Related
I've been wanting to update to Gingerbread for a while now. I see that theres 2 popular ROMs based off Gingerbread. I just wanted to see some pros and cons about each ROM before actually flashing to it. So if you would please give me some feedback
Not much of a difference, GingerVillan is based off of CM after all so they're pretty close. The one con that bothered me the most about GV was the constant random reboots. So as soon as CM 7 rc 1 was released I switched. Couldn't be happier. I've had no issues with this rom and its currently running problem free. For now.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App
Ive been running gingervillain for a week now. I have had about 3 random reboots and one of those times was during a phone call. But I do like it. One of the plus point was that I dont have to install google apps separately with GV 1.5, but that is a minor step when installing cm7. Tbh, I would suggest trying both and doing a nandroid backup with each. That way you can truly feel the differences. Some of the problems others have had I have not seen, so I guess the experiance varies from person to person.
Never tried a GV rom before, but that's because I've never had a reason not to use CM7. I've been running the nightlies since about build #30, and I couldn't be happier. Never seen a reboot, force close, or any slowdown. The only issues have been that GPS has been broken/working depending on the build, but this is completely normal for nightlies where theyre trying to fix issues. I'm also running the stock launcher instead of ADW for that vanilla 2.3 experience (and increased speed). I think the biggest thing that CM7 offers if you're into constantly updating is that the nightlies crank out every night with the new builds.
Like others have said theres no reason not to just flash em both and make nandroid backups to see which you like better.
I've seen plenty of reboots in CM7 RC1. I don't know what's wrong..
Thank you for your feedback, I guess I could try using both roms and see which fits me more.
waiting for cm7 final
I'm a noob here, but I'm a quick learner.
A month ago I rooted my AMOLED DInc. Initially I trimmed a bunch of bloat in an effort to extend my battery life a bit. It worked a bit, so I moved on to trying new ROMs. My first was CM 7.0.3. I quickly came to discover that I greatly prefer Sense.
My next step was to try a new kernel. I was disappointed by the lack of information regarding the strengths and weaknesses of kernels, so I have decided to take it upon myself to discover and share the information.
So here's my setup: I have an HTC Droid Incredible that I purchased directly from Verizon just a few days after it was introduced, so I have the AMOLED screen. I also have a 1750 mAh Seidio battery that I've been using since the beginning. If I don't use the phone much I can get more than 24 hours out of it. Light to moderate use takes that time down to 12 to 16 hours, while moderate to heavy use takes that time down further to 8 to 12 hours.
My typical daily usage pattern is as follows: 45 to 60 minutes streaming 128k MP3s over wi-fi, 60 minutes of news reading (Engadget app and Pulse reader) via EV-DO, K9 mail checking one email account every 15 minutes, 10 to 50 text messages daily, virtually no voice usage, using the Facebook app for up to 5 minutes every hour, updating the clock/weather widget once an hour, casual gaming for up to 45 minutes, and brightness at 20% most of the time but sometimes 50% or 100% depending on if I go outside. I get one or two bars of signal at work eight hours a day and two or three bars at home the rest of the time.
And thus, I set out on my journey to improve battery life...
I quickly discovered that I should stay away from AOSP kernels because I'm sticking with my rooted stock Sense. And I need only two point multi-touch since if I'm gaming it's nothing more that casual games or Angry Birds, but I have to have pinch-to-zoom. I searched for kernel suggestions and settled on three seemingly common and popular choices: HeyitsLou #9, incredikernel, and Ziggy471. After settling on trying these kernels, I devised a strategy to compare them using similar methodology.
While it may not be a perfect set-up this is how I am choosing to compare: I use ROM Manager to wipe the cache, the dalvik cache, and battery statistics. Then I apply the kernel and completely charge the phone. I use the phone just a little bit more than usual to take the battery down to 10% charge or less and then charge it fully. After that, I use the phone like normal but pay attention to how it's working. I use the kernel for a minimum of 48 hours and see how it goes.
My first choice in kernels was HeyitsLou #9. I was amazed at how well this kernel manages idle time. My stock phone usually loses about 10% idling overnight. With Lou #9 that number was down to 5 or 6%. Nice. #9 also seems to do a decent job of throttling the processor when engaging in simple tasks. I was able to get a bit more than 24 hours of moderate to heavy use under this kernel. My biggest disappointment, though, was how unresponsive to my touch the screen became. I initially thought I might have damaged my phone. Once I got used to it, it wasn't so bad. But the kernel definitely made me not want to use the phone much because it was so unresponsive and does such a great job at idling. I'm sure Lou took a lot of time on this kernel, but it clearly is not for me. Your mileage may vary.
Right now I'm trying incredikernel, version 2.6.32.27. I'll update this thread once my review is complete. After that, I will be trying Ziggy471 Droid Incredible (Sense) 4 Nov. If there are any other kernels you might like me to try, please make suggestions here. Just please remember my stated goal of extending battery life under rooted stock Sense.
More Later
That stock image is more likely killing more of your phone. Have you considered trying the modified Sense-based ROMs? These generally would more likely help you find better battery life over the extremely limited kernel selection for Sense-Based ROMs. I personally prefer SR4/desensitized.
Also, why wouldn't you want to try one of Ziggy's newer kernels? He is the only active(and not so much now) Sense-based kernel dev. His last release was from Apil 10th. Have you read up on the differences between schedulers used in said kernels(BFS vs CFS) or voltage management(SVS or HAVS)?
Since you're rooted and using the stock, have you tried SetCPU to adjust CPU settings?
If I try a Sense-based ROM, SkyRaider 4 is definitely the one I would go with (I already downloaded it). My only issue is that since I have my phone set up the way I want it, with certain apps and a particular layout, I don't want to lose that. I suppose Titanium Backup could help with that, huh?
And my only real dissatisfaction with CM7 was that it was too difficult to get my apps back. Would Titanium Backup help with that? I also downloaded the Google apps pack for CM7 but don't know what to do with it. I guess I just didn't try hard enough to put it all together.
As far as SetCpu goes, I'd rather try a kernel that does it for me than root around tweaking like that. Maybe that means I'm lazy...
I'll look around for other, newer kernels too.
Thanks.
p.s. so far I like this incredikernel. Just as responsive as stock but a bit more careful with power management.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I have been using CM7 and Chad's kernels for a while now. It takes a little time to get everything arranged the way you want them but it is well worth it. My phone easily goes for 24+ hours without needing a charge. I am a relatively light user but the combination of CM7 and Chad's kernels has much improved my battery life.
Increikernel seems to be better than stock at just about everything. True, it's not quite as good at managing idle power usage as HeyitsLou #9, but incredikernel is much more responsive for me. The battery life gain was minimal, but still noticeable. I liked this kernel enough I backed up the ROM so that if anything weird happens it is what I will be reverting to.
Now I'm on to Ziggy471, version 24 Nov. While it may not be the newest one, this is the newest one I could find for my phone.
I'm starting to research how to use Titanium Backup, since the only thing holding me back from trying ROMs is my unwillingness to lose the way my phone is set up. If I could get all my apps and the Android Market and Amazon Appstore on CM7, I would be willing to give it another try...
The Ziggy kernel seems to me about as good as stock. It has excellent responsiveness, but the battery life for me was not quite good enough.
I went back with Incredikernel. Now I'm researching how to use Titanium Backup so I can move on to trying SkyRaider 4.
Right now the biggest issue stopping me from trying CM7 is not knowing how to flash Google apps back onto the phone. I've read that all I have to do is install the zip from my SD card using Clockworkmod Recovery, but do so without wiping anything. Is this correct?
And does SkyRaider 4 come with the Android Market installed or would I have to do something similar?
Thanks
So, I love Titanium Backup (totally worth getting the paid version in my book). You can certainly back up and restore the apps with it (though you won't be able to run Sense apps on AOSP), but restoring app data across different ROMs is generally ill-advised. So you'll lose settings and game progress and the like. Which, frankly, was kind of a good thing for me--the fact that I was trying different ROMs meant I stopped spending so much time playing games on my phone. TB has actually also resulted in my keeping a cleaner phone--since I can back things up and restore them if I need them, I can freeze or uninstall them.
I liked SR4, but I have to say, after spending time on CM7, about the only thing I miss from Sense is the dialer. It does take a bit of time to get things set up just so, but I agree that it's worth it. In terms of getting google apps on the phone, I personally just used ROM Manager to install CM7 and added the Google Apps package, but some people have trouble with ROM Manager. The short answer is that when you wipe and flash CM7 in recovery, then yes, you just also flash the Google Apps zip file, like you would flash anything else, and you should be set.
If/when you do check out CM7 again? The newest versions of Incredikernel are very nice. Chad is in the process of beta testing a new release, but like the 4/19, it's only for AOSP ROMs.
In any case, kudos for the systematic testing. I'll probably keep an eye on this thread.
liteon163 said:
If I try a Sense-based ROM, SkyRaider 4 is definitely the one I would go with (I already downloaded it). My only issue is that since I have my phone set up the way I want it, with certain apps and a particular layout, I don't want to lose that. I suppose Titanium Backup could help with that, huh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, TB only backs up your apps, you will need to setup your homescreens again. Some aftermarket launchers, like LauncherPro, have the option to save and restore your homescreens but it cannot do widgets, which make it generally useless in my case.
hey im sorta a newb as well and have a question. i have cm7 and chad's latest kernal beta 11. what cpu settings (max/low)/other settings do you reccomend to get great battery life??
thx a bunch!
Oh, I don't mind having to set up my shortcuts and such. I just don't want to have to download all of my apps again, especially the paid apps I got for free from the Amazon Appstore.
It sounds like TB should be able to help with that. I'm trying to be very careful with how I proceed so I can give each ROM I try a decent chance for success. And I'm starting to realize that the only Sense app I can't do without is the clock/weather widget. There are other similar apps available for free, so I just need to reassure myself that it's OK to try new ROMs (especially since it's so easy to revert to my current setup).
All I really need to do is poke around some more and talk myself into just doing it. And the encouragement here really helps. Thanks guys.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I'd recommend doing a restore of apps only, no app or system data. Do a backup before in case you run into any issues. I could be wrong but I thought even restoring apps via TiBU might be a little dicey when going from sense to aosp (especially froyo to gingerbread).
As for the HTC flip clock I felt the same way when I went to aosp and I'd recommend fancy widget pro. There's an HTC skin you can download that looks IDENTICAL to the actual HTC clock.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Does anyone have good feedback on using a custom kernel for any of the new GB Sense roms? I think most of these come with their own roms, but I'd like to hear about any other suggestions.
This morning I took the leap back into CM7 again. The ROM installed with no issues. The Google apps pack installed with no issues. I was feeling good about trying it again... then I tried restoring apps (only) using Titanium Backup.
Something clearly wasn't working correctly, since it took 20+ minutes to restore only three out of 76 apps.
I powered down and then installed SkyRaider 4. It went quite smoothly. I was able to restore 77 apps in about 45 minutes. It worked great. But then I started poking around in the phone. Most of the crap I removed from my rooted stock Sense ROM was back on the phone. Aaargh!
I restored my backup from earlier this morning (right before I started) and I'm going to be giving this ROM business a break for awhile. I'll see what happens around here once the official Gingerbread OTA update from HTC hits.
It seems that the root of my problem (pun intended) is that I'm simply not patient enough when setting up my phone. And I'm a bit lazy in that I don't want to have to re-download all my apps from the Android Market if TB doesn't work for me.
So until I promise myself to give a new ROM a fair chance, I'll just stick with my rooted 2.2 stock Sense ROM with incredikernel.
I'm open to suggestions on how to simplify this whole process though, guys.
More Later
p.s. what's this business about radios, and which ones are best?
I found some other kernels I'd like to try out: KiNgxKernel and Order. I downloaded Order and will try it in a few days but I can't find anywhere to get KiNgxKernels. ANd can anyone help me find a hydrakernel?
Thanks
i understand you say you prefer sense, but i really encourage you to try MIUI. i have tried them ALL and this has by far been the best. better than CM7 in my opinion. using chad's latest kernel, battery life is more than excellent. the level of customization is as good as or better than CM7. i mean, you can always revert back, but if you give it a few days, you more than likely will be thanking me. you can find the download in the "development" section...sorry, i'm too tired to post the link. but go for it!
I've taken a look at a lot of ROMs over the last month. My issue with MIUI is that it looks too much like an iOS port. Reading a review of MIUI over at Android Central reinforced this impression. If I wanted an iPhone, I would have gotten one.
Living with Sense for the last year, I am used to it and how it works. I don't want to switch ROMs and have to download my apps again. I know Titanium Backup works for this, but it sure sucked when trying to switch to CM7. It worked great for switching to SkyRaider 4, but that ROM brought back a lot of the bloat I got rid of in the first place. When I really think about it, though, I don't use any Sense features -- no widgets, no apps, nothing but the clock/weather widget (an alternative to which I can easily find in the Android Market). But I'm thinking switching to a new ROM and having to spend a few days getting everything set up again just isn't worth my time and effort, especially when my current setup works better now that I've rooted it.
I know I just sound lazy and/or complacent, but at this point I think I will just stick with trying new kernels.
miui is an ios look alike with its stock launcher. install some other launcher and youll have an awesome rom.
Unfortunately there isn't any active development as far as sense kernels go..
^there's obviously a reason for that..
ive been using chad's incredikernel and would just like to say it is pure awesome. My battery life is greatly improved, especially usage while idle. The general UI snappiness is also excellent. Highly recommended and the dev is very responsive.
My month with a factory unlocked Galaxy S2
Bought this in mint condition from a friend for about half price with only 1 hour of use, an unwanted upgrade. Came with 2.3.4 as expected, so hooked up to Kies; no update at the time. As is my wont, I used the phone for a few days to get to grips with TouchWiz (TW) and the phone generally. All quite reasonable, no stability issues and TW is not bad by any means.
My thoughts and trials so far then:
Hardware
Well made, light and thin. Slippery, so a black rubbery skin bought and fitted and I popped a spare 8GB microSD card in, not that the phone needs it for my purposes.
Only criticism is the OLED screen, I'm used to higher resolution (Moto and Sony) and 800x480 looks rather "cheapo" in terms of detail on a screen this large, but no deal breaker. What I do find somewhat at odds with the price of the phone is the slight but noticeable shading and colour tints across the screen at low brightness levels and on some backgrounds. Plus, the screen's legibility outside on a bright day is no better than more run of the mill LCD screens. (I mean cheaper!)
My first GB update
I generally root phones straight after flashing a new firmware version, if it isn't already. I had already successfully rooted the original stock 2.3.4 firmware with Zergrush 4 and debloated that ROM.
I was keen to try a later GB version before trying ICS, and I found 2.3.6 for "Open Europe" on Sammobile and downloaded it. I had already tried Kies, so the USB drivers were present and working. I uninstalled Kies on the PC but left the USB drivers alone. Kies and Odin are not good bedfellows. I did a full factory reset on the phone and erased everything, allowed it to reboot and then powered off, got in to download mode and flashed XXKL1 (which is an engineering version and deodexed it seems). Rooted it via Zergrush 4, deleted known bloat and renamed possible bloat to xxx.bak to clean the ROM for my own usage, and deleted that very annoying start-up sound. Downloaded all the apps I normally use (about 22 of them), including the excellent CPU Spy to check for deep sleep.
I used/charged the phone over the next couple of days to let the OS bed in. No problems encountered at all, and a very pleasing battery life of 30+ hours of light use, with syncing and GPS, 3G, WiFi always on and occasional BT. Magic! Only thing I did is change the Modem to LPR - the KI3 Modem that came with the ROM is not quite as good at holding weak signals. Only just though...
My first ICS update
So, good phone, stable and very usable ROM in 2.3.6. Time had come to try this new ICS thing. Downloaded the LPQ version and installed it, after a full wipe, via Odin. Not impressed by all the automatic installation rubbish at first boot... Rooted via a hot boot CWM and SU/Busybox successfully and did all the same debloating and app installation as GB 2.3.6. Spent some time getting orientated and used to the new menus and so on.
Over the next day or so, I let the ROM settle and began using the ROM - I changed the Modem to LPR as LPQ was not as good, perception wise. ROM was stable and usable, didn't really look or feel much different from 2.3.6 and was worse on battery - I would say 18 hours at best with the same usage pattern.
Absolutely hate the new Exchange thing for live.com email.... real pain usability wise and battery unfriendly.
My second ICS update
So, not overly impressed with LPQ, although it was usable, I decided to try LP7, the UK generic one. Went through the same process as above, and again swapped the Modem from LPS (awful!) to LPR.
No obvious differences at all. Battery life was as poor, but it was usable.
My first CM trial - CM9
So, somewhat disillusioned by Samsung's ICS implementation, I decide to look around for another "mature" ROM. CM9 fitted the bill (I have used CM6 before on another phone) and was smack bang up to date in terms of kernel, AOSP and G Apps. After my usual clean deck start, installed fine, 23/04 build.
At first, I was quite impressed as I could configure more and to my liking. The ROM was stable and I set the phone up with the usual Apps and deleted some useless stuff (like GenieWidget).
Swapped Modem out to LPR - bit of a theme going on here...
I liked the fact that the Spirit FM radio worked (so bought the Pro version as it is that good). The ROM is very usable and never got bogged down, BUT, for reasons I never fully determined, the battery life would start OK and then decline faster during the day. I never saw more than 12 hours life, again using as per my normal pattern and after a few days to settle. There appeared to be various background activities going on that were preventing deep sleep sometimes, but BBS was not really showing me what. Note that I only use BBS as a last resort as it can increase battery use...
No other real problems, but the soft key backlights wouldn't play with NoLED and were somewhat counter-intuitive. A bit trivial, but a mess.
My second CM trial - CM7
I like GB, it is mature and well understood, so CM7 RC 2 was therefore of some appeal. It had been developed over months and must therefore be fairly sorted. Surely.
Installed without issue on a cleaned platform as usual, including G Apps. Did the usual debloat and installed the usual Apps from the Market/Play, and some that were missing, like GMail. LPR modem was already there, Hooray! Spent rather longer fiddling with the settings in CM7 than CM9 since they were less obvious at first, to me anyway.
Switched off and put the phone on wall charge overnight and was rather shocked to find the phone was noticeably warm and displaying "Kernel Panic" in the morning. The phone had only charged by about 5% in total (to 64%). Worry Worry. I put the phone on USB charge until 100% without incident.
Started to use the phone as normal, the phone UI and operation was very good, fluid even. But, first problem I had was in the car. I paired BT fine, as usual, and made a phone call. After the call, I couldn't end the call on the car or phone - it had locked up. Oh dear.
Later, I tried the FM Radio during my daily walk - doesn't work, so why is it there? I tried Spirit FM - no way would it work. Oh dear.
The following day, I noticed that the battery life was amazing! I had never seen this phone sip juice like this. Deep sleep was always easily achieved. That was until the afternoon. I noticed that the battery level was declining at a much higher rate than earlier. I hadn't done anything different, so BBS was called in again. Nothing obvious shown but I kept seeing the GPS icon winking at me from the Notification bar, and continually. I always keep GPS on, but for some reason on this ROM, no GPS signal meant the ROM just kept trying. I played with various settings like Location etc. and managed to stop this odd behaviour, but this was too silly. I use a Smartphone for all the smart features. This wasn't very smart at all.
CM7 was my biggest disappointment of all the above ROM trials. It was the lightest and most promising, and yet the least reliable or functional. Which is a huge shame...
Today...
I'm now back on KL1 2.3.6, and it just works fine - day after day.
The future for me?
I would really like to use CM9 (or CM7 for that matter). They represent a number of ideals for me, including the open nature of development, the collaboration, a pioneering spirit and giving users a choice and a superb base to build on. I am no developer - I can split and modify kernels to a point, I can rehash ROMs with or without adb, I can amend frameworks. But little more.
Reserved for "tips and hints"
Avoiding problems
Always data reset and wipe before doing anything major from one ROM to another, or follow the installation guide for any specific differences in approach.
Avoid Titanium Backup like the plague - it invariably leads to functional issues later if you cross flash. Use Google and/or airdroid for everything, it all just works. So many friends and other forums I contribute to have had too many backup issues to count. Go clean. Forget about Google paranoia.
ES File Explorer is very useful and recommended.
Don't bother "calibrating" the battery - it's an outdated practice and useless. Just use the phone normally, and anyone who claims the battery life is "great" 1 hour after flashing a newly announced ROM is a fool. Likewise NEVER fully discharge a Li-Ion battery. Just keep topping it up. See here: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_charge_when_to_charge_table
Thoughts
Newer ROMs are rarely better ROMs. Better means different things to different folk of course.
ICS ROM core LPQ to LP8 are largely all the same, just variants of the same thing for different markets. Some users believe they perform differently.
Custom kernels and ROMs are always work in progress and should be treated as such. Check out the number of revisions. Some kernel cookers are (welcome) enthusiastic amateurs that assume more is better and cram "fixes" in that the professional salaried software engineers have mysteriously missed. If you only need your stock kernel to be insecure, learn how to make it so. You are running Linux on your box, right?
Deodexing is not a means to improve performance, on the contrary.
Undervolting is a mythical beast
I bought a phone with an FM radio because I want to use it!
And I totally agree. to all of it. Tried all iterations of almost all roms available. For some reason keep going to my VR 3.0 nandroid back up.
Except CM9, I don't really think there is any real development going on. Most are just cooked up roms OR stuff taken from the CM9 tree and implemented OR so called fixes that have actually broken something else OR just debloated rooted official firmware (that AFAIK is pretty easy to do with the fantastic dsixda's kitchen or on a rooted rom).
Now fanboy's may flame as much as they wish to, but seriously a stable CM9 (hopefully..!) or a VR 4.0 is all I am willing to wait for.
Till such time VR 3.0 it is.
LenAsh said:
Reserved for "tips and hints"
Newer ROMs are rarely better ROMs. Better means different things to different folk of course.
ICS ROM core LPQ to LP8 are largely all the same, just variants of the same thing for different markets. Some users believe they perform differently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree with your final thought. Different ics rooms have really different feels. E.g. Look at scrolling from lpq to lp7.....and there are numerous others as well. If u want more specific thoughts and feedback, just browse through different ics threads in this section..
omeryounos said:
I don't agree with your final thought. Different ics rooms have really different feels. E.g. Look at scrolling from lpq to lp7.....and there are numerous others as well. If u want more specific thoughts and feedback, just browse through different ics threads in this section..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... I have browsed through the sections, and tried various "revisions" or versions of Samsung ICS today while jotting this lot down, and my view, honestly, is there is no real difference. That isn't to say there isn't, I just can't see or feel it. I do accept that playing with 3 ROMs in a few hours is less than ideal. And a drag!
I suppose if someone could deconstruct the ROMs properly and thoroughly...
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts, appreciated.
Very nice review! +1
Keep up the good work
I broadly agree with the OP.
ICS/AOSP/AOKP/CM9 have improved over the last few weeks, but I'm back on GB, and will probably stay with it until I get the SGS3.
May be subjective, but for me the GB stock browser, camera and dialler are streets ahead of what the rest can offer. Scrolling is smoother too. And I like/need a radio.
B3311 said:
I broadly agree with the OP.
ICS/AOSP/AOKP/CM9 have improved over the last few weeks, but I'm back on GB, and will probably stay with it until I get the SGS3.
May be subjective, but for me the GB stock browser, camera and dialler are streets ahead of what the rest can offer. Scrolling is smoother too. And I like/need a radio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like you and the OP only tried the AOSP/AOKP roms? Give the roms based on the latest official a try.
The dialer is still as good as always (unchanged), camera is actually improved with higher bitrate recording and the ics stock browser...is untouchable at the moment in my opinion. (Granted I use "ICS Browser+" from the market which uses the best ui in a browser I've encountered)
I currently use Dynamic's ICS rom and it would be extremely difficult for me to go back to GB at this point.
Sigurd02 said:
Seems like you and the OP only tried the AOSP/AOKP roms? Give the roms based on the latest official a try.
The dialer is still as good as always (unchanged), camera is actually improved with higher bitrate recording and the ics stock browser...is untouchable at the moment in my opinion. (Granted I use "ICS Browser+" from the market which uses the best ui in a browser I've encountered)
I currently use Dynamic's ICS rom and it would be extremely difficult for me to go back to GB at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I agree that in terms of loading websites, ics default browser is a little bit faster, scrolling and pinch and zooming is much smoother with stock gb browser. Also the dialer is worse on ics as it has removed the contacts section which means I have to put both the dialer and contacts shortcut on the dock.
I'm using Wanamlite v11.1, Siyahkernel v3.1, and Apex Launcher.
A winning combination in my opinion, that is now at least as good as the best GB ROMs in terms of battery life. 7 hours standby with 30 minutes screen time and i'm still on 87%.
In terms of fluidity and performance I think ICS /w Apex beats GB handsdown.
Thanks for the recommendation, but I avoid ROM mix ups, I can do that myself. The ones I have looked at have had some very dubious scripts and additions. I usually look at build.prop first, and generally find all sorts of hybrid attempts at adding stuff that is completely wrong. Lines taken from websites, other phones and so on.
LenAsh said:
Thanks for the recommendation, but I avoid ROM mix ups, I can do that myself. The ones I have looked at have had some very dubious scripts and additions. I usually look at build.prop first, and generally find all sorts of hybrid attempts at adding stuff that is completely wrong. Lines taken from websites, other phones and so on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends, it was like you say in Gingerbread days, not with ICS WanamLite nor Dynamic, only tried these + CM9
I am using Dynamic 1.4 LP9, it is as smooth and fast as CM9, but everything working because it is Samsung based
I tried the included NEAK and Speedmod kernels, similar performance and very good battery life, only 3% drain overnight, I dont play with processor tweaking
Sigurd02 said:
Seems like you and the OP only tried the AOSP/AOKP roms? Give the roms based on the latest official a try.
The dialer is still as good as always (unchanged), camera is actually improved with higher bitrate recording and the ics stock browser...is untouchable at the moment in my opinion. (Granted I use "ICS Browser+" from the market which uses the best ui in a browser I've encountered)
I currently use Dynamic's ICS rom and it would be extremely difficult for me to go back to GB at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dialer is laggy if you compare it with GB. CM9 variants have slightly more response dialers but overall, GB dialer is way more responsive. There is a small but noticeable lag when pressing a key and the time it takes to register on ICS (CM9 & stock).
Camera recording with stereo voice recording...! Seriously how many people do shoot video with a phone's camera? For facebook uploads mono audio is just fine..
Browser is a definitive improvement yes, and the desktop mode is welcome but browser mods have been available on GB since long.
It is not that ICS is bad. It is actually very good, but the way it has been implemented on S2 is downright ridiculous...! And not one stable vanilla build isn't really helping..
kranti2064 said:
For some reason keep going to my VR 3.0 nandroid back up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is something I have been contemplating for quite some time now, quite possibly the last month. The only real thing stopping me is that for some reason alot of games (eg dead space and modern combat 3) don't seem to like it when i change roms, and even though all the ingame data is there, sometimes it decides I have to re-download.
I do miss it alot though.. and also red pill kernel
I might end up doing a backup of current my CM9 and take the plunge sometime soon. I've been using CM9 since around feb and lately I think my interest has plateaued and now I'm just beginning to get frustrated with little lags that are popping up more frequently (probably due for a wipe mind you!). The only thing about villiam rom is the bloody touch wiz launcher.. I just don't like messing with the launcher roms were made for either.
kranti2064 said:
Camera recording with stereo voice recording...! Seriously how many people do shoot video with a phone's camera? For facebook uploads mono audio is just fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mass lols to be had at the fact that a majority of the time they would be played on the device through the mono loudspeaker too
I also go back for GB..becoz i feel that ics so laggy at dialer,and PES2012 freeze and cant play on ics..but in GB all working great..
Daripada galaxy s2 non-G
melorib said:
Depends, it was like you say in Gingerbread days, not with ICS WanamLite nor Dynamic, only tried these + CM9
I am using Dynamic 1.4 LP9, it is as smooth and fast as CM9, but everything working because it is Samsung based
I tried the included NEAK and Speedmod kernels, similar performance and very good battery life, only 3% drain overnight, I dont play with processor tweaking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
kranti2064 said:
And I totally agree. to all of it. Tried all iterations of almost all roms available. For some reason keep going to my VR 3.0 nandroid back up.
Except CM9, I don't really think there is any real development going on. Most are just cooked up roms OR stuff taken from the CM9 tree and implemented OR so called fixes that have actually broken something else OR just debloated rooted official firmware (that AFAIK is pretty easy to do with the fantastic dsixda's kitchen or on a rooted rom).
Now fanboy's may flame as much as they wish to, but seriously a stable CM9 (hopefully..!) or a VR 4.0 is all I am willing to wait for.
Till such time VR 3.0 it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently trying ninphetamine kernel (as per VR3 - thanks for the heads up) on my fave stock KL1 more for interest than anything. Seems OK, no obvious difference from stock running as is apart from it being insecure, need a couple of days to evaluate in real life use.
Bloody good post. I've been using CM9 since the video recording bug was solved, and thats probably the longest I've used any ROM on the SGS2, I really like AOSP but the problem is it does still have quite a few bugs, and isn't quite as fast or as battery friendly as I remember the likes of Hyperdroid v6 being.
This makes me tempted to go back to GB. For me, it is still the ultimate for a daily driver. But I'm lazy so I'll probably stick with CM9.
kranti2064 said:
Dialer is laggy if you compare it with GB. CM9 variants have slightly more response dialers but overall, GB dialer is way more responsive. There is a small but noticeable lag when pressing a key and the time it takes to register on ICS (CM9 & stock).
Camera recording with stereo voice recording...! Seriously how many people do shoot video with a phone's camera? For facebook uploads mono audio is just fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ICS dialer laggy , doesn't happen to me on stock LP9 or Dynamic based on LP9 and CM9 is as smooth as they come. Whilst mono audio is fine for you I quite like having stereo audio. Choice, not limitations my friend
tameracingdriver said:
Bloody good post. I've been using CM9 since the video recording bug was solved, and thats probably the longest I've used any ROM on the SGS2, I really like AOSP but the problem is it does still have quite a few bugs, and isn't quite as fast or as battery friendly as I remember the likes of Hyperdroid v6 being.
This makes me tempted to go back to GB. For me, it is still the ultimate for a daily driver. But I'm lazy so I'll probably stick with CM9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers for that - I would definitely recommend the 2.3.6 KL1 off Sammobile if you want a solid GB.
Dude, if you have not tried CheckRom RevoHD V6, then you have not tried the BEST gingerbread rom for sgs2.
This is why I can not use ICS (yet). Checkrom is just too perfect of a Rom.
Try it, tweak it to your liking, use it for a week or 3 then try and go back to stock.
CheckRom XDA thread
I've been running Mimicry 1.5 for quite a while now (and very happy with it) but I'm interested in the Slim Bean thing; it looks pretty cool. I'm not clear on the advantages though (if any). Can someone fill me in?
Well we are talking jb vs ics for one, I would suggest making a nandroid and try it out, if you don't like it restore nandroid and the worse thing you can say is you wasted 20 min of your life...
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I agree to the post above.
I've tried both roms and I prefered the SlimBean Rom It is very smooth and personally I've had some problems with mimicry. For me it is the best JB Rom I've ever tried
Good luck
I've been on mimicry (every release) since this new rom few days ago, and i didn't have so many problems with it: some casual hot reboots, or really little and stupid issues, same as slimbean, but we have to consider this is the first release.
There aren't big differences on usage between those roms ( except for OS features ofc); BUT, this rom i found it slim for real: smooth like mimicry at least, faster on response and better battery life.
So, i agree with the users above: if u liked mimicry take a nandroid backup, and give slimbean a shot!
Mimicry 1.5 is faster
you can try to install 15 same aplication on you phone and than you can see wich one is faster Mimicry 1.5 or slim bean
running right now slim bean,
was very happy at the beginning with all the features and the speed. But after restoring my backup (70 apps with mybackup-pro) the SlimBean Rom is getting sometimes really slow. Not always, but browser is sometimes not reacting or I get system FC or the phone is not waking up or apps are not responding.
With CM10.1 v21 I had installed 200+ Apps, the phone was a little bit slower but responding to all my actions and phone buttons.
Hopefully flinny integrates in v23 a few SlimBean features.
Tried slimbean but unfortunately I can't seem to get it to run smoothly - things start hanging and frequently memory seems very tight, even when I'm running nothing but the core gapps with it. Darn shame too, I'm quite fond of many of the look&feel updates.
I'm not altogether sure what I could do to tweak things further; I have system and data partitions formatted to ext4, made sure I did a full format/wipe, immediately did the switch to 240dpi before touching anything... I'm not quite sure how to tell what all's being loaded beyond looking at Running Apps, maybe I could trim things down if I fiddle with the "Performance" option in settings, but I don't know a lot about that. Seems odd that Play Music is running all the bloody time.
Mimicry 1.5 runs very smooth for me - Google+ and Facebook used to hog up memory but Greenify seems to have taken care of that.
shadowfist23 said:
Tried slimbean but unfortunately I can't seem to get it to run smoothly - things start hanging and frequently memory seems very tight, even when I'm running nothing but the core gapps with it. Darn shame too, I'm quite fond of many of the look&feel updates.
I'm not altogether sure what I could do to tweak things further; I have system and data partitions formatted to ext4, made sure I did a full format/wipe, immediately did the switch to 240dpi before touching anything... I'm not quite sure how to tell what all's being loaded beyond looking at Running Apps, maybe I could trim things down if I fiddle with the "Performance" option in settings, but I don't know a lot about that. Seems odd that Play Music is running all the bloody time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try limiting the number of background processes (under developer options) to 2; may be a total illusion, but I think it made things much better for me.
dsip said:
Try limiting the number of background processes (under developer options) to 2; may be a total illusion, but I think it made things much better for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give that a shot, thanks!
Hrm. Oddly, I've just noticed the Camera app is missing. I somewhat suspect (but haven't tested) that it might have been left out of 6.2, as one person in the Development thread mentioned it missing but others have not, and I'm guessing he loaded 6.2 straight up (as I have) and most folks upgraded from 6 to 6.2.
Is there a way to backup/restore one's Settings? I find that's the tedious part about reflashing - I bet there's a tool for it I'm just unfamiliar with.
i think there is an option in mybackup to save system-settings and restore them later. and i use nova-launcher, which allows me to save all the homescreens but without the widgets.
shadowfist23 said:
Hrm. Oddly, I've just noticed the Camera app is missing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ha. Fixed when I did a FORMAT of System and Data instead of just a wipe of them (using 4EXT Recovery Control). Another rookie mistake on my part...
I try a lot of roms, now I using SlimBean. Fast, modern and without big errors.
good question!
I wish to know too. I use to run mimicry, but since a few month I can't get tired of Venom viperZ. Since the 1.x version, I have absolutely NO issue.
The 2.0 is really fast and usable.
I"ll maybe try slimbean if there's so much good review on that one.
Just for an update from myself, I tried SlimBean 6.2 and ended up having a significant slowdown issue after several days; long pauses on most items and Google Search in particular became so slow as to be unusable. Oddly there was also a significant delay when starting up the Torch from the widget, which happens to be one of my most-used functions of the phone. 6.2 also uses Hangouts rather than Talk, and my hatred for Hangouts still burns like an unquenchable fire. Still, looking at the slimbean.net site the torch issue at least seems to have been fixed, so if blk_jack is kind enough to bless us with a new SlimBean ROM I'll probably try it again.
I have been using Flinny's CM10.1 Andromadus test build 24 for several days now but I am starting to see a slowdown there too occasionally, again especially with Google Search. Generally though I'm very fond of it, good chunk of free memory most times and it even runs Ingress pretty well, which is the one game/app I run that pushes my phone to its very limits.
I noticed someone mention "kbeezie's data swap mod" in the SlimBean thread and plan to investigate that when I have time, though I suspect I may need something faster than my class 4 32gb card (class 10 ones are pretty cheap now, but I'm somewhat poor, so).
I'm not gonna cry if I have to go back to Mimicry 1.5, which still has my love, even if the new JB builds are shiny and have some pretty cool UI enhancements.
shadowfist23 said:
Just for an update from myself, I tried SlimBean 6.2 and ended up having a significant slowdown issue after several days; long pauses on most items and Google Search in particular became so slow as to be unusable. Oddly there was also a significant delay when starting up the Torch from the widget, which happens to be one of my most-used functions of the phone. 6.2 also uses Hangouts rather than Talk, and my hatred for Hangouts still burns like an unquenchable fire. Still, looking at the slimbean.net site the torch issue at least seems to have been fixed, so if blk_jack is kind enough to bless us with a new SlimBean ROM I'll probably try it again.
I have been using Flinny's CM10.1 Andromadus test build 24 for several days now but I am starting to see a slowdown there too occasionally, again especially with Google Search. Generally though I'm very fond of it, good chunk of free memory most times and it even runs Ingress pretty well, which is the one game/app I run that pushes my phone to its very limits.
I noticed someone mention "kbeezie's data swap mod" in the SlimBean thread and plan to investigate that when I have time, though I suspect I may need something faster than my class 4 32gb card (class 10 ones are pretty cheap now, but I'm somewhat poor, so).
I'm not gonna cry if I have to go back to Mimicry 1.5, which still has my love, even if the new JB builds are shiny and have some pretty cool UI enhancements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
welcome to android world.
I never seen any android rom that keep his original speed after a while of use.
even on recent devices, such as s3. You should reflash the rom.zip every time your rom is going laggy.
ROM comparison threads are not allowed. Closed
Which ROM do you feel works the best for your Vibrant? Of course this is a matter of opinion, which is exactly what I want to hear. I'm running CM 10.1.3 right now and enjoying it. At times it can feel a little bit sluggish but I don't know if it's the ROM or my phone. I'd also be interested in hearing about your experiences with battery life in each ROM. I've been thinking of trying CyanAOSP because it's less cluttered and I have a hunch it would be more snappy.
Hopefully I'm not breaking any rules, I just wanted a really recent thread comparing the strengths and weaknesses of all the recent Jellybean ROMs. This isn't a question thread, it's more of an opinion thread.
I'm using CM10.2 build date - 10/15 for a day now. Have no problems. Everything works fine, including GPS after ds. Battery drain is normal.
selmandeli said:
I'm using CM10.2 build date - 10/15 for a day now. Have no problems. Everything works fine, including GPS after ds. Battery drain is normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's DS? Also, have you tried 10.1.3?
oneupe1even said:
What's DS? Also, have you tried 10.1.3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DS is DeepSleep. Its a state in which the phone uses minimal battery and thus the battery is saved.
oneupe1even said:
What's DS? Also, have you tried 10.1.3?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean the official CM 10.1.3, yes I tried it. It is stable and smooth. You can use it as a daily driver.
selmandeli said:
I'm using CM10.2 build date - 10/15 for a day now. Have no problems. Everything works fine, including GPS after ds. Battery drain is normal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just saw that you were using CyanAOSP. How would you compare it to CM 10.1.3 and 10.2?
Also, do you know where I can get the 1.75 ROM? I've heard the 2.0 has problems.
been running cyanaosp 2.0 since its release and its been fine beside a few random reboots, but im sure it was cause i had my device oc'd to high. this rom is perfect for me as i play alot of games.
Hi all,
New member of the forums, but I've been reading as much as I can about my Vibrant (Fascinate?) and I'm still kind of confused as to which model my phone really is. It's a Telus model sgh-t959d, but after flashing CyanAOSP 3.0.0 for the i9000, my phone info shows model GT-i9000. I understand there are similarities between these devices, but I was a little nervous about bricking my phone by flashing the wrong ROM. Well, it was a painless process that took less than 2 minutes! I upgraded from PassionICS, which was a good ROM, but kind of laggy. After a day of use, I can say CyanAOSP is much quicker, more refined and more fun to use. The customizations offered by Nova launcher are quite extensive and make it feel like a new phone. I highly recommend this ROM! Many thanks to the hard working devs!
Anybody have kernel recommendations to get more battery life out of CM 10.1 or 2?
CM
Im using CM 10.1.3 stable, think this is a best and stable ROM
I was using one of the CM 10.2 nightlies (10/25 specifically) for about a week before giving up on some serious battery drain and background android OS data usage issues... First time I ever exceeded my 5gig threshold pushing me down to slower speeds. Also USB data transfer simply stopped working after about a week... couldn't even mount via recovery.
Ultimately had to get new ROM files into my phone via the microSD/USB adapter and internally transferring to the internal directory.
That said, CM 10.2 itself is a very pleasant experience if you can avoid such issues - In hindsight I'd strongly suggest giving it a try but with a build that's known to be stable and without any such major issues if you intend to use it as a daily driver (the 10/15 build has been recommended more than once in my forum trawling). Lesson learned!
I made the switch last Saturday (6 days ago) to SlimBean Build 2 however, which is also based on 4.3.1. By comparison to my last experience, this has zero issues falling back to deep sleep, even after loading it down with all my favorite apps and sync settings. I've had one random reset to recovery in the middle of a phone call, and gps performance has been hit or miss so far, but otherwise there's a lot to like! Battery is back to respectable charging intervals and background data is in check. ROM itself is very zippy. Lock screen by comparison to CM 10.2 seems slightly sluggish to respond. I'll likely be sticking with this for a while.