Database Users

What is AOSP?

Hey, sorry for the N00b question. I'm a software developer (among other things), but am just now delving into the world of custom ROMs for my EVO 4g. I've been looking at what's available and see a few that say either AOSP or NOT AOSP.
This leads me to a few questions.
1. What is AOSP?
- Is it a separate code base (other than 3.70.651.1 #15) from which to start customizing the code to create a custom ROM?
2. What are the main differences that are generally present between the normal code base and AOSP based?
3. Can you go back to a ROM based on 3.70.651.1 (or another base) if you go AOSP?
4. If it is a custom code base, whas it created from scratch or based on something else?
Thanks for your time in answering this. If I'm way off base on what AOSP is, just let me know. I appreciate your replies!

Simple, it is android without any overlay from different carriers. It is just bone stock android.
Android Open Source Project.
Edited because I fail!

Disclaimer: I'm not taking anything away from any of the Devs here. I can't do any of the stuff they do with any of the ROMs, so please, don't take the following as such.
Most of the non AOSP roms here are themed versions of the stock rom with performance increasing tweaks and what not. Not saying there's anything wrong with that, but it is what it is.
AOSP roms like Cyanogenmod are built from the source code. They are usually more bleeding edge because when the source is released from Google, they get to working on the update. Cyanogenmod 7 is already on 2.3.3, whereas most sense roms are still on 2.2.1

AOSP is short for Android Open Source Project. It's the source code for Android.
HTC takes the AOSP code and then adds Sense and their other tweaks to it. Basically all ROMs whether they are from HTC, Samsung, or who ever, is based on AOSP. The thing is that some of the OEMs modify the code so much that things start to become incompatible. Plus if you go straight to AOSP right now, the source code is up to Android 2.3.3, no OEM released ROM is up to that version. So that creates even more incompatibilities.
Some custom ROMs use AOSP and implement the code to devices from the ground up. That's what Cyanogen Mod does. MIUI also does this (and adds some heavy modifications to the code as well) but that ROM isn't specifically built for the EVO but is instead ported from the Nexus One ROM.
To keep it simple:
- AOSP is Android at it's most basic form, it's straight from Google and is pretty much what the Nexus devices use as final builds.
- OEM ROMs are based on AOSP but are usually outdated and heavily modified.
- You can go back and forth if you want, but if you do, you should wipe your cache as their are incompatibilities.

Wow, that's great everyone! I completely understand now. I really appreciate all the help and replies!
Could I ask what everyone's favorite AOSP & non-AOSP ROM is? I know this has been asked before, but I'd like the opinions of those that replied to this post, if they don't mind.
I'm looking for "bleeding-edge" technology, wireless tethering, hulu, etc. all the bells and whistles essentially. I don't care so much about how "pretty" it looks, just functionality and cool-gadgety-stuff. Thanks again!!!

ShadowCyborg said:
Wow, that's great everyone! I completely understand now. I really appreciate all the help and replies!
Could I ask what everyone's favorite AOSP & non-AOSP ROM is? I know this has been asked before, but I'd like the opinions of those that replied to this post, if they don't mind.
I'm looking for "bleeding-edge" technology, wireless tethering, hulu, etc. all the bells and whistles essentially. I don't care so much about how "pretty" it looks, just functionality and cool-gadgety-stuff. Thanks again!!!
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i would definitely suggest you look at cyanogenmod. it is built straight from source but improved apon in many ways. you can think of cyanogenmod as a crowd sourced rom. meaning anyone can contribute and submit changes to it. it is governed and controlled by the core members of the cyanogenmod team (team douche) but open for anyone to modify. what this gets you is a rom as close to aosp but made better. things like the power bar widget in the notification menu, music controls on the lock screen, quiet hours (notifications are turned down or off as well as dimming leds during set hours so they do not wake if if you say get an email at 5am), etc etc. members of teamwin recently built 4g support from the ground up be themselves and it is now a part of cyanogenmod. besides adding in features they also do a great deal of optimizing creating one of the most streamlined, user friendly fastest roms available.
oh and one part of your question seems unanswered - the 3.70.x.x.x of sense based roms is just the numbering of the rom build from htc for sprint but will always be built off of an older version of android due to the amount of customization done to it.

It's soap spelled wrong.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

As far as AOSP go I like Cyanogen CM7 or MIUI but if I want a sense type rom I typically run Mikfroyo or Fresh.

Thank you all very much, once again! I have so far tried the following ROMs.
- King's Ultra Unleashed R2
- Cyanogen Mod 6.1.2
I'm running Cyanogen Mod right now and it's pretty cool, but the problem is I really like different features of each. I do like how many features are built into the Cyanogen Mod ROM though. I have to say, I LOVE the quiet time feature a LOT! I've wished Android had that for a while now. Oh, and the increased battery life and decreased charge time of both is AWESOME!!! My phone had gotten to the point where it wouldn't even charge in the car. It just kept the battery at the level it was at. Now it will only drop 7% battery over the entire night, unplugged!
I'm contemplating trying the EVO Non-Sense right now. I am just trying many of them to see which I like the best. Thanks for all the advise everyone!

Koni Elite II has some really cool features in it. try them all, it's a lot of fun

It's soap spelled wrong.
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i thought it was the name of an ancient greek writer?

ShadowCyborg said:
Thank you all very much, once again! I have so far tried the following ROMs.
- King's Ultra Unleashed R2
- Cyanogen Mod 6.1.2
I'm running Cyanogen Mod right now and it's pretty cool, but the problem is I really like different features of each. I do like how many features are built into the Cyanogen Mod ROM though. I have to say, I LOVE the quiet time feature a LOT! I've wished Android had that for a while now. Oh, and the increased battery life and decreased charge time of both is AWESOME!!! My phone had gotten to the point where it wouldn't even charge in the car. It just kept the battery at the level it was at. Now it will only drop 7% battery over the entire night, unplugged!
I'm contemplating trying the EVO Non-Sense right now. I am just trying many of them to see which I like the best. Thanks for all the advise everyone!
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you can also try cm7, which is gingerbread based. cm6.x.x is froyo based. its in the rc1 stage meaning it is almost finalized. the rc1 does not have 4g but the nightlies do.
rc1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=956187
nightlies
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=729802
the nightlies are also 2.3.3 which is the newest build. nightlies=bleeding edge. they, as the name implies, as released nightly and contain all the code submitted from that day. sometimes they are broken or even fail to build but such is the life of living on the edge!

Alanman, thanks! I was thinking about trying that one too and... I agree that this is a BLAST! I'm absolutely loving the custom features, software and abilities.

Digged up an old thread through search
I was wondering what AOSP meant as well, but thanks I now know and might try some of the suggested ROMs in here So far I had only tried a King ROM (Shooter) with Sense 3.0. I don't mind it, but currently I can't get Swype to behave for me so I was thinking about dropping it and moving onto another.

I need a solid rom for a friends phone

Can anyone recommend a solid rom? I installed a froyo rom about 10 months ago on a friends hero.. he has been getting lots of daily random reboots.. other than those he likes it. I'm looking for a solid rom.. don't care if it's froyo or gb.. just something that works well.. a rom that's been around for a while possibly. I've been installing roms on my Evo 4g and galaxy s 4g.. but don't have experience with hero roms..

probably cyanogenmod. If you want sense UI stock is probably the way to go, because its the most stable. Personally the most stable custom sense rom I've used was fresh hero 2.4. I think it was android 2.1. Now if you dont mind not having sense then I sugest Cyanogenmod it is currently at stable release of 7.0.3 android 2.3 Gingerbread. I have looked around and tried many roms but im slow about how to install things and have issues with most roms, so I always end up back at Cyanogenmod. Hope this helps

the truth is everyone is going to say something different,there are going to be issues on every rom some very minor and some big it all depends my only suggestion is to install a coouple different roms like aoscmod hero deck and cm7 and a stock sprint rom then make back ups of them so he can test them out and easily switch back to the one he likes best.

Bierce22 said:
the truth is everyone is going to say something different,there are going to be issues on every rom some very minor and some big it all depends my only suggestion is to install a coouple different roms like aoscmod hero deck and cm7 and a stock sprint rom then make back ups of them so he can test them out and easily switch back to the one he likes best.
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He's absolutely right about preference and different ppl but,
In the little time I've had with my hero... I've tried all of the roms available, and since OMFG has fixed the wifi problem I'm using their latest ... Smooth fast and no fc for me
Sent from my Hero using XDA Premium App

Bierce22 said:
the truth is everyone is going to say something different,there are going to be issues on every rom some very minor and some big it all depends my only suggestion is to install a coouple different roms like aoscmod hero deck and cm7 and a stock sprint rom then make back ups of them so he can test them out and easily switch back to the one he likes best.
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@OP.....Quoted above is the best answer to this question. Bierce22 nailed it. A rom/setup that runs perfect for me is in no way relevant to how it's going to work on your friends phone. There are just too many variables between phones and between people's preferences & needs.

Hmm
I would recommend Cynogenmod 7 stable release.
Everything works, No reboots (In my experience) Super stable
and most important of all very smooth.
Just use Launcher pro (free version from market) or
the original launcher (see below for link) which comes with
GB because ADW is known for giving people force close problems.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=933517

thanks for the heads up guys.. I ended up putting the cm7/gb rom on it.. and so far so good. Runs pretty darn good.

Your random daily reboots could be from having your CPU speed set too high. Currently I'm building CM7 from source, but aosp is my other preference for stability, performance, etc. But as others above me said, each to their own. Find one that suits your friend best.
Sent from my Hero that never dies! ;D

[Q] best rom

in this thread i want to read your views and suggestions about the best rom wich is for our beloved atrix.
waiting...?

I've just been using the stock AT&T Gingerbread Rom with LauncherPro installed. It makes navigating the homescreens and app drawer a much better (and smoother) experience. I'd like to try CM7 sometime but won't bother until its out of beta and Webtop is supported.
To answer your question, I've heard both Alien and Aura are good, but I haven't tried them personally.

It's better that using roms originated from stock if you are not friendly with custom roms.
CM7 is light & fast but it makes problem sometimes.

demolatorul said:
in this thread i want to read your views and suggestions about the best rom wich is for our beloved atrix.
waiting...?
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try them all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! see what one is best for you

Best Gingerbread ROMs: Darkside and Aura (not updated as much as Darkside)
Don't use Alien anymore.
RedPill is my favorite ROM though. If you don't need webtop then use RedPill. It's much better than CM7. Smoother, ICS transitions, certain tweaks that just make it plain better.

kshiuan said:
Best Gingerbread ROMs: Darkside and Aura (not updated as much as Darkside)
Don't use Alien anymore.
RedPill is my favorite ROM though. If you don't need webtop then use RedPill. It's much better than CM7. Smoother, ICS transitions, certain tweaks that just make it plain better.
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Not sure why you'd tell people not to use Alien...its one of the best ROMS available for our device. Is it older than a lot of the newer roms? Yes. But I've tried every rom available for this device, and keep going back to Alien. Why? Cause its still fast, does exactly what I need it to do, and the most important factor? Its STABLE. It just plain works. Until ICS or MIUI are ported over this will remain one or the best roms out there.
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

Not to hijack this thread, but I am also looking for a better-than-stock ROM that still supports webtop and the other docking modes...The OP didn't say whether or not he wanted/needed that.
I've been looking through the descriptions of the various ROMs, and nothing has grabbed my attenion, except maybe CherryPi.

i am using an international Atrix and tried all of them (except ninja) and i have to say that my favourite is Homebase with honeyatrix theme. Its the fastest rom on my phone propably faster than cm7 and supports both fingerprint scanner and webtop.

it was a simle question just to see your opinions and to find out wich is the most popular rom for the atrix

Some one opened a thread like this before and it was closed down by Ken saying XDA doesn't allow "what's best" threads I would check the rules carefully and if you want to compare ROM just read the OP of each ROM and do the comparing yourself. Im Not trying to be rude or mean just trying to look out for our community. And im sure the way I put it was alot nicer than some of the people on here would of(The stuff I read on this forum wow...)
CM7 Newest Weekly faux123 1.45ghz, thanks AtriXDA Developers!!

^^Agreed^^ What is best for one is not best for all, threads like this have been closed in the past. If you want opinions on ROMS try maybe reading their threads.

WiredPirate said:
^^Agreed^^ What is best for one is not best for all, threads like this have been closed in the past. If you want opinions on ROMS try maybe reading their threads.
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+ 1 every forum I've been in "best rom" threads are not allowed!
Sent from my MB860 using xda premium

cjrhoades said:
I've just been using the stock AT&T Gingerbread Rom with LauncherPro installed. It makes navigating the homescreens and app drawer a much better (and smoother) experience. I'd like to try CM7 sometime but won't bother until its out of beta and Webtop is supported.
To answer your question, I've heard both Alien and Aura are good, but I haven't tried them personally.
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CM7 has been out of beta for quite some time now....
As for the OPs original question... the 'best' ROM is whatever you like the most... everyone has their own favorites. No single ROM can be labelled as the 'best'. They all have their own pros and cons, your best bet is to just unlock your bootloader, root, and experiment for yourself.

kshiuan said:
Best Gingerbread ROMs: Darkside and Aura (not updated as much as Darkside)
Don't use Alien anymore.
RedPill is my favorite ROM though. If you don't need webtop then use RedPill. It's much better than CM7. Smoother, ICS transitions, certain tweaks that just make it plain better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just fyi, I know you're new around here, but Darkside IS Aura rom. If development on Aura has slowed so has Darkside. The only difference is theme updates. Please check the changelogs before guessing in the future.

NetTheter said:
just fyi, I know you're new around here, but Darkside IS Aura rom. If development on Aura has slowed so has Darkside. The only difference is theme updates. Please check the changelogs before guessing in the future.
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3rd post, WINNING.

WiredPirate said:
3rd post, WINNING.
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unless you disagree prove me wrong. changelogs are posted for a reason. CM7 is a completely different rom, so are ASOP roms, but ALIEN, AURA, DARKSIDE, are all form the motoblur series, with the difference in DARKSIDE, starting directly off of AURA's shoulders.
v2.1
Fixed: Account FCs
Fixed: Talk on 3G (I think)
Updated: Aura 1.2.1.3 Scripts
Updated: hosts (Ad-Blocking)
Updated: Gmail, Market, SuperUser
Added/Restored: DLNA, Blur Account Authenticators, Task Manager, Files, BlurSetup, Music 4.0.1, Videos, News & Weather
Themed: BlurCamera, Settings
Updated: Camera thumbnail now calls 3D Gallery (Thanks to bullghost)
Removed: HDMI from Settings until a fix is found
Tweaked: SystemUI, LatinIME, Others
v2.0
EXT4 Formatting
Re-based on Aura 1.2.1.1 By Diviance.
App Install Location Option Added
Theme Tweaks
Many Useless Apps Removed
Updated to Faux123 v2.0 Kernel (1.3Ghz)
Other Things I Forgot
*****TRIMMED
edit: compare AURA's full feature list to DARKSIDE's. CM7 on the other hand is actually a completely separate rom.

NetTheter said:
unless you disagree prove me wrong.
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^^thats^^ all I read out of your post. I have no desire to start splitting hairs over ROMs. I dont think its a stretch to say for that NetTheter's third post he is on point. Just saying.

WiredPirate said:
^^thats^^ all I read out of your post. I have no desire to start splitting hairs over ROMs. I dont think its a stretch to say for that NetTheter's third post he is on point. Just saying.
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haha thanks, I just wanted to remove FUD that's thrown around in the forums here. It seems our general audience here requires the color red on a theme to start calling the entire rom fantastic and pushing other roms below.

I am not here for the pissing match.
ALL Android Roms are based on AOSP.
AOSP is the source that all Android Roms are built from.
CM7 is based on AOSP.
CM7 = AOSP + CM7 parts and tweaks minus the manufacturer and carrier bloat.
Motorolas 4.591 blur roms are also based on AOSP
Alien\Darkside\etc = alot of work
All of the Blur Roms are built on Moto ATT 4.5.91 with blur.
These dev's have tweaked 4.5.91 removing blur and adding aosp apk's and framework hacks to deblur the blur roms. also alot of other tweaks.
All of the BLUR/AOSP/CM7 Rom devs in the Atrix Dev Threads deserve a lot of big thanks on their threads. They have listened to all of the requests and demands and built just want you wanted. I do not know how many hours I have spent in logcat
Please read each of the Rom features and Donate to the Atrix Rom Dev's that provided "the rom you like the most" ..... please buy them a few beers.

joe ferreira said:
I am not here for the pissing match.
ALL Android Roms are based on AOSP.
AOSP is the source that all Android Roms are built from.
CM7 is based on AOSP.
CM7 = AOSP + CM7 parts and tweaks minus the manufacturer and carrier bloat.
Motorolas 4.591 blur roms are also based on AOSP
Alien\Darkside\etc = alot of work
All of the Blur Roms are built on Moto ATT 4.5.91 with blur.
These dev's have tweaked 4.5.91 removing blur and adding aosp apk's and framework hacks to deblur the blur roms. also alot of other tweaks.
All of the BLUR/AOSP/CM7 Rom devs in the Atrix Dev Threads deserve a lot of big thanks on their threads. They have listened to all of the requests and demands and built just want you wanted. I do not know how many hours I have spent in logcat
Please read each of the Rom features and Donate to the Atrix Rom Dev's that provided "the rom you like the most" ..... please buy them a few beers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try not to take things so literaly. You'll get further in life. AOSP as in pure.
OFC ALL ROMS ARE BASED ON AOSP. however blurred/sensed/wized roms are the vanilla rom with malware, garbage running on top. Bull**** that you can live out and honestly your phone performance just suffers from the "extra's".
However other than some minor tweaks in AURA/ALIEN they are AOSP + BLUR + MODS.
Oh and DARKSIDE is AKA AURA + RED THEME, plus anything else he can scrape from the forums. As I read in other threads, he's not a developer but a "blender". Dev's are one that bring innovation to the scene and not simply copying and pasting mods all into one clay ball.

Hero users, what ROM are you on?

Please, no discussion on what's better..

last visited roms ...
in alphabetical order!

and the purpose is?

ajoi57 said:
and the purpose is?
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I'm just curious, aren't you?.. is a poll..

I think it's interesting, waiting for more people to vote

Currently on Speedmachine v4 because I need a little stronger battery compared to GB roms, so voted for other. Otherwise it would be DeckedX.

The main problem here is that you can't change your vote, so when I flash a new rom i can't update :/

Habarug said:
The main problem here is that you can't change your vote, so when I flash a new rom i can't update :/
Click to expand...
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Anyway, it seems that this survey failed as long as I could not provide those "other" ROMs .. sorry

Very interesting thread.
I've currently hoped from Ligux 2.3.7 to heroine 2.1 sense.. The pure speed of this Rom is phenominal, I mean just when pulling down the status bar for example you really feel the smoothness.. and its actually in real time, so doesn't come down 5 seconds later. But yeah I've figured that I don't need android 2.3 or 2.2, all the upgrades are really unecessary for me personally. All I need is calls, text and whatsapp. If I needed games or web truthfully this phone would have been long gone by now.

I use the official CyanogenMod 6.1 release, with Flykernel 13 @264-576. Stable, battery life of 2-4 days, decent speed, vanilla Froyo.
Eclair wasn't really an option, I think it's quite behind the newer versions, I hate Sense and Gingerbread never run smoothly enough on Hero, so vanilla Froyo was the best compromise for me.
Why didn't I go with one of the local ROMs? Not to offend anyone, but most of the CM6 ROMs here are butchered, full of ugly themes and unnecessary changes. Show me one that runs better than my configuration and I'll be happy to change to it.

I'm using CyanogenMod 7 but i think i'll revert to some 2.2 rom like FroydVillain ot CM6, not sure yet

why don't have Elelinux-7.1-Hero-v3.6 Android 2.3.7 it is one of the best roms

Decked x ligux
Sent from my Hero using xda premium

I think if you looking at performance and stable Elelinux-7.1-Hero-v3.6 and cyanogenmod are the best choice for Htc Hero

Elelinux, last one (7.1 v3.6), not the light or the Custom version, just the standar one with the default kernel

thoughts on ics

so im running decks ics pb21 with sparksco's kernel and its the best so far i just have a thought what if s0omeone took the stock ics for the evo design striped out sense and merged it with parts from our current cm9 or miui roms sorry i am not a dev have no idea if it would work at all just a thought sorry if im wrong or if this is crazy its just a thought

shrekdaklown said:
so im running decks ics pb21 with sparksco's kernel and its the best so far i just have a thought what if s0omeone took the stock ics for the evo design striped out sense and merged it with parts from our current cm9 or miui roms sorry i am not a dev have no idea if it would work at all just a thought sorry if im wrong or if this is crazy its just a thought
Click to expand...
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I don't know much, but it's a lot harder than just mashing stuff together.. Especially with ICS from what I have read. I'm sure if it was that easy it would have been done by now.
Sent from my ICS EVO Shift

One thing you will learn about Sense and AOSP is that they are completely independent of each other, and you can't take one of them and change it to other. The technical details as to why are along the lines of with a Sense ROM, all that Sense stuff and functionality is built into its frameworks and can't just be "removed". Similarly, it can't just be added to an AOSP ROM. It's an unfortunate truth