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[ROM][DEAD] Retro1 v2 - "Is it a Dream? No, it's a Freken Cupcake!"

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So, one day Kaos pointed out an old beta build, and this got me to looking around at old ROMs. I took a look at JF1.5. Vanilla Cupcake! It's a nice ROM, but was difficult to port. So, I said to myself... Tainted Cupcake! Here is the result.
Thanks to:
JesusFreke for, well, too much to list.
Kaos for the inspiration.
Hoban for the inspiration.
almost everyone in the IRC channel for teaching me something
dsixda for cranking out an awesome Kitchen, day after day
Anyone who has ever posted DETAILS to XDA about how to do things.
All devs for your time.
Both of you who want to go back to Android 1.5.
EDIT:I almost forgot Captainkrtek who did some early testing for me. (Did I get that in before he ban
The base ROM is a stock Eris 1.5 ROM that jcase put 'su' and 'superuser' in, but I won't thank him since he said not to.
What you get:
1) Android 1.5 base from HTC
2) su and Superuser (rooted)
3) deodexed
4) png optimization (most apks anyway)
5) zipaligned
6) most of Sense removed, much like the 'Tainted' ROMs
7) most remaining HTC apps have a Vanilla look and feel (at least the icons)
8) stability
9) responsive user interface
10) wireless and wired tethering (I haven't tested the wired yet though.)
11) bash and nano
12) 'Everything' should work.
What doesn't and never will work:
1) Marketplace apps that require Android 1.6+
2) any feature that requires Android 1.6+ (Live Wallpapers, for instance)
Other features this DOES NOT HAVE:
1) Cyanogen goodies
2) OC, UV, and other kernel tweaks
3) Apps2SD
4) any kind of Yogurt
TO-DO:
1) disable OTA updates - I renamed the ota cert file, but it still gets the update...
2) setup the initial home screen better - I've tried changing that in the Launcher.apk, but have yet to get it to work.
I highly recommend Connectbot for a terminal app, but v496 works best on this ROM.
Just so I'm clear, this is a really basic and clean ROM. There are not a lot of extra features. However, the battery life is really good because of this.
DO NOT install the Verizon OTA update. It will most likely unroot your phone. v2 won't ask anymore
DOWNLOAD:
http://surrette.org/roms/Retro1-v1.zip
http://surrette.org/roms/Retro1-v2.zip
What I did:
1) loaded up the base Eris 1.5 ROM in the Kitchen
2) looked at the Tainted Vanilla Kitchen to find the script used to remove Sense components
3) ripped that part of the script out and ran it to remove Sense
4) compiled AOSP Cupcake (using Android Builder) and copied several apps from there into ROM
5) tested and found AOSP MMS would FC, so I put HTC's back
6) tested and found that AOSP Cupcake's Email app does not have Exchange support, so put HTC's back in.
7) opened up several apks with APK Manager and replaced HTC's icons with icons from Vanilla apps
8) opened up Launcher and attempted to change res/xml/default_workspace.xml, but testing afterward always failed
9) also grabbed a handful of open source binaries from here and there, but really haven't used them much yet
10) zipped, signed, and uploaded the ROM
11) NOTE: While this is version 1, it's probably the 30th or more build that I have actually built and tested. Fun times.
12) v2 - removed Systemupdater.apk (thanks tenzomonk!) and a couple of things left over from testing (CorpCal & Vanilla Contacts)
13) v2 - added several tweaks from the forum and KaosFroyo's *.rc files (vm.dalvik.heap=32m and some possibly power saving tweaks)
I have been running some variation of this for most of the last two weeks, except for one day that I tried a Froyo ROM. While I am admittedly easy to please, I have had no issues that haven't been worked out by now.

Why not? I'm DLing now. Gonna try tonight.

Its about darn time you cooked us a rom lol
Sent from my Nonsensikal Froyo Eris

looks good!!!!
gnarlyc said:
TO-DO:
1) disable OTA updates - I renamed the ota cert file, but it still gets the update...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there a systemupdater.apk file in /system/app? if so, remove that... ota updates gone

tenzomonk said:
looks good!!!!
is there a systemupdater.apk file in /system/app? if so, remove that... ota updates gone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha! Funny. Such an obscurely named app. How could I have known?
It's there. I'll try that now. I have a couple of other minor changes anyway, so I'll do them all at once.
Thank you very much for the help!

listyb01 said:
Its about darn time you cooked us a rom lol
Sent from my Nonsensikal Froyo Eris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know... This IS my second ROM. It's just the first one that works.
I just flashed SgtShultz again. Weren't you going to help with that?

gnarlyc said:
You know... This IS my second ROM. It's just the first one that works.
I just flashed SgtShultz again. Weren't you going to help with that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What the heck is that and what do you need help with?
Sent from my Nonsensikal Froyo

I just flashed this a while ago and so far i like this rom but i couldn't place a call, sync with google, there's no gallery, and none of my music would show up. I also just caught that there's no calendar app right before i was about to post this. Other than those problems, everything seems fast and smooth.
Update: just reflashed and phone is now working, music showing up, and google synced all my contacts.

andrew23215 said:
I just flashed this a while ago and so far i like this rom but i couldn't place a call, sync with google, there's no gallery, and none of my music would show up. I also just caught that there's no calendar app right before i was about to post this. Other than those problems, everything seems fast and smooth.
Update: just reflashed and phone is now working, music showing up, and google synced all my contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad it started working for you. As I said in the OP, I've had no issues. (Of course, I'm just one tester.) You are going to miss some things that you would have with a newer version of Android, but it should just work. And the battery life is really good.

Congrats on the release!

Captainkrtek said:
Congrats on the release!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you and thanks for the help.
I've started grabbing the logcat while it boots to work out any possible issues. It's crazy stable already though. And I haven't put it on the charger since yesterday morning and still have %60+. That's by far the best battery life this thing has had in a long while.

Don't you miss the extra features of 2.0+ though? The amazing battery life you described sounds great but I feel like rolling back from 2.2 to 1.5 would be tough to deal with lol.
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App

MacShannon said:
Don't you miss the extra features of 2.0+ though? The amazing battery life you described sounds great but I feel like rolling back from 2.2 to 1.5 would be tough to deal with lol.
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I know what you mean. I change ROMs at least every couple of weeks though. So, I'll have those features again soon enough. This is just another fun learning experience for me and a chance to put something out there that is different than any thing else. I like to be different. And shake things up a little. That's just how I roll. Wait until I really understand what I'm doing!
There might actually be a handful of people who really like this ROM and use it daily. Although I'm sure that it won't get the user base of some of the others, but so what...
<JOKE>
Maybe next I'll make a ROM that just has the phone/dialer app with all of this bluetooth, wifi, gps, market, data connection crap disabled. That would be awesome. I'll call it 'Startac'. </JOKE>

Most stable rom?

Before I start asking my questions I want to say that this is my first android phone and I'm essentially a noob when it comes to rooting/flashing/custom roms etc. so please bear with me. I have been researching pretty heavily, but I'm finding I need some hand holding because my first attempt at rooting/flashing didn't go so well and I'm very reluctant to repeat the process all over again.
I'm currently on the stock DK17 that I flashed through ODIN per instructions found on this page (when it was still DK17, now it's DK28) : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=853209
I'm finding that I'm unhappy with this setup and I want to run a custom ROM.
What I want above all else is speed, stability, and better battery life. I don't care about any frills, I want something that's simple, runs smoothly, and most importantly, isn't glitchy. I want to find a ROM that runs great, and once I do, I prefer to stick to it because I don't find flashing very recreational.
Some questions:
Should I update to DK28 or are there a bunch of issues with the leak? Are custom ROMs based off DK17 more reliable/less glitchy?
I used SDX stock app remover to remove a bunch of sprint/stock apps. Will this cause any issues if I decide to flash DK28 (or any other rom)?
I'm planning on using appbrain to "back up" my apps using the 'sync with appbrain' feature. From my understanding I just re-download appbrain and use it to download all the apps I previously had?
So what are my best options taking into account the criteria I mentioned? I was looking at Nebula (custom ROM) and it looks like something promising. I know you guys are thinking "just flash different ROMs and see which one you like you noob" but I'm looking to narrow down my options.
Thanks for any help and sorry for the long post,
-Dennis

1greek4u said:
Before I start asking my questions I want to say that this is my first android phone and I'm essentially a noob when it comes to rooting/flashing/custom roms etc. so please bear with me. I have been researching pretty heavily, but I'm finding I need some hand holding because my first attempt at rooting/flashing didn't go so well and I'm very reluctant to repeat the process all over again.
I'm currently on the stock DK17 that I flashed through ODIN per instructions found on this page (when it was still DK17, now it's DK28) : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=853209
I'm finding that I'm unhappy with this setup and I want to run a custom ROM.
What I want above all else is speed, stability, and better battery life. I don't care about any frills, I want something that's simple, runs smoothly, and most importantly, isn't glitchy. I want to find a ROM that runs great, and once I do, I prefer to stick to it because I don't find flashing very recreational.
Some questions:
Should I update to DK28 or are there a bunch of issues with the leak? Are custom ROMs based off DK17 more reliable/less glitchy?
I used SDX stock app remover to remove a bunch of sprint/stock apps. Will this cause any issues if I decide to flash DK28 (or any other rom)?
I'm planning on using appbrain to "back up" my apps using the 'sync with appbrain' feature. From my understanding I just re-download appbrain and use it to download all the apps I previously had?
So what are my best options taking into account the criteria I mentioned? I was looking at Nebula (custom ROM) and it looks like something promising. I know you guys are thinking "just flash different ROMs and see which one you like you noob" but I'm looking to narrow down my options.
Thanks for any help and sorry for the long post,
-Dennis
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hif you want super stable with great batery life go with the 2.1 EE rom with the pheonix 1.43 kernel. If you want to be on froyo then I highly recoend mammons rom which is based of of the dk28 release which is more stable than dk17.
Removin sprint apps have no afect on flashing custom rms, it only will affect getting OTA's from sprint
Not sure about apbrain since I don't use it myself
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Much thanks to my only reply, haha

The most stable Froyo rom is Nebula or Bonsai. Cant go wrong with either.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Nebula
imo

I am testing out the latest ViperROM right now. If you want a solid ROM with a little bit of eye candy, Viper is a good choice.

Nebula !!!

im diggin bonsi, smooth n nice
Sent from my otherhalf

I would go with mammons. So far its the must stable rom for me. Plus you get froyo!
Sent from my shoe, I mean....Epic shoe... I mean Samsung Epic! http://mobilehighway.blogspot.com/

For stability, right now, stick with 2.1. Go with either Syndicate ROM with Xtreme Kernel or Epic Experience with Phoenix Kernel.
Among the Froyo ROMs, I've had the best luck with Epic Experience and Nebula ROM. Viper and Quantum gave me some issues.

I'm going with Nebula as well. It runs great for me.

Dk28 has given me the best results with gps and data speeds. I've been using mammon's rom and its been awesome so far.
Sent from my old Nokia

Different strokes for different folks...
1greek4u said:
What I want above all else is speed, stability, and better battery life. I don't care about any frills, I want something that's simple, runs smoothly, and most importantly, isn't glitchy. I want to find a ROM that runs great, and once I do, I prefer to stick to it because I don't find flashing very recreational.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason everyone is giving you different recommendations is because everyone is a unique individual with different tastes and requirements in what they value in a custom rom. I am currently using Bonsai4all, but have tried most every other rom as well.
As far as not finding flashing recreational just keep doing it and as you become comfortable with the process you will start to like it a lot better. It's fun going to the Sprint store and jabbing away with the support/sales staff about the Epic and Evo while we are flashing new roms while we chat.

I've tried Syndicate, Viper, and Epic Experience (both the Eclair + Froyo versions), and I must say EE has been my favorite of the three.

Cm6 pros and cons?

I'm new, my evo is rooted tho but now I wanna install a rom. Isn't Cm6 probably the best? I want one that's not much different just smoother.. can someone give me some pros and cons and also a link to maybe a tutorial of how to download and install roms.
Does it delete anything to install a rom?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

There are a lot of opinions about this subject. There are some real pro's to CM6. The tricky thing for most people to understand is that Cyanogenmod is built from the ground up. So when you say you want something that isn't too different, this is going to probably be more unique than you were expecting.
Some great things about CM6 are hidden all throughout the settings, menus, and functions. For example, CM6 is alot cleaner. There aren't any processes that run in the background that you never installed. Whenever you use a stock rom, HTC and Sprint have a number of pre-installed items running. The result is that it is faster.
One huge advantage for me is that CM6 fixes the bluetooth in the phone. Which means that you can connect a Wiimote. This isn't possible with anything that is a variation of the stock rom. Which means only CM6 or other AOSP roms will be capable of supporting the Wiimote on the Evo.
The Cyanogen team has put more focus into things like the way the audio is processed. They use DSP managers to fine tune your audio.
There are some unique settings you can use as well. For example, by holding the back button, you kill whatever app is in the foreground. This eliminates the need for task killers, and lets you truly close an app when you want to.
The biggest pro for most people is that it is substantially faster. This makes games, and other resource heavy apps run smoother. If you use something like PSX4DROID (a playstation emulator), I would recommend this rom because you can use the Wii Controller, and the games will run smoother.
Overall, it's an engineering marvel, because it's built completely by open source developers. These are guys that all have day jobs and do this as a hobby, and in many ways, they do a better job than Google and HTC who have armies of full time developers. That's why they get so much support. Is because it's truly astounding what they do with their resources.

So this might be the blind leading the blind, but I'm a noob as well when it comes to ROM flashing stuff.. From what little you have mentioned CM6 isn't what you want. CM6 is very good but it is not SenseUI, by default it does not have swype, it does not do 4g, hdmi is not there and I'm sure there are other things... That being said, from what I have read, CM is very good for what it is...
If you want to stay relatively stock but with some tweaks, you likely want to look at Fresh or Myn.. do a search in the XDA evo-->android dev forum (actually usually the main thread for those 2 are on page 1 or 2)..
I have settled on Fresh because it uses the latest Sprint rom as its basis so you get most of the new stuff out of the box ie. swype.
Myn has a beta out there using the new rom, but I don't know where it is to download and I am not a good beta tester so I will just wait..
From a process perspective, I downloaded Rom manager from the Marketplace, flashed the latest Clockwork recovery and used the rom manager to download fresh and let it install it for me.. Be sure to check mark the clean everything checkbox in rom manager when it asks..
Hope that helps...
jc8081 said:
I'm new, my evo is rooted tho but now I wanna install a rom. Isn't Cm6 probably the best? I want one that's not much different just smoother.. can someone give me some pros and cons and also a link to maybe a tutorial of how to download and install roms.
Does it delete anything to install a rom?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I think I'm gonna go with Cm6 just bc it seems like they have plenty of features. But what do u mean not hdmi? Like not even pictures and videos?
Also can someone give me a link to how to install them.. Thanks
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

bradleyw801 already did a good job of the Pros, so I'll list the Cons of CM6 (there aren't many):
1. It's the hardest of the ROMs to flash. Reads laughable but to someone who is really new to this whole thing, it's true. Most ROMs you can just flash and tryout. CM6 you need to flash twice: once for CM itself and once for the Google Apps (it's pretty useless without the gapps). ROM Manager makes this pretty painless with a simple checkbox, so follow above advice, but still be aware you need GAPPS.
2. No 4G Support. Yet. That's the keyword, as there are a few devs on this very forum who are runningCM with 4G .... it's just in alpha stages.
3. No HDMI Support. Yet. Again keyword ... but less so. HDMI out is one of those things you hear about every so often but nothing ever surfaces from it. It's like Duke Nukem Forever.
4. For all the Sense bashing that some will do, HTC had some very nice widgets that most people miss when they go to CM. Most notable is the big clock widget. Now there are market apps that emulate it, but the only ones that do a good job of it cost money (beautiful widgets and fancy widgets pro). Be ready to look for apps to replace what came shipped with your EVO if there are some things you like and would rather not be without.
Hope that helps.

Ok now Cm6 doesn't sound great. I actually use my hdmi, are there any roms easy to flash.. i just want one that makes my phone smoother and also so unneeded apps don't run in the background?
Bc mine now is getting slow like when I open my messeges and are going from person to person it takes forever. Thanks again
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

jc8081 said:
I'm new, my evo is rooted tho but now I wanna install a rom. Isn't Cm6 probably the best? I want one that's not much different just smoother.. can someone give me some pros and cons and also a link to maybe a tutorial of how to download and install roms.
Does it delete anything to install a rom?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, now that you are rooted it would be a perfect time to get used to making backups and flashing.
You could try making a nand bacckup and flashing CM6(.1.2) and seeing how well it suits you. Like any (or most) ROMs there are themes and you can mess around with different things to make it more to your liking. CM6 is as stock Android as you can get. I don't necessarily dislike Sense, and some of the Sense widgets are really cool (and are for the most part replaceable) but in the end I like the feeling of just plain Android.
The lack of 4G and HDMI out is more of a personal user thing. I haven't missed my 4G and I've been using CM6 for my Evo for almost the whole damn time, since it was first released that is. HDMI never really interested me before, but full UI out is something else entirely. Before it was just hype to me.
CyanogenMod just feels right on the Evo. Best way to decide is to take the plunge and maybe set it up for a day. Restoring a backup is super simple. Take the necessary steps to flash successfully and check it out.
And as for things being deleted off the SD card; not sure if you mean everything or specific things. Things like SMS, call logs etc are not backed up but YOU can back them up in various manners. Some SMS backup apps or what have you which I've never tried. Call log I assume as well. Email and things like that, which are tied to your Google Account are backed up by "The Cloud" or whatever you want to say, and same goes for contacts if you've obviously synced them with your google account. Like, contacts under phone can be synced with google account that way the phone contacts aren't deleted, unless I have that last part wrong.
You can wipe the SD card completely, but that doesn't really happen when you wipe data, cache and dalvik. Just the important stuff so the ROM takes. Check it!
edit: didn't hit submit right away, late post as it seems your not really feeling it. you can remove bloat apps that you don't see fit in ROMs, things that someone might have not removed themselves (even then removed apps are usually available at your discretion) but not all apps can be removed. There are lists about that have "safe to remove apps" and the like.

try it for yourself, if it doesn't do what you need it to, flash another ROM. pretty much any AOSP based ROM has issues with wimax and HDMI but there are many strong ROM's to run, you will probably change it up from time to time and the hardest thing you will find is trying not to flash

You really should try out roms for yourself instead of listening to others. Some people like some things and others like others. I've run CM on 2 phones now (MyTouch Slide and G2) and it's been extremely stable, fast and just fantastic. If it had wimax and hdmi working i'd have it right now (I like watching hulu on my big screen while I eat ).
If you want something that has everything working, myn's warm twopointtwo rom works if you have the older Evo hardware (pre-0004). It's very nice and still runs sense or mikfroyo, which also has sense, but it supports the new evos.
If you want vanilla android and can wait for the wimax and hdmi, get CM, there's just no alternatives. If you can't wait, go to the dev section and look for the threads that start with [rom] and see if any of them suit you better.

Fwiw...I'm a total noob to the android scene. I'm fairly tech savvy, good in general with pc's, hacking tivo's, etc..nonetheless I was very hesitant to root and flash my evo. But, I took three plunge last night, first rooting, then performing a nand backup. I then uninstalled all the sprint apps successfully. I was fairly happy at this point.but I have been experiencing random reboots and sense crashes prior to rooting. So I took the plunge and flashed cm6.1 and gapps last night.
I have to say I wish I had to done this months ago, I love the look, feel,and performance of cm / stock android. I struggled with battery life before flashing, but there is a significant improvement in batt life since ive flashed. I also installed swype beta,as I had received an invite just prior to sprint including swype. Im bummed about the lack of 4g, but 4g is hit and miss in the south bay so I cant complain too much. Oh ya, wifi tether is an added bonus.
I say go for it. ;-)

Well the biggest con is that you can't use 4g or hdmi, which defeats the purpose of buying the evo and paying $10 fee for 4g. Not to mention the fact that stock android looks like a 3rd rate Linux distro from early 2000s.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

so me running cm6 defeats the purpose of me owning my phone????
I dont live in a 4g area......4g is only really advantage when tethering to a laptop

Ok guys thanks for everything but i really need a link so i can figure out how to backup and flash and rom...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

jc8081 said:
Ok guys thanks for everything but i really need a link so i can figure out how to backup and flash and rom...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure. First sticky at the top of the forum: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=881747
The stickies are pretty comprehensive for the EVO. Pretty much anything you'll want to know will be there.
As for CM6. It's super fast. I love it. I don't mind being without 4G (at least when I'm not testing ) and HDMI (I use Twonky Media Server to stream pics and vids to my Xbox over wifi).
Both of these features are coming soon so if you decide to go with another ROM, just keep following CM for updates on these features. When they are done I don't see why you wouldn't use CM.
As for alternative roms... I know Myns is very popular.
Also, I'll note, you can always flash CM6 and play with it for a bit and then wipe and flash any other rom.
tl;dr - Read the sticky, try myns and follow CM progress.

You might want to take a look at MIUI. It's well designed (unlike Sense), is pretty fast (faster than Sense), and has a ton of extra features (like Sense). While it doesn't have WiMax right now the CM guys are close to getting it working; and since both are based on AOSP, it will be relatively easy to port to MIUI. I prefer CM but if I didn't have a iPhone (since MIUI tends to feel like a copy of it) I'd probably use MIUI.

If you can live without 4g then go for it. The battery life is great. I flashed a sense rom today and with in an hour I was flashing back to cm6.
Sent from CM6 using XDA App

Ok thanks now one last question I think... when I do nandroid backup does it save my apps? Bc i was watching a video it said u have to nandroid backup and apps with titanium I think...
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

bottom line: try a few ROMs, each for a day, and stick with what you like. no substitute for trying it out yourself.
fine print: i'm a vintage user. I was running android on my Vogue before there was an android phone, when GPS would always place you in san fransisco (someone will know what that's all about - thanks dzo). anyways, having a rooted phone is about many things, but one of them is the ability to flash and try what you want.
if you've got a deal breaker, like 4g or HDMI out, sure that limits you now, but as posted before keep reading and trying new things as they come out. if you're lucky, you may yet become a flash-aholic.
i'm a sense guy; not for the launcher (off and on i'm running adw, lp, and sense home, depends on the month), but for the sense apps. I love the sense messaging app, that's the program I use most on my phone. I ran vanilla for a long time on my vogue, and I tried out CM6 for a day. it's just not me. and I never use 4G or HDMI. you won't know what fits you until you try, though.
to each their own. use what you like.

I use to be a die hard CM fan but now Im using MIUI. Both have a lot of nice features.

Titanium Backup will allow you to backup apps selectively and then reinstall them later. (you can do many other things as well) This is very useful, especially for apps that you can not easily obtain. (ie. not available in the app store) An example is any game from GameLoft or a beta that you may have. (like Swype before it was deployed) So after you switch to CM6 or whichever ROM you can then load these apps on to the new ROM.

Just Purchased G2 need advice/tips

I'm new to the whole smartphone/android market. I just received a G2 and wanted to know how to fully take advantage of all the features. What do you guys recommend, what apps should I download, updates, etc.
Thanks

Take a look around, you'll find everything around here. One thing is don't feel pressured to root your phone. Especially with the ota update to gingerbread on it's way.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Nospin said:
Take a look around, you'll find everything around here. One thing is don't feel pressured to root your phone. Especially with the ota update to gingerbread on it's way.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do what is the benefit of rooting a phone. Do you get apps for free similar to jailbreaking?

Alright so here we go!
For root you want This Guide with Gefree/Visionary Read it several times, get root.
Install Rom Manager, Flash Clockwork Mod with this.
Good launchers to try are: Launcher Pro, ADW.
Good Apps are: GPS Status, Quadrant Free, Set Cpu (paid), Juice Defender, Adgree, Juice Plotter, SeePu, Shootme (for screengrabs), Wifi Analyser (to see strength of various wifi networks), Barcode Scanner (for QR Codes among others), Speetest, and lastly AdFree. You also should consider getting the Busybox Installer and Titanium Backup so you can back your applications up when you inevitably....
...Install a custom rom. There are a ton of roms to choose from. All of them have various merits and downsides. Personally for the beginner I always suggest CM 6.1.1 to get familiar with the idea of custom roms as it is super stable and not a huge departure from stock Froyo. A good rule of thumb when flashing roms is to (after making a nandroid backup in clockwork mod, accessed by pwr+vol down) always do a full wipe of phone data and cache. So many rom installs are messed up by not fully wiping your phone prior. I always run two full wipes and two cache wipes.
Depending on how you like your interface, you can select a ton of different roms through Rom Manager or downloading them right out of our android dev section. As with all things, always do your research. Read the damn thread to find out any bugs. The devs here are not infallible and frankly, some of them do a darn shoddy job in throwing together whatever the hell it is they want to call a rom over the weekend while absolutely trashed on Milwaukee's Beast.
Prospective roms are:
Virtuous 2.1: A clean SenseUI rom that is very predictable in battery life and sense experience.
Virtuous G-Free: A stripped down Gingerbread rom built by the same gentleman as Virtuous.
Virtuous 3.0 Sense: A sense 3.0 port that hasn't been updated in a while. Who knows if it is any good.
Cyanogen Mod 6: A nice retooling of froyo 2.2.x, this rom is incredibly stable and has very good battery life with preshoots kernel.
Cyanogen Mod 7: This is a retooling of Gingerbread 2.3.x, not as stable in my experience, however I know this will get better. Okay battery life, 7.0.3 is not as **** as 7.0. Wait till the next major update of 7.1 drops before flashing this rom.
I cannot speak for any of the other roms out here. I only say that you should always do your research and make sure to do nandroid backups. If you brick your phone, that really sucks cause the g2 kicks all sorts of ass
Edit; ROOT ACCESS MEANS ADMIN ACCESS. ROOT DRIVE MEANS THE BASE DIRECTORY OF YOUR SD CARD. DON'T **** IT UP OKAY.

Pump Fake said:
Will do what is the benefit of rooting a phone. Do you get apps for free similar to jailbreaking?
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Click to collapse
One of the biggest features is overclocking. TAKE YOUR TIME reading though. My Desire Z is on the way but I've spent the past two weeks scoping out ROMs, learning how to root and use ADB just so I can do all of that as soon as I get the phone. I would definitely root though, and as soon as the official gingerbread ROM comes, someone on XDA will make a rooted version of it. So you will essentially have stock gingerbread with the ability to overclock.

slapshot30 said:
One of the biggest features is overclocking. TAKE YOUR TIME reading though. My Desire Z is on the way but I've spent the past two weeks scoping out ROMs, learning how to root and use ADB just so I can do all of that as soon as I get the phone. I would definitely root though, and as soon as the official gingerbread ROM comes, someone on XDA will make a rooted version of it. So you will essentially have stock gingerbread with the ability to overclock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are totally a good example for others
I believe you will be successfull in rooting your coming DZ
Grtz

slapshot30 said:
One of the biggest features is overclocking. TAKE YOUR TIME reading though. My Desire Z is on the way but I've spent the past two weeks scoping out ROMs, learning how to root and use ADB just so I can do all of that as soon as I get the phone. I would definitely root though, and as soon as the official gingerbread ROM comes, someone on XDA will make a rooted version of it. So you will essentially have stock gingerbread with the ability to overclock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Btw their already is a rooted version of the final gingerbread rom. Just thought i'd throw that out there.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

IMO The best benefits to having a rooted device are
1) root-only apps like setcpu (but don't use this if the ROM/kernel has built-in cpu management), titanium backup (best backup app ever, hands down), themeing, etc
2) remove bloatware apps
3) custom ROM. think of it as a modified OS. they usually run faster, have little to no bloat, in most cases have better battery life, and have added functionality (cyanogenmod, especially)
without root, the best thing you can do is find great apps like home replacements aka launchers such as ADWLauncher (free version of the superior ADW Launcher EX), LauncherPro, etc
if you're new to Android you may not know that you can browse apps on your computer here https://market.android.com/ and whenever you click "install" it will automatically start downloading and installing on your phone!
a root method was mentioned previously, but I will have to recommend a different one considered to be the safest and most up to date by most.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wik...sion#Rooting_the_Vision_.28G2.2FDZ.29_and_DHD
the whole wiki is a very good read. if you do root, read it thoroughly (multiple times if necessary) and learn how to join #g2root on IRC to get real-time chat support with other xda members

So rooting helps me have a device that has much better performance. Sounds great to me, I'll look into it.
Is there anyway to get free apps etc? Don't ever want to pay haha.
Also what other tips do you guys have to take advantage of a smartphone?

Word of advice: the xda forums heavily frown upon those who promote or even mention pirated apps. These forums are powered by developers who put in their time and effort for average-joe users like us to use, free of charge! Donations are encouraged when possible. If you spent hundreds of hours writing an app and working out the bugs, I don't think you'd like it if someone downloaded your paid app for free. I didn't mean for this to sound like a lecture but just think about it, and if you're still interested you'll have to look elsewhere, as distributing pirated apps is against the xda forum rules.
Also if you're new to smartphones, you probably realized with added functionality such as facebook, twitter, gmail, and syncing of EVERYTHING possible, your battery life not as good as before you had a smartphone. In general keep account syncing/internet usage below unnecessary levels to save on battery life, among other things

silverwind said:
You are totally a good example for others
I believe you will be successfull in rooting your coming DZ
Grtz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I regularly try to do that with new phones so I don't have to ask a bunch of dumb questions or brick my phone.
And to xsteven77x (my multi-quote isn't behaving at the moment), I was not aware that a final GB rooted ROM was out... I thought they were only test ones. Would you mind posting a link to that?
EDIT: Is this the ROM you're talking about? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1074852
It was leaked so how are they sure it's the final one?

If your going to root your phone and put a rom on it, HTCCLAY super cm7 v1.9 is my favorite. its smooth, lots of customization, and already has the set cpu thing built into it and had a good adjustable lockscreen. not to mention u can just keep putting new themes form theme chooser on it when u get bored instead of flashing a whole new rom. one prob with it though. it has trouble connecting sd card to computer so if and when u want to remove it you are going to have to restore to a previous back up of another rom or stock and then reapply the new rom. best of luck.

ethanj93 said:
If your going to root your phone and put a rom on it, HTCCLAY super cm7 v1.9 is my favorite. its smooth, lots of customization, and already has the set cpu thing built into it and had a good adjustable lockscreen. not to mention u can just keep putting new themes form theme chooser on it when u get bored instead of flashing a whole new rom. one prob with it though. it has trouble connecting sd card to computer so if and when u want to remove it you are going to have to restore to a previous back up of another rom or stock and then reapply the new rom. best of luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Highly recommend meXdroid V4.1 rom. Fast, eye candy galore, and constant developer support and updating.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

astriaos said:
Edit; ROOT ACCESS MEANS ADMIN ACCESS. ROOT DRIVE MEANS THE BASE DIRECTORY OF YOUR SD CARD. DON'T **** IT UP OKAY.
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Click to collapse
This made me LMAO!

I like mexdroid rom, its combined with CM7 and it has a lot of customizations in it.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I am recommending to watch Virtuous Unity if you want to have HTC Sense 3.0. It's still being updated and fixed up from all the bugs, but I think the rom will be really good after the devs work the kinks out.

[Q] Do you feel the need to run a custom ROM on Nexus 4?

Yes, people... the NEXUS 4!
This is the first time since Qtek 2020 was released that i feel that i no longer need to use a custom rom to fully appreciate a smartphone operating system.
The nexus 4 and Android 4.2.1 is a perfect match:
- everything is speedy
- the functionality is logical
- there is finally encryption included in the operating system from the get-go.
- Updates are instant!
- No apparent bugs with radio and hardware!
I'm in love with this thingy! :victory:
How do you feel about the Nexus 4 and it's operating system, will you put in a custom ROM?

Custom kernel, yes. Custom ROM, not yet.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

already running a custom ROM, you created the thread in the wrong section bro

Not really
Do I need it? no, it does everything I need it to do perfectly. Haven't even rooted yet, but I imagine I'll break down soon and start playing.
A custom kernel may help battery life.

munchy_cool said:
already running a custom ROM, you created the thread in the wrong section bro
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Click to collapse
Ah.. should have been in the Q/A?
Felt like general was more... general.. while Q/A is like it says.. Questions and Answers.
There's no answers here, just a question.

Yes, I like the extra features of custom roms, easy as that.
Thats why its a Nexus, freedom of choice.

its a must, I haven't rooted yet to check any issues before I rely on it, you need custom roms due to the display and dpi, some of the text is too big in apps and don't provide an option so its not using the space effectively, talking about paranoid android rom

Custom kernel is necessary, the stock kernel on this phone sucks.
Custom ROM, not so much but it's nice to have all the extra features.
Transmission sent from my badass Nexus 4.

Kernel, for the moment.

the stock experience is too plain. not enough options. even worse for those coming off of a samsung device. people can talk about the stock experience all they want... but its better on the custom rom side.

As I said in the other thread I tried all the custom ROMs and none were as good as stock. No issues with the stock kernel either. The ease of trying different ROMs and the option to do what we want is awesome though.

phermey said:
the stock experience is too plain. not enough options. even worse for those coming off of a samsung device. people can talk about the stock experience all they want... but its better on the custom rom side.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Don't get me wrong, stock is great. I've been spoiled rotten by all the great devs on XDA. I can't live without options.
Stock kernel does blow, though.
I did miss T9 in the dialer, but it's not a deal breaker. It's also understandable that T9 isn't in AOSP.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Custom launcher not enough then?
Damn, should have added that to the question.

What stock kernel would you recommend?
I have only used the stock kernels on all my phones unfortunately, so don't have any experience with that.

fetto666 said:
Custom launcher not enough then?
Damn, should have added that to the question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope. you need a custom rom to edit the navbar and put the menu button back in that so many of us are used to. you also need it to toggle the navbar if you so choose. and many more things.
fetto666 said:
What stock kernel would you recommend?
I have only used the stock kernels on all my phones unfortunately, so don't have any experience with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
right now... franco is the best. its smooth, responsive, and is huge for the battery. but his r16 is having random reboot issues. he is fixing right now, once fixed you can add completely stable to the list of things. but i am on r15 and its great. best thing is get franco and do as i do... when there is an update to it... give it a bit and look at the last page of thread to see if its stable.

phermey said:
nope. you need a custom rom to edit the navbar and put the menu button back in that so many of us are used to. you also need it to toggle the navbar if you so choose. and many more things.
right now... franco is the best. its smooth, responsive, and is huge for the battery. but his r16 is having random reboot issues. he is fixing right now, once fixed you can add completely stable to the list of things. but i am on r15 and its great. best thing is get franco and do as i do... when there is an update to it... give it a bit and look at the last page of thread to see if its stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the answers!
Don't understand what you changed in the navbar, do you have link to such a mod?
Thanks, i'll check into the franco kernel, but does changing the kernel affect security??

fetto666 said:
Thanks a lot for the answers!
Don't understand what you changed in the navbar, do you have link to such a mod?
Thanks, i'll check into the franco kernel, but does changing the kernel affect security??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it can. but i have never had any issues. unless you are in a position to worry about security... with your job, there is nothing to worry about.
edit: added pic.
and if you are in that sort of position to worry about security... the last phone you need is a nexus.

So far, still on stock ROM. If it weren't for ad-blockers requiring it, I wouldn't even have rooted it at this point. I do use Nova Launcher instead of the stock launcher, though. The only reason I might do a custom ROM is because I don't like not having 1% battery in notifications.

I feel like I need to run a custom ROM since custom ROMs have much more tweaks and features that stock does not have. CyanogenMod for example.
Sent from my Nexus 4, powered by CyanogenMod via XDA Developers app.

phermey said:
it can. but i have never had any issues. unless you are in a position to worry about security... with your job, there is nothing to worry about.
edit: added pic.
and if you are in that sort of position to worry about security... the last phone you need is a nexus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the pic, it sure is special.. looks great!
I do have to worry about security though, but why would you say the last phone needed is a nexus?
Should i go for an iPhone? Because the alternatives are not that great.