So, there's now a bunch of custom ROMs based on HC3.1 out there, and to be honest, they all look pretty tasty. Does anyone have a good understanding of the current crop? Could we get like a comparison grid?
I'd suggest the following categories for judging:
Media - Music, Media - Video, Web, Gaming, Options/Features, Gimmicks, Stability, Overall User Experience, A500 vs A501 specific, etc.
But if you have different criteria, i'd just like some help picking a rom.
Simon
It's not really something anyone else can do for you as the answer to the question "Which is the best ROM" is purely subjective.
Read all the threads, compare their various issues, then try them all out for yourself and settle on the one you like most.
I still am +1 for a consolidated index, and/or comparison.
Personally, I'm more inclined to pick a ROM that is as vanilla (as in, as Google Stock as possible, not Acer stock), but with tweaks/fixes to kernel etc. I haven't tried any of the custom ROMs yet, as I still think it's a relative new device, so I'm waiting for them all to mature.
Maybe the poll should be "What ROM flavour would you prefer?"
I once tried to get a list of abandoned ROM projects...
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-general-discussions/147664-q-list-abandoned-rom-projects.html
Sent from an unrooted DroidX using XDA app.
Hello everybody, I'm sageDieu and I am a very active user in the Samsung Mesmerize/Fascinate forums as well as the general Q&A, Apps and Games, Development etc threads here at xda.
I have been exploring options thinking about getting a tablet, and I have used a lot of them at Best Buy. I was just looking around and found that i had a bunch of rewards points on my credit card, just enough to get me the Acer A500. So the first thing i did was head over to xda to see what the development was looking like for this tablet, and from what i can tell it looks pretty active which is promising. The main thing I would want to do when i get a tablet is get it rooted, wiped and on a stock honeycomb rom with as much performance and as little proprietary software as possible.
My questions for you guys are:
1. Do you recommend getting the tab? It seems to be my best potential option, and the hardware specs look great.
2. What is the process of rooting, CWM, roms, etc. in a nutshell for this device? I am familiar with terminal, linux, adb, all that stuff for my phone and lots of other devices I've played with. I'm assuming for this just grab and run gingerbreak then adb CWM over? I've never owned a tab before.
3. After I get to that point (if I do, still not even sure about buying the thing) can you guys tell me what your favorite roms are? There seem to be a lot that have active stable development.... mostly 3.1 with different options but then there's the 3.2 xoom one and some other ones... it's a bit overwhelming coming from my phone where we have stock, a custom debloated rom and then CM7 and MIUI. Just some quick recommendations would be great for things like speed, battery life, performance, bloat, stability, etc..
Thank you so much to anybody that takes the time to help me out. If I do get this device I assure you I will be very active in the forums and do my best to keep it going.
sageDieu said:
1. Do you recommend getting the tab? It seems to be my best potential option, and the hardware specs look great.
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I don't have any experience with other tablets except seeing some being used. I have not used them myself. Thus I have a hard time giving anything concrete in the way of differences or opinions, but, well, I haven't had any issues with my Iconia and the hardware is just great; the battery lasts and lasts and lasts, the screen is pretty, the full-sized USB port is really daymn handy.. And I like the one thing Acer has made in their ROM: Dolby enhancements. It does make a difference
2. What is the process of rooting, CWM, roms, etc. in a nutshell for this device? I am familiar with terminal, linux, adb, all that stuff for my phone and lots of other devices I've played with. I'm assuming for this just grab and run gingerbreak then adb CWM over? I've never owned a tab before.
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1. Install Iconiaroot.apk and tap on "root", you're done.
2. Install Acer Recovery from Market, tap on Install, you're done.
And that's that, you've got CWM installed and the thing rooted. Not too hard
3. After I get to that point (if I do, still not even sure about buying the thing) can you guys tell me what your favorite roms are?
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I personally like the stock ROM the most, the others have this or that naggle..
i have been enjoying the minimal rom (albeit overclock would be nice). Going to be testing out lightspeed with thors kernel to see how well that one compares.
I looked at five different tabs; Samsung, xoom, HP webos tab, blackberry Playbook, and this one. The two downfals of the iconia are the screen and the processor. There are faster and better displays out there but the tablet had all theother features I wanted at a much cheaper price. A good competitor for this one was the Asus transformer, but I wanted better haptic feedback from using the keyboard.
1. I enjoy mine and would recommend it. That said, honestly you'd have to say exactly what you're looking to get out of the Tab so others can offer constructive recommendations.
2. You'll find rooting and installing CWM to easier and quicker just than just about any phone out there. Literally can do both inside of 2 minutes right on the Tab itself.
3. As far as roms go there are options. That said, since HC source code will probably never see the light of day the talented devs on here are pretty limited on what they can do. The good news is most stock roms are fairly bloat free in comparison to phone roms. I believe the Galaxy rom has the most customization you'll find. So.. check some rom threads on here and experiment. A few kernels are available too.
Hope that helps
By your numbers:
1. I think it's the best tablet out there for the money, and definitely in the running for best tablet period. There are faster, lighter tablets available, but there is nothing out there that completely matches the feature set of the A500. Depending on what you want from a tablet, you might end up like me with it being your "only" option.
2. Best way to describe the A500 rooting process: SCARY EASY. I can't believe how easy it was after what I had to go through to root my HTC Evo 4G phone. Everything on the A500 is like one-click. The IconiaRoot app roots it in one step, the Acer Recovery Installer installs ClockWork Mod in basically one click, and then you're able to flash away on whatever ROMs you want.
3. I'm no use here. I like the stock Honeycomb v3.1! You actually might, too. There's a lot less bloatware on tablets compared to phones, and even stock it's pretty smooth/fast. I definitely felt the need to hack up my HTC Evo phone, but my A500 is only rooted and tweaked a little.
Good luck with your decision!
Thanks for the feedback. In response to "what I want in a tablet," it would mainly be a media device, games, music, movies etc. and I might use it for development in the future.
Sadly, my Xbox broke and I have decided to use my points for a new one since it gets a lot more use than I think this would. I really appreciate the answers, and I will keep you guys in mind when I save up the cash to buy a tablet. Thanks
Sent from my MIUI SCH-i500
Fascinate bros!
sageDieu said:
Thanks for the feedback. In response to "what I want in a tablet," it would mainly be a media device, games, music, movies etc. and I might use it for development in the future.
Sadly, my Xbox broke and I have decided to use my points for a new one since it gets a lot more use than I think this would. I really appreciate the answers, and I will keep you guys in mind when I save up the cash to buy a tablet. Thanks
Sent from my MIUI SCH-i500
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lol nothing worth playing on Xbox until MW3 comes out in Nov. COD Black Ops blows chunks, MW2 was the last good one of the series. Wait until November for your Xbox, and get your Iconia now!! lol
kjy2010 said:
lol nothing worth playing on Xbox until MW3 comes out in Nov. COD Black Ops blows chunks, MW2 was the last good one of the series. Wait until November for your Xbox, and get your Iconia now!! lol
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Pfft, PS3 > Xbox anyways
WereCatf said:
Pfft, PS3 > Xbox anyways
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+1
On topic: Hello, I hope to be a new member of the Iconia Community shortly. I was going to make one of these topics, but thanks to the OP, I didn't have to =p.
I've read the reviews by those big name reviewers on the Iconia, Galaxy Tab, Thrive, Playbook, iPad (eww), Transformer, etc.. but they'll never compare to actual users of the product in the real world. With that being said I have one more question to add:
What are the specific issues/concerns that have come up with the Iconia? I've read there are sleep issues with the unit? I haven't had the chance to read through the changelogs of the various roms for the Iconia yet, but have they fixed any of the stock issues?
Thanks in advance and hope to hang around here for some time to come =)
Athrun88 said:
What are the specific issues/concerns that have come up with the Iconia? I've read there are sleep issues with the unit? I haven't had the chance to read through the changelogs of the various roms for the Iconia yet, but have they fixed any of the stock issues?
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Quite many people seem to have issues with WIFI not getting IP address, but apparently the fix is easy enough. I don't know if newer firmwares have fixed the issue.
Personally I have not had a single issue with the tablet at all so again I cannot comment much more than that.
i run stock rooted and have only 1 small issue.....occasionally I will install from the market and the apk will download but never move past "installing" i have to leave the market and come in again and redownload the apk etc.
Also if you are looking at purchasing, and have a cosco around do it there. 32gig version with case (a crappy one) and hdmi cable for $429 is very hard to beat. Also with the cosco you get 90 day return and 2 years warranty. (3 if you use amex to buy)
Aaron Camp said:
Also if you are looking at purchasing, and have a cosco around do it there. 32gig version with case (a crappy one) and hdmi cable for $429 is very hard to beat. Also with the cosco you get 90 day return and 2 years warranty. (3 if you use amex to buy)
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There are afew private sellers that are selling the unit. I really don't care about warranty because i'll be rooting, and with my past history with devices and electronics, i've never claimed warranty anyways. I will, however, look into that, there's a costco near my work! Looking at a seller with a 16GB model at $350 Canadian unopened box. Seems like a good deal.
I have left my NC as stock non-rooted for the past year and was wondering what the best newest (ICS? JB? GB?) ROM is that is stable enough for daily use without charging/wifi/video problems. I know personal preference is a big part of deciding that but I was just trying to get an idea of what popular options are these days. Just not sure whether CM9 or CM7 or another custom ROM is the best bet.
Primary usage would be Netflix, Nook app, pdf reader, various games and maybe a few productivity apps. Bluetooth isn't important but obviously wifi is.
Thanks for any feedback you can give me.
GorillaPimp said:
I have left my NC as stock non-rooted for the past year and was wondering what the best newest (ICS? JB? GB?) ROM is that is stable enough for daily use without charging/wifi/video problems. I know personal preference is a big part of deciding that but I was just trying to get an idea of what popular options are these days. Just not sure whether CM9 or CM7 or another custom ROM is the best bet.
Primary usage would be Netflix, Nook app, pdf reader, various games and maybe a few productivity apps. Bluetooth isn't important but obviously wifi is.
Thanks for any feedback you can give me.
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If you want Netflix, CM7 or one of the variants is your only option. Netflix does not work yet on ics or jb. I recommend just plain CM7.2 stable from the cyanogenmod site.
leapinlar said:
If you want Netflix, CM7 or one of the variants is your only option. Netflix does not work yet on ics or jb. I recommend just plain CM7.2 stable from the cyanogenmod site.
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Thanks leapinlar! I really appreciate the info.
leapinlar said:
If you want Netflix, CM7 or one of the variants is your only option. Netflix does not work yet on ics or jb. I recommend just plain CM7.2 stable from the cyanogenmod site.
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Ditto
Double down on the ditto. I've tried the CM7.x varients as well as the unofficial ICS builds and, for me, CM7.2 has been the fastest and most reliable.
Went with 7.2 and it's been working great. 2 years out and still up for many things.
I know these threads aren't popular and I understand if no one replies =p
I just purchased the N7 from a coworker and rooted it. My goals for a ROM was to find the most mature, stable CM10.1/AOKP ROM I could find for a DD and stick with it (I just had twins and don't have the happy flashy fun-time I used to). That seemed, to me at least, to be Stephen.k.spear's Official AOKP (PUB version) and as I was prepping to flash it I read he was taking a well-deserved hiatus.
So now I'm not sure whether to stick with his PUB AOKP, as by all accounts it seems to be a fantastic ROM, the non-PUB AOKP (since it's still being developed), or go with something like SmoothROM, or possibly ParanoidAndroid.
Again, I'm not a bells & whistles guy, nor am I looking for 'extreme' performance or battery savings. I just want a nice, clean AOSP look with CM10.1/AOKP feature-set, and as few bugs as possible.
Advice appreciated.
I've rooted and unlocked my N10 and loaded TWRP (or whatever it's called). So, I now have the ability to flash Roms (I've done it for ages on my Touchpad so the concept isn't new to me).
But is there a list of the different ROMs available and what each one brings to the table (over and above the standard one)?
regards
Alan
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2003731
Always check out the sticky threads of any forum you join, my old nan used to tell me. How right she was
Btw it lists all roms/kernels available, for the list of features you will have to visit the thread of the rom. Personally, I would advice you to flash Vanilla Rootbox or PACrom.
Sent from my GT-N7100 or the Nexus 10, heaven knows.
Those who help noobs go to heaven. True story.
Is there any particular reason why u wanna flash a new rom?
KasF said:
Is there any particular reason why u wanna flash a new rom?
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yes, I want to see what else my N10 can do. I've been use CM9 on my TouchPad and it seems nice. But I was looking to see what else was around
Alan
It all depends on what you want from a rom. Some offer tablet ui and some don't. Others offer otg support while others have yet to.
If you can list some necessities I'm sure many users can input which is most suitable.
I've personally switched from PA ROM/KTmanta to Kaos/Franco. R11.
Tablet ui is a must for me on a.... Tablet
Sent from my Nexus 10
johno86 said:
It all depends on what you want from a rom. Some offer tablet ui and some don't. Others offer otg support while others have yet to.
If you can list some necessities I'm sure many users can input which is most suitable.
I've personally switched from PA ROM/KTmanta to Kaos/Franco. R11.
Tablet ui is a must for me on a.... Tablet
Sent from my Nexus 10
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OK I need:
Tablet support
Smooth scrolling (check out Firefox in the standard ROM for how NOT to do it)
Bug-less wifi (standard ROM is not that good)
Anything else is just a bonus
Alan