stock firmware was simply unuseable (flash), while Roto-JME is an improvement, it's nothing close to being smooth.
So yea, I have IPad as a reference - why would I expect my Tab performance to anything less?
ShaiH said:
So yea, I have IPad as a reference - why would I expect my Tab performance to anything less?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are asking the wrong question! The question is, is the Tab's browsing performance acceptable on the JME build? The answer to that question, IMO, is definitely yes, whereas on the pre-JMx builds it was not. And I would definitely say that for most sites it is smooth - one site that was brought up as being unusable on the earlier firmwares was ESPN, which is now very usable, though I wouldn't say it was "smooth".
I couldn't give a monkeys that the iPad might be smoother, because fundamentally the iPad does not suit my purposes, so any comparison between the two is moot as far as I'm concerned.
Regards,
Dave
(Still) downloading Roto-JME now, its been running for around 3 hours already. I don't know whats up with that since my other downloads run fine. Sometimes the speed goes down to < 3kbps. Probably my route to the server.
I wish file hashes were provided for firmwares, so we can verify if our downloads aren't corrupt.
@foxmeister: Quite frankly I'm starting to think that it's not about the wrong question, rather about the wrong answer.
You asked a completely different question: "is the Tab's browsing performance acceptable on the JME build?"
Read the descriptions the original post had, and you tell me if these descriptions apply as "acceptable performance" to the common reader...
As I said... I hate to disappoint - and I already thanked seven2099, but I wouldn't use such descriptions to describe it. The fact the original behavior was pretty much unuseable (for me), doesn't mean we should use such descriptions.
An improvement? Yes,
But laggy nevertheless.
ShaiH said:
An improvement? Yes,
But laggy nevertheless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my whole point - in my experience, for the most part, the JME browser isn't at all laggy until you start getting flash heavy. Once you get flash heavy, yes it lags, but not unacceptably so (and probably not a lot worse than my desktop browsers), unlike the original stock browser which was awful even on simple sites.
The difference between the JME browser and the one that shipped on my Tab is like night and day as far as I'm concerned. I do think it is fair to say that the difference between the two is "mind boggling", primarily though because Samsung should have never shipped the Tab with the browser in the state it was.
Regards,
Dave
+1 on JME. The difference isn't huge but it is noticeable. The Roto upgrade on top of JMC with no wipe worked like a charm.
Now we just need to figure out how to unlock these bootloaders because that is weighing heavy on my mind.
@foxmeister: I'm glad that we agree
Hey, anyone else that doesn't have the RELATED section in the Market? Mine didn't have tabs for it in the old version, doesn't have it as a section below Comments in the updated carousel version either, but all my Android phones (yes, I have too many phones) have it.
This isn't specific to JME, I had the same issue with JK5 as well, and clearing Market data and/or uninstalling Market updates doesn't help.
Croak said:
Hey, anyone else that doesn't have the RELATED section in the Market? Mine didn't have tabs for it in the old version, doesn't have it as a section below Comments in the updated carousel version either, but all my Android phones (yes, I have too many phones) have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it on my Tab - it is called Similar though, under Comments. No different to the Market on my Desire HD.
Regards,
Dave
ShaiH said:
You're right that being 'laggy' needs to be compared, compared to my friend's IPad (with flash) - which behaves rather smooth,... My stock firmware was simply unuseable (flash), while Roto-JME is an improvement, it's nothing close to being smooth.
So yea, I have IPad as a reference - why would I expect my Tab performance to anything less?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because the Tab supports Adobe Flash, and since Adobe Flash is a bloated pile of crap, it makes the browser slow. Uninstall Flash, and the browser will be quicker.
Unfortunately, I'm with Steve Jobs on this one. Flash needs to die.
ShaiH said:
You're right that being 'laggy' needs to be compared, compared to my friend's IPad (with flash) - which behaves rather smooth,... My stock firmware was simply unuseable (flash), while Roto-JME is an improvement, it's nothing close to being smooth.
So yea, I have IPad as a reference - why would I expect my Tab performance to anything less?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input but I will note that you do not technically have Flash on your ipad. Whats available is some half-assed plugin that enables you to use some very basic flash functions. Having said that, and having used it, it is by NO means comparable to full fledged flash support.
Now, as to your comparison. I personally don't find the iPad that snappy and zippy when browsing. For the most part it is, but sometimes it wigs out just like most mobile browsers out there. While you are free to compare your tab to an iPad, I do not as I find although they are both tablet devices, we are talking about two completely different devices with different purposes. Sadly for now the Tab is lagging more on the app support, simply because its running on cellphone OS. Thats not to say that there arent tab apps already (like TouchDown Exchange which has a tablet mode) but there needs to be many many more. We'll see what the future brings
To those of you complaining about browser performance with Flash enabled - just change the plugin setting to on-demand. Then you'll have to tap a flash movie/application to load it - saves you loading up flash banner ads as well.
Hey everybody, I flashed roto jme upgrade from jk5 on my att usa tab. I can say that overall performance has definitely improved from jk5. Browser performance was the biggest improvement. Now, for issues I'm experiencing. First, is I'm getting a "camera failed" error when trying to start up my camera everytime so my camera feature is dead right now. Second, is an audio issue with speakerphone and Bluetooth only. Music and videos etc. Still work great. With speakerphone it seems the volume scale is offset. As I increase the volume it gets louder like normal till I reach the last 2 or 3 clicks of reaching max volume then it's like it resets back to the lowest volume. With Bluetooth the volume increases like normal except the volume starts off really soft and stays soft even though it's getting louder. So, at max volume it's still hard to hear out of the Bluetooth headset. Third, I notice that symbols and text have kind of a rougher edge around them unlike before. It almost seems like my video card on my computer was dying. Fourth, is my apps don't seem to update/refresh as set in their settings. Seems like they don't update at all or they take longer than the set time to update. Please beware that these are just my personal experiences testing the roto jme upgrade firmware and am not in anyway bashing the firmware. This post is just to let others know what my experience is with the firmware. I will say again overall performance is in my opinion better than jk5.
Sent from my AT&T Tab w/voice using XDA App
It seems that people have very different experience while using the same ROM.
I have not discovered yet any issues related to JME. Camera, browser, flash, audio, and everything else works just fine on US TM Tab. I did upgrade without formatting to Roto-JME and factory reset after that.
There is something that makes outcome so different.
Should note that I did not attempt any lag fixes and cpu tweaks. I don't run widgets and have no animation. I am on 802.11n wifi with cellular data turned off, GSM phone - on. I am interested in fast response and the Tab deliveres it.
I'm intrigued by these custom ROMS for the Galaxy S4, but I want to know what I'd be getting into if I used one.
What, if any, hardware features of the S4 would I be giving up? With the stock firmware, the phone can take temperature, humidity, and barometric readings. Are those sensors still enabled?
Are all the camera features in the stock ROM enabled, including panoramic camera?
Where do I find a list of bugs in the released ROM?
Robert3750 said:
I'm intrigued by these custom ROMS for the Galaxy S4, but I want to know what I'd be getting into if I used one.
What, if any, hardware features of the S4 would I be giving up? With the stock firmware, the phone can take temperature, humidity, and barometric readings. Are those sensors still enabled?
Are all the camera features in the stock ROM enabled, including panoramic camera?
Where do I find a list of bugs in the released ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sensors will always be installed since they're hardware feature but if software doesn't support it it won't work last time I tried it doesn't
Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
Robert3750 said:
I'm intrigued by these custom ROMS for the Galaxy S4, but I want to know what I'd be getting into if I used one.
What, if any, hardware features of the S4 would I be giving up? With the stock firmware, the phone can take temperature, humidity, and barometric readings. Are those sensors still enabled?
Are all the camera features in the stock ROM enabled, including panoramic camera?
Where do I find a list of bugs in the released ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bugs can be found listed in the rom threads.
Unfortunately bugs can differ from user to user. So it's more of a trial and error process. You'll have to find a rom that appeals you, flash it and test for yourself.
In terms of features, you will be giving up the air gestures, the smart stay crap (which never worked for me), and Samsung's camera app.
The CM camera app isn't that advanced. It does have some features, but not as many as the Samsung camera app. And yes, it does have a panorama option.
I've never actually used any of those environmental readings sensors, nor have I seen anybody else mention anything about them in rom threads or in any rom review I saw.
You give up some stuff, but you also gain some stuff. There certainly is a performance improvement over stock firmware. Ram consumption is also lower (I generally have around 1.2 GB free ram), meaning you could do more multitasking.
If you rely on those Samsung features, then stay on the stock rom and just root it.
For me, custom ROMs nearly always beat stock roms, hands-down, and this has held true from my old ZTE blade (Orange San Francisco), two Galaxy S2s, and my S4, probably down to the greater level of user-input that goes into them, rather than the design-by-committee process that OEMs use to try & impose their brand over the vanilla Android os.
I only moved to this S4 (i9505) within the past month or so, so the experience is still quite fresh in my mind...
I agree with much of the advice of the "try it and see" variety, but I also understand that for some of us, we only have the one phone, so when you're using it as your daily device, you don't always fancy going on a magical mystery tour of trying out multiple roms, if it's likely you're just going to go back to the rom you got rid of, and have a massive task of putting everything back the way it was, having wasted a day of experimenting...
1) I hated the bloat that came with the Sammy rom - sure, there's a tool (debloater) that can block certain apps from running, and if rooted, can remove them from the phone - along with a "safe-list" of apps that you can safely remove without breaking any features of the phone.
The bloat isn't just a problem for OCD-esque reasons, these apps take up space, they can run at inopportune times, update themselves using your data, eat up clock time and generally get in the way of having a device that only does what you want it to, when you want it.
Most custom roms tend to give you a (mainly) clean slate to work from, allowing you to pick & choose the functionality you want by installing apps manually - so (like me for example) if you only want to access gmail through your web browser (just like you would on a PC), and don't want a half decade's worth of emails syncing between your device memory & the web, you don't end up with multiple email clients on the handset all clamoring to be by synced 24hrs a day...
Battery life is a MAJOR factor here - I saw a big improvement after debloating the stock rom, and even better since going to CM12.1....
2) Cyanogen (like most custom roms) give more options regarding features that the stock roms bake-in.
For example, heads-up notifications are screwy in the Sammy roms - I'd get a notification of an SMS received in the notification bar. I'd drag-down, double-tap it, but then I'd have to manually un-lock the screen before the SMS app popped-up and displayed the message. Some people hate heads-up notifications full-stop.
Seemingly minor features like these, that after a while begin to really bug you are often controllable in custom roms like CM, or just plain old implemented better, after real-life user input and advice has been given.
3) User control; It's silly how much additional control you can gain from a well thought out custom rom, and the popular ones tend to be well thought out (as they garner a lot of user-input).
For example, in CM you have a additional control over root access in the device settings, fine-tune the interface and gives more fine control over many aspects of the device that if you're used to the Sammy rom you'd think can't actually be accessed...
As to what you'd give up - other users have pointed that out.
All I can say is I'm quite demanding and I've found nothing that I can't do if I need it - for me it has only been a positive.
Some people say the CM camera is less sophisticated than the Sammy one - I personally prefer the simplicity; There's an abundance of high-end camera apps for those times you want to take a studio quality photo, with detailed light readings, composition aids, etc... But mostly when you're taking a quick phone-cam shot, the ease of use is the main factor (and who doesn't tweak their photos at home with photoshop anyhow?)
So a simplecam as the default and the option to go high-end later is for me, the better way round....
I know some of this has strayed slightly off the specific questions you asked, but having made the same change you're thinking of in the past few weeks, I thought that giving some food for thought might be appreciated... Hope it helps...
I very much appreciate the replies. This is the kind of help that's so valuable. Just to clarify something, if an app makes use of hardware features on the S4, it should work as well with the custom ROM as the stock ROM? My motivation in asking all this is that Southern California Metrolink introduced an app to buy train tickets, but it doesn't work with Android 4.4.4. So I want to upgrade. Thanks again.
Unless the app has root restrictions, it should work.
Changing to custom roms you would only lose most Samsung features, mostly because the touchwiz stuff needs the touchwiz framework to function.
That ticket app is not an exclusive thing. It also uses NFC I guess, or a QR scanner. So, as long as NFC or the Camera works you should be fine.
If worse comes to worse, you can always flash back the stock firmware.