Database Users

My thoughts on the Cyanogen Mod Rom VS Virtuous Rom

Cyanogen mod Rom:
Pro:
-fast in terms of browsing through the menus and such (IE not lagging AT ALL when I scroll down hundreds of .apk files I have on my SD card)
-barebone ROM ready for customization (void of many apps the stock ROM and Virtuous ROM comes with)
Cons:
-lack of installed programs (had to install Android Market separately for goodness sakes)
-lack of flashiness (not as sexy as Sense Rom)
-much slower bootup time
Virtuous
Pro:
-sexier interface (HTC Sense)
-faster shutdown and bootup time (3 seconds and 2 seconds respectively)
-a lot more apps preinstalled
Cons:
-a bit sluggish when browsing through apps and such (IE trying to scroll through 100+ apps on your SD card)
There you have it folks. The completely subjective guide to these two ROMS.
This should be a good starter for Android noobs like I was two weeks ago when I first got the phone.
These two ROMS have little tweaks and mods that the stock ROM does not have that honestly go over my head but is suppose to give performance enhancements and streamline various processes.
Reason people use CM is because it is like the Google Chrome of internet browers; it is lightning fast.
Reason people use Virtuous is because it is more user friendly. You don't have to spend so much time researching where to download GAPPS and flash it with ROM manager like you would if you use CM.
I personally used the Virtuous ROM when I first started out, and I just moved to the CM ROM today once I got the hang of things.
Stock CM homescreen was kind of dull and unappealing so I downloaded Launcher Pro and downloaded customized docks for it, and now it looks pretty damn sexy.
That's just my two cents on these things.

I have CM RC3 w/ launcher pro. I find that at times when going back to my homescreen the widgets lag about a second or two behind. When I used sence on the device it would lag a lot. I would pull down the status bar and I had to wait for it to pull down, that's why I made the jump to CM. I really enjoy CM and have cut back on the widgets to prevent a lag.
Edit: CM has a separate zip with all the Google apps like market so OP I don't see why that would be a con. CM builds also have trackpad wake built in.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Great starting point on a comparison guide.
However, how is the CM Rom "Barebone"..? It has many features over stock and destroys any other build I have ever seen on any phone to date. The lack of Google apps was from an order by Google to not include any Google apps in roms. That is why there is the Gapps.zip located where the download is for the CM Roms.
I personally hate sense user interface since I like to have a single blank screen besides a clock widget and a pacman wallpaper. No app drawer Icon since i use flick up to open the drawer.

That reminds me.
I forgot to mention that my G2 is overclocked to about 1.2 ghz and I have 1 calendar widget, 1 SetCPU widget, and 3 app shortcuts. That's it.
Overclocking works wonders, for those of you who wonder if overclocking has appreciable differences or not.
danielefeldt said:
Great starting point on a comparison guide.
However, how is the CM Rom "Barebone"..? It has many features over stock and destroys any other build I have ever seen on any phone to date. The lack of Google apps was from an order by Google to not include any Google apps in roms. That is why there is the Gapps.zip located where the download is for the CM Roms.
I personally hate sense user interface since I like to have a single blank screen besides a clock widget and a pacman wallpaper. No app drawer Icon since i use flick up to open the drawer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suppose everyone has their own taste. Some people like to load their screens full of random ass widgets. Some people like it simple and have a clean homescreen. Others compromise between the two (like me)
And your point is duly noted.

ddgarcia05 said:
I have CM RC3 w/ launcher pro. I find that at times when going back to my homescreen the widgets lag about a second or two behind. When I used sence on the device it would lag a lot. I would pull down the status bar and I had to wait for it to pull down, that's why I made the jump to CM. I really enjoy CM and have cut back on the widgets to prevent a lag.
Edit: CM has a separate zip with all the Google apps like market so OP I don't see why that would be a con. CM builds also have trackpad wake built in.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is a setting you have to enable under Cyanogenmod settings...

danielefeldt said:
Yes it is a setting you have to enable under Cyanogenmod settings...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
duly noted.

Also Sense UI takes up quite a bit more memory and it shows in benchmarks and in high end applications.
CM is stripped down so you can add items you want to add to it such as transitions and other UI tweaks with out having all the bloat of Sense UI.
Sense UI is ok and all but soon as you try to adjust your pixel density it will look like ass =/

It's all personal prefence. I like the Sense ui, but it really does take up a lot of memory. Using the Advanced Task Manager with Sense I can see when I free up memory, I'll have about 100mb left, meanwhile with the stock rom, clearing out apps, will give me about 190-200mb.
Not that it matters, because Android has great Ram management but still for the self conscience ones it bothers them.

i like virtuous because its nice and fast enough for me

Nice little basic write up.
My first ROM to ever flash was the CM V6.1.0-RC4, and I found the GAPPS, after much researching.
I kinda like that way I have stuff set up after 3 days of permroot, and flashing this ROM, so I don't know if I need to test the waters and see about the Virtuous.
I've never had the delay on wake-ups, and the start up time beats the hell out of stock.
I love waking my phone up from the track pad, that was always weird to me having to hit the power key twice to unlock on stock.
BillY

Both roms are VERY good roms. I personally switch back and forth here and there for the fun of it. But my personal favorite would have to be CM. Virtous isnt too far behind it though.

Sense or no sense thats the difference. The only difference imo.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

i go with virtuos because
1.FM radio
2.friends streams
3.news streams
4.full size stock
5. looks good
6.heard CM rom eat battery like crazy

G1_enthusiast said:
i go with virtuos because
1.FM radio
6.heard CM rom eat battery like crazy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd just like to point out that CM has implemented an FM Radio app in the later builds, and battery life could not be better (18 hours under normal use for me).

This
G1_enthusiast said:
i go with virtuos because
1.FM radio
2.friends streams
3.news streams
4.full size stock
5. looks good
6.heard CM rom eat battery like crazy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plus
Virtuous pros:
->Updating is a breeze.. I love the patches, unlike CM that you need to download huge file plus google apps and wipe every time update is around.
->I think there is more camera/video function on the virtuous.
->I love the hidden top taskbar.. multitasking is made easy.
->Built in Titanium back up
->Built in QuickOffice
->Did I say.. DLNA?
...---- You can output your pictures, videos and music to your TV.. how cool is that.
->When you hold and press power button, it gives you so many power related choices.
->Built in, SMS, MMS widget
->Register to HTC sense and when your phone is stolen, you can locate it.
->Much better car panel.
->I love the wheel like GUI when you adjust time/alarm... it is so much easier.
->'Clock' , has many functions.. Timer/Stop watch/world Clock....
->The clock + weather widget.. your screen rains/clouds/etc depending on the weather.
->Flip the phone while ringing and it will silent it.. very good function during meetings.
->I think it rings louder when it is inside your pocket.
->It has it's own navigation app.. It downloaded something on my first use... I think that's the local map loaded in your phone. You could probably still use navigation without data connection.
->FM radio is already stated above.
Virtuous cons:
->no built in swype yet
CM pros:
->unlike virtuous, you can put to phone to 'silent' so easily
->And, I have used CM for a long time.. could be that I am just used to it.

none of the ROMS have built in swype.

convolution said:
none of the ROMS have built in swype.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might be wrong but i think pauls rom does have swype also the vinilla villian or somthing like that. Anyway you can add swype to any of them pretty easy.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Both great ROMS
I think that they are both great ROMs. I keep going from one to the other as soon as a new revision comes out. I do think that Virtuous could use the silent option in the power options, a percentage indicator when charging, and the auto rotate when in the home screen. Other than that, both ROMs ROCK!

ositogriz said:
I think that they are both great ROMs. I keep going from one to the other as soon as a new revision comes out. I do think that Virtuous could use the silent option in the power options, a percentage indicator when charging, and the auto rotate when in the home screen. Other than that, both ROMs ROCK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I generally use Battery Watcher for power percentage (shows it even when charging). Virtuous does have a silent option in the power options thing and also rotates now.
I use a sense based virtuous rom with launcher pro since I like the HTC apps (not so much the widgets). Uploading to facebook via gallery could not be easier and better managed. Also, the HTC camera app is really good! HTC sms app lags a little when I have over 400 messages to load and the contacts app lacks a filter.
HTC apps are the only thing holding me back from going CM
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I think they are both excellent roms however I don't care for all the dev added stuff. Its like t mobile only with the developers marks all over the place. Personally I use Enomther's rom and will always recommend him over any other. Stable, added optional goodies and lightning fast everything anyone could want. As far as sense roms go I would use EvilD'S mt4g rom as its amazing!

I refuse to use MIUI

looks too much like iOS, any1 else feel the same way?

it does and i said the same thing but iv been running it for a month now, switching off to new sense roms but within a hour im back it works way to good. All the sense roms out battery life sucks, it lags, and even after switching to a new kernel seems something breaks like wifi.

Personally I like savzen I agree that sense eats up battery life but I enjoy the Widgets but I can do without
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

erawtik said:
it does and i said the same thing but iv been running it for a month now, switching off to new sense roms but within a hour im back it works way to good. All the sense roms out battery life sucks, it lags, and even after switching to a new kernel seems something breaks like wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
love sense, but ran it for so long it got boring, went to MIUI then found out it had no app drawer like iOS, and i didnt like that experience lol, now im running an AOSP rom

Really can't stand Sense anything. I tried the MIUI for about 10 minutes. Definitely not for me. CM7 does everything I need it to.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

MIUI is ios if ios was designed really, really well. It may "simply" look the same, but it isn't remotely close. I highly recommend you try it before you bash it for not having an app drawer.

alaman68 said:
MIUI is ios if ios was designed really, really well. It may "simply" look the same, but it isn't remotely close. I highly recommend you try it before you bash it for not having an app drawer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did try it, for almost a day, but the feel was too much like iOS, i get what ur saying, but it really doesnt feel like i have an android on my hands if u kno what i mean

I'm using the MIUI Tim and I love it I guess my only issue is that I'm not experiencing that long battery life everyone is speaking of am I doing something wrong... help lol I have the cyotogen 7 kernel if that helps
sttonydamunsta luv my evo4g

I wasn't thrilled with the lack of the app drawer but that's easily fixed by loading another launcher. When I was using MIUI it was Launcher Pro.

MIUI looks like iOS after a fresh flash, but it doesn't have to. That's what I love most about it, I can theme every aspect of it. I use Alt Drawer, so I have an app drawer.
Plus it's smooth, has a lot of neat apps, and is different than any other rom I've seen. I switched to it because I was bored with CM7 and didn't like Sense. That was in April and I haven't looked back.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!

tempe38 said:
I wasn't thrilled with the lack of the app drawer but that's easily fixed by loading another launcher. When I was using MIUI it was Launcher Pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm never thought about doing that, thx for the idea hehe
plainjane said:
MIUI looks like iOS after a fresh flash, but it doesn't have to. That's what I love most about it, I can theme every aspect of it. I use Alt Drawer, so I have an app drawer.
Plus it's smooth, has a lot of neat apps, and is different than any other rom I've seen. I switched to it because I was bored with CM7 and didn't like Sense. That was in April and I haven't looked back.
Sent from my Evo + MIUI using Tapatalk!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont get me wrong, the Rom looked super neat, and smooth, except for the keyboard, couldnt keep up with my typing but thats easily fixed
and alt drawer? never heard of it, might give it a try see how i like it

Or just throw all your apps into a folder and put it on the dock.
~ I'm a fungi

a senile fungus said:
Or just throw all your apps into a folder and put it on the dock.
~ I'm a fungi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i tried that, but the more apps i put in, the laggier it got for some reason, and it was really cramped, kind of annoying to try to find an app lol

I am on the dislike MIUI bandwagon too. I'm not going to bash it as I agree it has some sick features. The killer for me was the app drawer and 4g. I think if I gave it more than a day I could customize it to my liking but I just like Sense and all the Sense features.
I thought about maybe a custom launcher but then I thought "why change from a Sense rom that is native to my HTC phone that guarantees GPS ect to work by default and install one that isn't just to put a launcher over it and defeat the purpose"
I got bored with Sense launcher and Rosie so I currently have ADW ex installed and still have flawless gps, the dialer I like, everything synced how I like, email app I like apps where I want ect... right from the start.
I could do that with MIUI or CM but then I have to install DialerOne, GoSMS and a few other things to get what I like. I can't stand any of the AOSP dialer and sms layouts.
If I didn't live in such a 4g rich area I would probably give MIUI the turn it deserves but that is a killer before I start. It's also what's really irking me about the new Sense 3.5 Roms. Runny~Bliss(i think) hybrid looks gorgeous to me..... but I'll wait it out.

Miui isn't a bad rom at all. At first I refuse to use it because it did remind me of my old iPhone. But ended up trying it and loving it.
I get better battery life with miui compared to sense. Plus there is alot of built in apps and features to miui that is bad ass. And who can forget all the sweet customizing you can do to it. For example just did this setup below a few minutes ago...
One somewhat downside for me is the no 4G but then again that only effects me when I go visit my parents up state. That's when I backup Miui and switch to a sense Rom problem solved haha.
Sent From my Verizon powered Evo 4G!

MIUI is AMAZING. I love it. And the theming? NO ROM beats it! Its fantastic the way you can make your phone look. The only reason why I won run it, is because of the laggyness of the keyboard.

Here is my current setup of MIUI, and it damn sure doesn't look like iOS to me...
BTW, my GPS snaps perfectly, syncing all 8 SATS in about a millisecond. I really don't get why people make comments without knowing how to do something.

Maybe it does look a bit like iOS. But I don't care, it's still the smoothest and best ROM I've flashed on my Evo. (and particularly this week's build is quite stable so far).

HipKat said:
BTW, my GPS snaps perfectly, syncing all 8 SATS in about a millisecond. I really don't get why people make comments without knowing how to do something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure if that was directed to my gps comment but either way...... It's a know fact that aosp based roms are more subject to gps issue and have had numerous "fixes" posted to resolve.
It's not a matter of what I KNOW how to do it what i WANT to deal with. I never said aosp or miui were bad by any means. Just not my cup.
Posted a long time ago in the future.

I used to think the same. Now, I have customized Miui to my liking by creating my own app drawer and installing a new theme via the built in theme manager. It is very fast, very advanced, highly customizable and finally pulled me away from Sense (though I do have two Sense Roms in my Boot Manager slots).
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

DhD Paint and Speed Problem

Hi everyone.... I've been using dhd for almost 6 months and notes that it got slow with time... I mean it's transitions and animations and scrolling everything got dead slow... Don't know if it's because of gingerbread or anything else... Plus its paint is also fading around the corners...
Any suggestions for improving the speed thingy... I'm on stock but planning to flash a custom rom very soon... Any recommendations... Thanks....
Sent from my Desire HD

No idea about what is happening to your paint but for the speed of your phone It happens, sometimes when you have too many apps running in the background. I think.if u get a custom Rom the.best 1 that I recommend is Rcmix3d 3.5 works pretty good for me.
Sent from my HTC Desire HD using xda premium

Go for the MIUI.. if you go en(dot)miui(dot)com (I'm not spamming lol.. but my first post actually contains a link >.<… you can pick your rom there... I ain't going back to sense... check out cyanogenmod

matoxic said:
Go for the MIUI.. if you go en(dot)miui(dot)com (I'm not spamming lol.. but my first post actually contains a link >.<… you can pick your rom there... I ain't going back to sense... check out cyanogenmod
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sense is fine but if you compare it to Cyanogen Mod or MIUI HTC Sense would be slow it depends on what you want other people will always recommend their daily Rom hell i would recommend you RCMix Runny 1.5 but thats my opinion.
Flash CM,MIUI and Sense rom then pick the one you prefer.
Happy Flashing

Stock HTC Sense is just really slow. Scrolling a 4x4 page full of icons on stock 2.1 sense is slower than scrolling a page of 4x4 icons on pretty much any custom rom.
CM7 and Miui (replace miui launcher with LP/ADW/Go) are fast and stable roms. Sense roms look nice, especially since sense 3(.5) has 3d widgets.

314 said:
Stock HTC Sense is just really slow. Scrolling a 4x4 page full of icons on stock 2.1 sense is slower than scrolling a page of 4x4 icons on pretty much any custom rom.
CM7 and Miui (replace miui launcher with LP/ADW/Go) are fast and stable roms. Sense roms look nice, especially since sense 3(.5) has 3d widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My MIUI, is rock solid I love it.. 1.4ghz, UV-50.. and after tweaking a little more its blazing fast.. I receive hardly any slow down whatsoever the built in antispam get rid of those annoying loan texts I managed to receive.. it has a lot of options that are useful to me (maybe not for others).
The above is my opinion, and like the above said, I would also recommend installing all 3 and decide on that. The one thing I would add about sense , its too bloated lol, even after uninstalling alot..

314 said:
CM7 and Miui (replace miui launcher with LP/ADW/Go) are fast and stable roms. Sense roms look nice, especially since sense 3(.5) has 3d widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why change the launcher in miui...????
Sent from my Desire HD

salarkhel said:
Why change the launcher in miui...????
Sent from my Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it doesn't get mistaken for an iphone? My recommendation would be either Stock Cyanogen or my current favourite Blackice.

salarkhel said:
Why change the launcher in miui...????
Sent from my Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the Miui launcher seems to be somewhat laggy [Especially with a LWP]. Compared to ADW/GO/LP, it doesn't have any extra features or customisation - or even an app drawer.
The only thing you lose when switching to a different launcher (and uninstalling the miui default launcher) are miui widgets (folders, etc), however there is still the Music widget and the Miui icons. Pretty much all launchers except MIUI have app drawers, and go launcher allows as much homescreens as miui (and is much more customisable). Most launchers also have better Transition effects than miui as well (Go has Random transitions) and have continuous scrolling.
I don't really see the point in folders anyways- Opening one takes abut as much time as sliding to a different screen, or opening the app drawer...

May be in should go for cm7... And chroming out my fone for that paint problem....
As for miui if it looks like iOS then am out of this league.... I hate iOS...
Sent from my Desire HD

314 said:
the Miui launcher seems to be somewhat laggy [Especially with a LWP]. Compared to ADW/GO/LP, it doesn't have any extra features or customisation - or even an app drawer.
The only thing you lose when switching to a different launcher (and uninstalling the miui default launcher) are miui widgets (folders, etc), however there is still the Music widget and the Miui icons. Pretty much all launchers except MIUI have app drawers, and go launcher allows as much homescreens as miui (and is much more customisable). Most launchers also have better Transition effects than miui as well (Go has Random transitions) and have continuous scrolling.
I don't really see the point in folders anyways- Opening one takes abut as much time as sliding to a different screen, or opening the app drawer...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a speed fix for that.. Go into launcher setting, and "enable" hi Res gfx.. then go back to your launcher and flick a few screens.. then go back to launcher settings and "disable" the option.. and like magic aall form of lag in the launcher is removed! I didn't believe it would happen when o was told, but its 100% working for my.. and like I said in my earlier post.. anyone who says MIUI is slow, I'd laugh
---------- Post added at 02:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:19 PM ----------
salarkhel said:
May be in should go for cm7... And chroming out my fone for that paint problem....
As for miui if it looks like iOS then am out of this league.... I hate iOS...
Sent from my Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does look like iOS, but you need to try it first.. I am also a hater of the iPhone and apples other devices.. but MIUI and android has a helluva lot more functionality and freedom that the iPhone *cough* Apple down allow you.. also on MIUI the themes are brilliant, you can mix and match everything..
CM7 for the matter, is also an excellent ROM.. blazing fast also, and has some great addons.. but I ain't used it a lot myself so I can't tell you a lot about it other than its speed
Sense, is complete bloatware.. HTC really need to tone down the unbelievable amounts of useless apps especially background apps.. and now sense 3.5 eye candy.. instead of eye candy, more functionality as well.. you even seen their adverts.. they actually open the website, press home and then rapidly press bookmark so it "looks" instant lol.. you can even even witness the screen lag in the advert "/.. go CM7 lol

Alright I can find a very nice how-to for miui on their page but not for cm7.... Plzzz help me in this matter... I need a SINGLE link to a thread or site that tells in detail how to flash cm7.... It's getting irritating from my side but am a newbie....
Sent from my Desire HD

Task Killer Full version - don't want any lectures on how they are deemed to be evil and wrong and you shouldn't need/use them....but i use ARHD Rom....and task killer works awesome for me.....just build an ignore list for front end apps and apps u dont want dead...VOILA.
IMHO....works awesome.
matt

I know the thread is slightly old, but I thought I would post, the aluminium is anodised, not painted. The wear you are having is because the layer of aluminium oxide is rubbing off. That will be due to misuse or friction of some sort, it doesn't and can't happen naturally.

salarkhel said:
Alright I can find a very nice how-to for miui on their page but not for cm7.... Plzzz help me in this matter... I need a SINGLE link to a thread or site that tells in detail how to flash cm7.... It's getting irritating from my side but am a newbie....
Sent from my Desire HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the cyanogenmod wiki, it has instructions from stock rom, but the reality with almost all custom roms is "enter clockwork recovery, and wipe and then install from zip"
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Non-Sense User, Please give me your feedback

Hi all Desire HD Owners
We all know that Non-Sense ROMs are more lighter and have a great performance due to a lot of free RAM ,,,
So if i want to use CyanogenMod as example what is the best apps I should use as a replacement to sense widgets like clock and weather widgets and also what other apps u recommend to use while not using a sense ROM specially launchers ?
Thanks a lot and waiting your help

The Fancy Widgets clock is pretty good. There are a few calendar widgets on the market too which are good. If you haven't tried MIUI rom - I recommend that for lots of nice differences.
If you are looking for launchers you might try my page here to get a few ideas.

I like SimiClock widget a lot.. it's a very minimalistic clock widget.
It's beautiful on a dark theme.

I tried miui but it's looks like iPhone a lot and I don't like that at it..but it's an amazing ROM...
Also there is no topic in DHD Forums to show users HS like the one in Wildfire forums which is great and presented a lot of nice ideas ....

I used Cyanogenmod for a while...as for launcher I hate the default ADW because it's the ugliest piece of software on the planet so I found a mod that replaces ADW with the default gingerbread launcher which is very very sexy, especially the app drawer.
Just google the terms "stock gingerbread launcher on cyanogenmod 7" and lots of links will come up

I have a desire (similiar to dhd) I went to cm7. But came straight back as I couldn't live without the sense functionalities!
Sure AOSP roms ate faster, but I rather have more features than better performance
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium

now on blackice cm 7.1!
for clock and calendar I'm using simiclock (includes meteo, battery% and other stuff) and simple calendar widget, i like that style! I've replaced the music app with the one from IceCream sandwich.
if you like the dolby and srs in blackice there's icetool to enable them.
I think you can give a try to that rom!
Sorry for bad english!
Sent from my Desire HD using BlackIce

My personal opinion.
I used to love sense and really liked the widgets. So I have been running it for over 2 years.
I decided to make the step to MIUI and now I cannot get back.
MIUI is so fast and you can set everything the way you want.
I especially like the folders that you can drop your programs in. So I have a folder with GPS things, different tools folder, camera stuff folder etc etc.
The fact that you can also make a backup in MIUI which saves everything, yes also location of icons and folders makes this one perfect for me.
For the clock and weather I use the fancy widgets and for email I use K9 which you can configure the way you want.
I admit it took a couple of weeks to get used to. Sometimes I flash a sense rom just to try it but I've always came back after max 3 days.

Thanks all for this great feedback and waiting more from you cuz i will try MIUI or CM7.1 for a while and want to find a replacement for most of apps and widgets i use , also when CM will came with ICS so we all will be able to try it and use ICS at our devices and abandon Sense ROM
Thanks again all

MohamedYousri said:
Also there is no topic in DHD Forums to show users HS like the one in Wildfire forums which is great and presented a lot of nice ideas ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean like this one?

I use Launcher Pro (its the smoothest and most stable imo) with the 3D clock & weather widget - it looks nice and is free.
If you search on the android market, you can find quite a few free apps better than stock 2.1 HTC Sense (excluding camcorder). There's just no true 3d widgets like the ones in sense3.0, or a lockscreen that works as well (miui lockscreens are somewhat laggy and don't have proper music/weather/etc. Agile lock takes around 3 seconds to appear after opening the screen)

Try Android Pro Widgets, they look quite similar to some of the sense ones
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rdr.widgets.core&feature=search_result

Thanks for the tip. Following this thread.

hopscotchjunkie said:
You mean like this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL ! Now i have to read all the 148 Pages

Regarding MIUI, you know that you can use another launcher right? The "iPhone-ish" part of MIUI is the launcher, and if you don't like that you are free to install whatever launcher you want. I'm currently using MIUI + LauncherPro and it's flying.

I use ADW, there are loads of free themes about so not liking the look is a bit of a lame excuse, but you can use any of the other launchers, I also like functionality over looks which is why I'm currently using BlackIce in my opinion AOSP wins over any other ROM any day, tried MIUI but if i wanted my phone to look like an iPhone i'd have bought one

I recommend touchpal dialer or go contacts to replace the awesome sense dialer
sent with love from me to you

I wont go with what's best for widget, as I find the less widgets the better.. but my apps are mainly;
Root Explorer
OC/UV Beater 2
CacheMate
Clockr Evolution isn't that bad
4EXT recovery updater
andrev oc installer (MIUIAndroid doesn't have it preinstalled)
SystemApp Remover
Current Widget
They're my tools apps that I have flashed into my ROM from clean recovery.. I'm not a fan of widgets, and bloat so I keep default apps to a bare minimum.. hence systemapp remover.. if I can remember correctly before I flash my apps.. I have between 55-65 apps/services on my phone.. whereas a clean install of a sense rom can come between 170-180 lol

TRY GO Lancher EX . and search for those awesome Free theme
u will love it . and it is fast and smooth ,
and get a beatiful clock widget .
trust me , u will fall love on it .
however personal opinion
i try many launcher .
here my fav
1.Go Launcher EX
2.Retina 3D Launcher
3. Launcher PRO
that all
i used to be ADW but they are not improve like other did .
just more theme but without any new features added compare to other.
however there is a huge pretty and nice ADW theme .
HTC DESIDE HD : 3 ROM install and switch between them when i get bored .
Rom 1 : RCmix3D runny sense 3.5 version 2.2
Rom 2 : MIUI FREEEze Edition 1.10
Rom 3 : BLACK ICE V 1.0 ( this Rom is dam super fast & smooth, high score in benchmark )
3 Rom install and switch anytime with sync my call log , contact , sms , apn list ( using my trick)

I am also on BlackIce CM7.1 with Lord Clockan's excellent kernel(s). I will never go back to Sense. Ever.
I use Android Pro Widgets, Beautiful Widgets, Minimalist Text, Moogly, and System Info Widget.
For look and feel, I use CM themes, ADW themed icons, and Alt Drawer. Between all these, the ability for customisation is enormous.

Is it worth using a Sense ROM if using a home screen launcher like Go Launcher?

I am currently running the Virtuous Unity ROM on my phone, but use Go Launcher rather than Sense. Does Sense add any real benefits other than aesthetics?
I will admit that Virtuous Unity is quite a bit better than stock, and I do love it. I was just wondering if other ROMs (non-Sense) perform better (faster and smoother) and save more battery. I know this is a tall order to fill since Virtuous Unity is quite a beast.
If so, any recommendations on a decent ROM? Thanks.

Honestly...if you're not going to use the nice sense launcher, then no, it's not worth it. There are a few Senseless ROMs. Or you could cook one up yourself xD. For recommendations, I'd go with MIUI. It is unbelievably customizable. Thousands of themes to choose from. I'd recommend TDJ's MIUI or AndroidInsomnia's MIUI. Of course, you could always go with the standard CM7.

Sense advantages on AOSP/CM/MIUI:
Dialer.
Contacts + integrated Exchange contacts.
Better Exchange support.
Proper (and good) mail client.
Proper calendar.
Proper photo+video camera.
Much nicer Quick Settings menu in Notification Bar (MIUI is very close, CM isn't).
Better hotspot control (per-user access permissions).
Better lockscreen (this one is subjective).
Probably forgot a couple of points.

Its kinda funny how you are using a custom launcher on top of sense. Sense doesn't really provide any functionality besides its UI. I suggest you use royalginger, i used it for a while and liked it but i ended up needing my eyecandy

THEindian said:
Sense doesn't really provide any functionality besides its UI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Its UI", as you can see from my post above yours, goes FAR beyond the launcher.

Jack_R1 provided a pretty comprehensive list of some of the non-aesthetic features of Sense ROMs. Personally, the main reason I would switch to Sense would be for the camera. The camera is better supported and the pictures that turn out are visibly better than CM7's.
Bottom line is, if you're fine with the Virtuous + goLauncher, then just stick with it. If you want to try something new, you can always backup, flash a new one, and stick with it or restore to what you had before.

I didn't quite realize all that Sense did besides look pretty. I guess I'll stick with Virtuous Unity for now (may switch later just because I can - lol). Thanks to everyone for your input.

I think I'm addicted to Go Launcher..I seem to end up using it with most Roms. It's very snappy using Go launcher over Black Ice...this is as good as my handset has been ever..thanks Team Inferno!
Sent from my Black Ice'd Glacier using xda premium

Before I learned about rooting and MIUI, I used to exclusively use GoLauncher. Then I realized how much I could mix and match different themes I found from MIUI market and I haven't looked back since. It's fast, smooth, and crazy good on battery life.
Plus I prefer the dialer, boot screens, lock screens, etc. Customization is the best part of it.
The only bad thing about MIUI is its lack of an app drawer. It is pretty much a knockoff of iOS. But creating folders has a similar effect to an app drawer. Except I can put the good apps I frequently use in there.

madmanmostafa said:
The only bad thing about MIUI is its lack of an app drawer. It is pretty much a knockoff of iOS. But creating folders has a similar effect to an app drawer. Except I can put the good apps I frequently use in there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give AltDrawer a try. I used to use it on MIUI and it works great!

Im using the Virtuous Unity ROM as well with ADW ex Launcher. I kinda like it