[Q] Custom ROMS for galaxy s4 i9505? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

i've had an s4 i9505 for about a week now and there doesnt seem much in the way of custom roms.ive tried the likes of omega,wanamlite,phoenix,android hd,foxhound etc,etc in which i have found battery king to be the best for battery life and overall performance(with ausdim 13 kernel),but there doesnt seem much else out there.is it slow for development or are developers sticking to the s3 where there seems to be plenty of activity.any info on this is greatly appreciated as i think the galaxy s series has been the best phone for years.

yep i think its a bit boring too, since im a flashoholic
in android develepment, nearly all roms are TW based, and they are VERY VERY similar.
in original development you can find some interesting stuff on the AOSP front, like PAC, cm etc BUT they are all on the nightly/experimental stage with some milestones, and many can be used as daily driver.
so i would suggest you check original dev forum instead, for some more interesting roms than just TW based.
however, my personal opinion is if you want most stability and best batterylife, your best bet would unfortunately be TW rom at this stage.
Perhaps in a year we will have rock solid AOSP roms!
yut another personal belief is a HUGE reason for this, is because CodeworkX abandoned Samsung and went to HTC ;(
Thus a huge part of the CM team left samsung and COULD possibly be a reason for all this.
Again. just my very personal belief

aliendna999 said:
yep i think its a bit boring too, since im a flashoholic
in android develepment, nearly all roms are TW based, and they are VERY VERY similar.
in original development you can find some interesting stuff on the AOSP front, like PAC, cm etc BUT they are all on the nightly/experimental stage with some milestones, and many can be used as daily driver.
so i would suggest you check original dev forum instead, for some more interesting roms than just TW based.
however, my personal opinion is if you want most stability and best batterylife, your best bet would unfortunately be TW rom at this stage.
Perhaps in a year we will have rock solid AOSP roms!
yut another personal belief is a HUGE reason for this, is because CodeworkX abandoned Samsung and went to HTC ;(
Thus a huge part of the CM team left samsung and COULD possibly be a reason for all this.
Again. just my very personal belief
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thanks for the advice,i'll check the original development more often.its shame if developers aren't using the s4 for development because its an amazing phone.i'm happy with the likes of foxhound,omega and battery king,i was just expecting more as i just switched from gs2 where a lot of developers are stopping and changing to newer phones.fingers crossed for the future then:fingers-crossed:

Is it even possible that the phone is still too new? I believe most phones will have 1-2 year warranty depending on country an carrier. So maybe not a lot of folks have turned to rooting and developing s4's yet? Just a thought mind you.
Compairing to other devices where they seam to be a bit slow for 6-12 months then bang, warranty runs out or they get close to end of warranty then all Manor of stuffs happen?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda app-developers app

i did think that it may be too soon,but having seen some developers already using the s4 i thought most would not be able to resist the temptation.i hope you are right and the big bang happens sooner rather than later.saying that,i'm also very happy with the solid developing that is already taking place,long may it live.

Related

[DISCUSSION] Coming from a Nexus One (N1)...

I was considering the Nexus S (NS) seeing how unlocking the bootloader, rooting, flashing of customs ROM is almost the same.
However, paying an extra SGD$200+ for the NS over the Galaxy S just seem stupid with their hardware being so similar and in some case, thumping the NS. (And seeing how with NS being out, it's possible, the Galaxy S would also have more frequent updates instead of waiting for Samsung)
Coming from being a N1 user of about a year, would i be disappointed in the Developers' support for the Galaxy S if i do choose to get it to replace the N1 which i have sold?
How different is it to flash stuff on the Galaxy S as opposed to the N1? Are the custom ROMs for the Galaxy S every bit the same level of quality as say the ones cooked up for the N1?
Thank you.
Imo native AOSP power from google will always be better than samsung stuff. Though the SGS has become a decent phone recently. Samsung seems to make efforts to get rid off the lags. supercurio blessed us with native ext4 filesystem support. Benjamin dorbell came up with a opensource flash tool on mac/linux/windows: Heimdall. In short: if you choose to use 3rd party software right away and never ever install KIES or anything, you'll enjoy the Samsung Galaxy S.
(make sure you clean up the samsung bloatware with "Sgs tools" app from market.)
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Until now, all the roms except Cyanogen mod are based off Samsung's relatively poor default UI. And Cyanogen mod isn't ready for prime time yet, unlike the multitude of roms available for N1 and it's brother Desire. Without putting down their efforts, current SGS roms (less the incomplete Cyanogen) are basically theming and beautifying the current SGS roms, and removing/adding available APKs, nothing like the MIUI, Sense and AOSP roms available on N1 and Desire.
It will always have slower support than Nexus, which has a much bigger dev base, most of the devs start with shots in the dark.
Remember, Samsung is mostly a hardware company, they need to keep selling phones for profit. Software updates will end at some point - An official Google phone will please you much more if updates are your game.
exactly thats why we hope for a good outcome of supercurio and teams work on a nexus s port. this would make the sgs independent from samsungs poor software development.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
kenkiller said:
Until now, all the roms except Cyanogen mod are based off Samsung's relatively poor default UI. And Cyanogen mod isn't ready for prime time yet, unlike the multitude of roms available for N1 and it's brother Desire. Without putting down their efforts, current SGS roms (less the incomplete Cyanogen) are basically theming and beautifying the current SGS roms, and removing/adding available APKs, nothing like the MIUI, Sense and AOSP roms available on N1 and Desire.
It will always have slower support than Nexus, which has a much bigger dev base, most of the devs start with shots in the dark.
Remember, Samsung is mostly a hardware company, they need to keep selling phones for profit. Software updates will end at some point - An official Google phone will please you much more if updates are your game.
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Cyanogen for froyo sgs has been abandoned, they will try with gb again I think but not guaranteed success. If they manage to port nexus s gb to sgs I would imagine that porting future google updates would be easier.. But that also is not guaranteed.
But i agree with you.. A modded sgs is one of the best android phones at the moment.
I dont think there is an easy answer at this point.. But imo, as it's 200 cheaper get it for now and then save the other 200 to go towards the next gen android phones.. I think the nexus s hardware will become out dated pretty quickly.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Worsty said:
I was considering the Nexus S (NS) seeing how unlocking the bootloader, rooting, flashing of customs ROM is almost the same.
However, paying an extra SGD$200+ for the NS over the Galaxy S just seem stupid with their hardware being so similar and in some case, thumping the NS. (And seeing how with NS being out, it's possible, the Galaxy S would also have more frequent updates instead of waiting for Samsung)
Coming from being a N1 user of about a year, would i be disappointed in the Developers' support for the Galaxy S if i do choose to get it to replace the N1 which i have sold?
How different is it to flash stuff on the Galaxy S as opposed to the N1? Are the custom ROMs for the Galaxy S every bit the same level of quality as say the ones cooked up for the N1?
Thank you.
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If you want a GPS that works, SGS isn't the way to go. If I hadn't already got a SGS I'd undoubtedly get the NS.
Thanks guys for the input. I'll do some more reading and hopefully 2.3 gets ported to the Galaxy S in the coming weeks.
If that happens, i'll definately get the Galaxy S over the NS.

Nexus S Development :(

Ok I think this has been asked before but,where the hell are all of the devs!? We have a few really great devs,but I can't help but wonder why don't we have more? Is the nexus s to little to late?
Anyways if this phone had more dev support it would truly Beast of a device
Dual-Core and LTE has just been too enticing for devs...
with the thunderbolt out on Verizon, and the G2X on T-Mobile, we're lucky we have the devs we do... At least we have the heavy hitters: CM and MIUI. We also have Sense in development and improving fast. And lastly we have three GREAT kernel devs... Of course the more devs the merrier, but let's be thankful with who we have.
Quality of ROMs / Kernels > Quantity of ROM / Kernels
Don't like it? Go learn how to make ROMs & kernels. Otherwise, you aren't in a position to be criticizing the amount of ROMs.
It's also partially because we're on Gingerbread. For example, for the Vibrant there are a lot of ROMs but they're all the same thing but themed differently. But behind the scenes, they're really the same ROM.
zephiK said:
Quality of ROMs / Kernels > Quantity of ROM / Kernels
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I'm also little disappointed but what you said is so true we might not have allot but we have great ROMS i use CM7 myself
and we also just got ROM with hardware codecs and with sprint now we should hopefully get more support
people seems to forget... the device is still very new
it was released on late December 2010, we are still in April 2011
that's only 4 months, yet look at all the great stuff that we got going already.
in contrast the same time for Galaxy S, it took them more than 8 months to get them where they are now, when the SGS was released 4 months and we still did not see any decent ROM coming out.
Woo now, I made no point to say I was unhappy just discouraged. I am extremely happy with the kernels and roms we have as well as our devs. I am simply asking were all the devs are being a vanilla android device and one with great hardware at that it would make sense for more devs to come to the ns rather a locked boot loader phone etc.
Edit: I actually made it a point in my first post about the fact we do have great devs
Don't forget we have Supercurio too!
^ that guy is the man him morific (I guess he's not doing kernels anymore), netarchy <3 , apreichner,ogdobber,mrNameless etc all are amazing (all of the top of my head but yeah there are a few more )
zephiK said:
Don't like it? Go learn how to make ROMs & kernels. Otherwise, you aren't in a position to be criticizing the amount of ROMs.
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Take note, this is very well said.
If OP, you were paying money into a pool for ROM devs, you'd have a valid point, but, as you're not, re-read the quote above.
What would you like to see developed? More ROMs/Kernels? What should they do that current NS ROMs/Kernels don't?
deejaylobo said:
What would you like to see developed? What should [it] do that current NS ROMs/Kernels don't?
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I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Let's have a look at what drives custom ROM development on other phones:
Newer Android version out but no or delayed official updates. → The NS is running 2.3.3, which is the most current version for phones.
Removal of bloatware and/or custom skins → The NS has neither.
Fixing bugs → That one's legit, I want working GPS!
Pushing the boundaries of the hardware → there's OC and UV kernels, even Voodoo. About the only thing I'm missing is support for the fm radio that's allegedly somewhere in there.
That said, I can see where the OP's coming from. I'd have expected a few more daring projects as well, like custom distros that don't just mix & match existing (binary) code but are built from source from the ground up. Maybe there's only room for one CyanogenMod, though.
Then there may be the fact that it isn't spec- and value-wise a very attractive phone, what with the missing SD card slot, disabled fm radio, rather high bulk and weight (while still being all-plastic), medicore reception and dismal GPS. About the only thing it's really got going for it is the software it's running - and if you like that, why replace it?
EDIT: One more point: Few people have one - just look at the number of posts & threads in the NS forums vs the SGS1 forums. At first it was US/UK only and by the time the Continental European version came out it was old news. Fewer owners means fewer devs and also less of an audience / user base for those devs.
I'd love to see what the dev's can really do... only time will tell I guess, but getting TV-Out, FM (both receiving and especially transmitting), and maybe even USB host working would be totally nifty.
The following is NOT universally true. It is admittedly a generalization. However I'm going to say it as I think it accounts for SOME of what the OP notices:
Development on most other phones is in the direction of modifying software/firmware on those phones to be more like the Nexus phones. Thus, when you're starting with a Nexus S....... well, you do the math
What would you like to see developed? What should [it] do that current NS ROMs/Kernels don't?
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I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Let's have a look at what drives custom ROM development on other phones:<br />
[*]Newer Android version out but no or delayed official updates. → The NS is running 2.3.3, which is the most current version for phones.
[*]Removal of bloatware and/or custom skins → The NS has neither.
[*]Fixing bugs → That one's legit, I want working GPS!
[*]Pushing the boundaries of the hardware → there's OC and UV kernels, even Voodoo. About the only thing I'm missing is support for the fm radio that's allegedly somewhere in there.<br />
<br />
<br />
That said, I can see where the OP's coming from. I'd have expected a few more daring projects as well, like custom distros that don't just mix & match existing (binary) code but are built from source from the ground up. Maybe there's only room for one CyanogenMod, though.<br />
<br />
Then there may be the fact that it isn't spec- and value-wise a very attractive phone, what with the missing SD card slot, disabled fm radio, rather high bulk and weight (while still being all-plastic), medicore reception and dismal GPS. About the only thing it's really got going for it is the software it's running - and if you like that, why replace it?<br />
EDIT: One more point: Few people have one - just look at the number of posts & threads in the NS forums vs the SGS1 forums. At first it was US/UK only and by the time the Continental European version came out it was old news. Fewer owners means fewer devs and also less of an audience / user base for those devs.
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Honestly, I love the look and feel of this phone. No reception issues and gps problems either. We have a couple of devs working on Touch and Sense. Touch port might open up possibilities for TV out. I think it's a matter of time. The phone is still young like Allgamer said.
Very true and coming from a vibrant I can say there is a ton of roms for it but ultimately a fully working aosp Rom is all they wanted and we already have therefore there's not really the need for that many roms
matt2053 said:
The following is NOT universally true. It is admittedly a generalization. However I'm going to say it as I think it accounts for SOME of what the OP notices:
Development on most other phones is in the direction of modifying software/firmware on those phones to be more like the Nexus phones. Thus, when you're starting with a Nexus S....... well, you do the math
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Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Just my cents: I recently sold my Galaxy S and bought a Nexus S. On the Galaxy S Dev forums there is more activity, but you know why? It's because things are BAD on the SGS and the devs/users try to fix all the things that samsung screwed up. This is my first day on the NS and as an user I'm 100% happy with the stock rom already. I installed CM7 and now I'm like "I must be dreaming". And I*can tell you the devs over there spend a lot of time improving the Samsung roms. I was constantly tinkering around with the SGS, it was such a waste of time.
In short: There isn't much to improve on the Nexus S, it just works. I*feel relieved.
i miss intersect and wildmonks they make very good kernels
rallos98 said:
i miss intersect and wildmonks they make very good kernels
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Same, I'm a former N1 user and beginning to miss it alot.
Sent from my Nexus S
Ok guys this thread had nothing to do with quality or quantity, but rather activity. I was just curious as to why we don't have more devs+ activity, maybe I over looked the fact that it takes time lol. And also I meant no dissrespect to any dev what so ever, what ever work you have done for this device I truly thank you
deejaylobo said:
What would you like to see developed? More ROMs/Kernels? What should they do that current NS ROMs/Kernels don't?
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Honestly just more diversity really, I think I should have been more specific in the original post. I believe the more devs the greater possibility for sense/touch wiz and various hacks to happen. I think that I'm just worried we are being left behind for all the dual core phones, I'm not saying we don't have support and devs, but if this phone were released a bit earlier it wouldn't have to compete with phones such as the sensation,atrix,g2x(2x), and especially the galaxy 2

Development is slow for NS

Not that I'm ungrateful or anything but I must admit that I am surprised at how slow development has been for the Nexus S. It's a nice bit of hardware that has enough power and potential to be used for all kinds of porting and development projects but instead there are only a few ROM's which are more or less based off the original ROM and don't really bring much to the table.
I say this because I recently bought a Galaxy S II and I've seen that the forum for that phone is far more active than here.
Anyway, I really appreciate all the work that people have put into Nexus S and I hope that it will still grow more popular!
Can I ask what carrier you're using?
The SGS2 has sold many more units; it's only natural that their forum is more active than ours.There are other factors that also add to the rather slow development you're seeing:
The NS comes with AOSP, which by many is regarded the superior form of Android. This coupled by the fact that the NS was released just before the beginning of the dawn of the DCs, results in a neglect of both Sense and TW ROMs. This isn't a big loss, but alternatives wouldn't be bad either, for that part.
What you are seeing is lots and lots of AOSP ROMs, and a single incomplete Sense ROM. That would generally be regarded as an unhealthy development community. But think about this: the NS has the heavy hitters such as CM7 and MIUI, smaller but incredibly solid ROMs as Oxygen. What you are seeing are a couple of quality ROMs, what you aren't seeing is lots of crap in between.
And don't forget the kernel developers who plays a big part in the Dev community.
Personally I enjoy the the NS immensely and I have high hopes that we'll go a long way together.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
treUse said:
The SGS2 has sold many more units; it's only natural that their forum is more active than ours.There are other factors that also add to the rather slow development you're seeing:
The NS comes with AOSP, which by many is regarded the superior form of Android. This coupled by the fact that the NS was released just before the beginning of the dawn of the DCs, results in a neglect of both Sense and TW ROMs. This isn't a big loss, but alternatives wouldn't be bad either, for that part.
What you are seeing is lots and lots of AOSP ROMs, and a single incomplete Sense ROM. That would generally be regarded as an unhealthy development community. But think about this: the NS has the heavy hitters such as CM7 and MIUI, smaller but incredibly solid ROMs as Oxygen. What you are seeing are a couple of quality ROMs, what you aren't seeing is lots of crap in between.
And don't forget the kernel developers who plays a big part in the Dev community.
Personally I enjoy the the NS immensely and I have high hopes that we'll go a long way together.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
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+1 I had a Galaxy S (Vibrant) and all the ROMs were based off the OTA of TouchWiz. All of them are the SAME EXACT ROM. The only difference is that they appear differently and has been themed. That's the only difference. But in the end, under the hood. They're all the same exact ROM.
And that's cool you got the Galaxy S2. So shouldn't you go over to that forum instead of trying to brag about it on the Nexus S forum?
To dev for Android you don't have to be a big shot or anything. You could make ROMs yourself. But you don't, so don't complain about it if you aren't contributing.
CM7 and MIUI. What more do you need?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
I use Mikeyinid_v.0.1 with the matr1x v3.0 kernel and it does just fine for me. Stock(AOSP, whatever) is better to me than some of the other ROMs. I don't see the developement as being slow, maybe a little more fickle but not slow. Most everything on these forums for the NS and NS4G is high quality with very few issues. You don't see that a lot for other devices. I think maybe a crapton of stuff isn't out for the Nexus is because it doesn't need it. It is kind of a minimalist phone in a way. It is made so you don't need as much crap developed for it to supplement it. Im sure if more people wanted the Sense ROM, it would be up by now. That's just my opinion, though. Right, wrong or indifferent.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
treUse said:
The SGS2 has sold many more units; it's only natural that their forum is more active than ours.There are other factors that also add to the rather slow development you're seeing:
The NS comes with AOSP, which by many is regarded the superior form of Android. This coupled by the fact that the NS was released just before the beginning of the dawn of the DCs, results in a neglect of both Sense and TW ROMs. This isn't a big loss, but alternatives wouldn't be bad either, for that part.
What you are seeing is lots and lots of AOSP ROMs, and a single incomplete Sense ROM. That would generally be regarded as an unhealthy development community. But think about this: the NS has the heavy hitters such as CM7 and MIUI, smaller but incredibly solid ROMs as Oxygen. What you are seeing are a couple of quality ROMs, what you aren't seeing is lots of crap in between.
And don't forget the kernel developers who plays a big part in the Dev community.
Personally I enjoy the the NS immensely and I have high hopes that we'll go a long way together.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
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This summed it all up nicely. Well said.
it's pure google, so there is less to tweak and more about adding features. There can only be so many features added.
All valid points indeed however there is still room to grow and with a device that has the hardware to handle more than just AOSP and MIUI ROM's, I just feel it would be nice to have a few more options without going out and buying another phone. (I'm not made of money and I actually like the NS HW design)
I chose the NS partly due to the Nexus brand which proved to be very popular among developers with the Nexus One. It's all part of the fun of owning a Nexus phone.
To each his own I guess!
What development needs do you have that aren't being met?
My sense is that lots of people want constant change for its own sake rather than because there's any actual need for something to change.
Android is, fundamentally, a big pile of applications. Those don't need to be (and arguably shouldn't usually be) in the firmware. We each have the ability to install and run different ones as we need.
The firmware I currently use (the stock firmware) meets my present firmware needs completely. I don't look to firmware updates or custom "ROMs" to address my unmet needs - I look to the application development community for that.
From my experience in the evo forums (god bless the devs for what they can do, and no disrespect to the real devs and getting stuff working out of nothing and others) but the multiple sense based Roms with same tweaks with sometimes horrible themes thrown on top. The amount of Roms flowing didn't mean healthy just overcrowded with stuff that could have been a theme.
A nexus phone doesn't need alot of development due to it being aosp out of the box. Which alot of people want on their touchwiz\sense\blur phones so out of the box we have an experience that alot of people send alot of time trying to get on their phone.
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
I too was fairly disappointed to see the inactivity in the NS forums but I came to realize much of what was said here - this is already the most refined state of Android.
Coming from the Captivate which had a huge following, it caught me off guard that the dev phone would have less of a community than a normal consumer phone. However, we don't consider why people buy Nexus S' to begin with. Most of it's buyers know that this is Pure Android and buy it with such in mind. We don't want TouchWiz; we don't want Motoblur; we don't want Sense; and we don't want whatever crap LG puts on their phones. We want Pure Android and we got it. The only things we may want additionally would be other smaller features (notification toggles, BLN, OC/UV etc.) and we got it too from the community.
If you look at other communities, they "dev" for features that we already have. They dev for:
1. The removal of bloat (carrier crap).
2. Newer Android updates ("leaked" firmware which are buggy to begin with).
3. Different themes (most are ugly or try to theme to AOSP).
4. Better performance (minor if any change at all).
5. New features.
#1, 2 and 4 are things Nexus S already has. We, as Nexus S owners, don't necessarily want #3 at all as we love how Pure Android looks. #5 is what our community pretty much consist of as the new features such as BLN, OC/UV, Voodoo, and notification toggles are "our" ROMs. No wonder all of our ROMs are AOSP-like right? We don't need #1-4, we just want some of #5.
And really, what else do we really need?
The only thing I ask for are:
1. An aftermarket kernel that can OC/UV and has Voodoo and BLN. (multiple kernels with such)
2. Minimalistic ROMs. (Oxygen and some others)
3. Feature-rich ROMs. (CM7, MIUI)
All are satisfied and done so quite well.
Zardos66 said:
CM7 and MIUI. What more do you need?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA Premium App
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What he said, we got everything we need. No need to go through hoops and barrels to get aosp. We also got awesome kernel development as well
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App
Trust me, there is everything you need here.
Coming from an incredible, I am so pleased with my NS4G.
When gingerbread sense leaked for the dinc, there was a Ridiculous amount of Roms released. It was just getting silly.
A few solid Roms and some great kernels is all you need.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App
If someone could fix the battery issues with the Sprint version, that would be great! ;-)
(at this point the Sprint Nexus battery does not last half as long as my OG Evo with similar usage...)
zephiK said:
+1 I had a Galaxy S (Vibrant) and all the ROMs were based off the OTA of TouchWiz. All of them are the SAME EXACT ROM. The only difference is that they appear differently and has been themed. That's the only difference. But in the end, under the hood. They're all the same exact ROM.
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This x1000. I had a Captivate and everyone raved about the choices they had but didn't realize that it was TW with the living daylights themed out of it. I would rather have a few quality ROM's than 50 of the exact same thing.
See if you feel the same way when ICS is released. Lol.
adb shove iPad2post.apk to /forum/thread
I was thinking the same thing as OP. Although I'm glad I have a Nexus S, it's so easy to flash ROMs and things. I've been sorting out a 2.1 Eclair Motorola Defy for my friend and it was a nightmare!
I would love to see what else this baby can do though, maybe USB host for starters.
Well, I think I agree with the general consensus already established in this thread.
We do have it good from the get go as nexus owners. The AOSP roms are for the most part all round excellent and do not really cry out for huge amount of changes and or variations.
There's no bloatware installed. No custom skin to eat away all the ram and slow things down. No big issues.
The roms are fast, stable and real clean.
Overall I'm quite happy with all the good work of the nexus s development community. We have some good choices available.
Feature rich roms such as Cyanogen and MIUI...and light rock solid roms such as Oxygen, Infin1ty and Axura.
Also some great kernels from netarchy and the Trinity team. All in all I think we've got it real good. Especially when one takes a look at some of the other handsets development community.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I think there's a lot of hubris going on here. Sure, AOSP is fine, but there isn't a single product out there that can't be improved...
Personally, from my experiences running stock, I've wished that there are a lot of configurations that were more customizable. Most of these options are hidden away, like masking the browser user agent string. Personally, I prefer OSes that are extremely lightweight, stable and reliable with minimal cruft but still extremely customizable, even if it means that you have to put more effort than normal into making things work. Yes I'm really picky... I've found that Arch Linux suits me most on the desktop, but I'm not sure yet what ROM will suit me most. So maybe I'll end up building something myself.
But it's just like there's no single Linux distro that's the best; rather there are many different options to choose from. Diversity allows you to take a good product and make it great! Call me an idealist if you like
My current device is the Epic. After reading through this thread I'm sold. My son had been wanting my Epic for a long time. I'm going out and tomorrow and picking up a Nexus S. Thanks
To the OP: if you want to see slow development and pissed off people go visit the Epic forums. Everyone waiting on a leak or God forbid an official release. I'm envious!

Lack of rom diversity.

Is it just me, or is there a lack of diversity when it comes to ROMs for the n4? I have been using the nexus lineup since the nexus s, and it seemed back then, and with the galaxy nexus, there was more variety. As in sense ROMs or xperia ROMs, miui etc... With the n4 its miui or aosp variants like AOKP or cm10.
I was a flashoholic for sure back then but now it rarely seems like its worth the effort to try new ROMs out. I typically find one that is stable, and I stick to that for weeks or perhaps a couple of months. There is the odd new feature added to these new ROMs that's interesting, but nothing ever drasticly different.
Don't get me wrong, I love the ability to dump some lines of code in and have an LTE device, or benchmark near what the new s4 puts down, I do like the phone, but why no ports?? Even now there are 4.2.2 xperia ROMs on devices out there, why no n4 love? I have been waiting forever for an alternative lock screen (bb10 or lg's) that I don't think will ever come. Just find it weird.
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many of the developers love the pure android side of it in the first place, thats why they are here. and ports just arent the same, and dont run as well as a native rom. if you want a port, see what you could do to build one, id try it if you put one out
I have thought about trying to port. I don't believe I have the skills to get this done, nor the time to gain said skills. I just wonder, is this perhaps due to the fact that this is an lg device, and the others were Samsung? I would think not, but I don't know enough to say for sure.
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j_mullet said:
I have thought about trying to port. I don't believe I have the skills to get this done, nor the time to gain said skills. I just wonder, is this perhaps due to the fact that this is an lg device, and the others were Samsung? I would think not, but I don't know enough to say for sure.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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that does make things harder. writing new drivers probably wouldnt be worth it, among other things. that is, unless the developer really wanted that port
When I was on my GNex, I don't remember any Sense/TouchWiz/Blur ROMs, at least not functional.
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You bought a nexus 4, but didn't want AOSP?
If you want a different lock screen, there's apps for that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
None of the ports would ever get into a useable state or be a fully functional daily driver.
It's easier to have a samsung/htc/whatever and go cyanogenmod when you want the closest-to-stock feel, and you'd also have variations of stock roms (sense, tw..).
I don't think the situation was different in the galaxy nexus forum than it is now here, but i do remember that every once in a while threads about how "all roms are the same" would pop up.
And a last point, i don't get this flashing habbit. There's nothing wrong in sticking to 1 rom for a long time, it only means it's stable and it has all the features you actually use/need. *It's a phone, not a toy, if you're bored during your days maybe it's time to find a hobby or maybe start dating or smth. , or just get another non nexus phone and use it to satisfy your flashoholic needs with buggy ports.
*not being rude..
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
No Diversity?
I believe that Diversity starts here.
PIE? Halo? Just a couple off the top of my head.
I would rather have stable and new innovations rather then buggy and every option CM can add thrown at me. Hence why I own a Nexus.
Don't forget Ubuntu Phone, that's pretty far from an AOSP ROM. Most other phones besides Galaxy Nexus don't even have a usable port of this.
Nothing to see here... Just another lazy window shopping end-user with very little knowledge on how developing works trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
Human beings can never be satisfied.
(Tendency of human beings)
Exynos S4 users are crying for AOSP based ROM and here nexus 4 users are crying for some OEM based ROM.
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Akhil said:
Human beings can never be satisfied.
(Tendency of human beings)
Exynos S4 users are crying for AOSP based ROM and here nexus 4 users are crying for some OEM based ROM.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
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It happens.
On Moto forums people cry for sense ROM. On HTC forums people cry for touch wiz. On Samsung forums people cry for MotoBlur.
(This may or may not be real but when I was in the moto section before there were so many threads asking for a Sense port)
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I would love a perfectly functioning sense rom for the nexus 4 but I highly doubt that will ever happen. Then again the reason I bought this phone was not to have manufacturer and carrier restrictions like the other ones do.
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ghostrid3r said:
Nothing to see here... Just another lazy window shopping end-user with very little knowledge on how developing works trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
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As a former Nexus S 4G and GNex owner, I agree with him. I don't flash roms anymore because I'm bored with them. I picked up another Nexus phone because I know from experience that Nexus phones push the limits of android, and I just don't feel that about the N4. I'm very thankful for all the devs that are out there, but most of the ROMs coming out for the N4 are large group roms (PA, CM10.1, AOKP) and are not made specifically for our device. ROMs that are made specifically for our device lack diversity.
With the HTC Evo 4G I was trying every ROM out there, and when ICS was released I was on the cutting edge with it, and upgraded to the NS4G because of the way it handled ICS. I then switched all over the place looking for more speed and stability, eager to try out every new feature. Then came the GNex, with Jelly Bean first being released, it was again an adventure of trying new things and having an active development community building for it.
The Nexus 4...I don't know. Other than aesthetics I don't think it's as good of a phone for me as the GNex was. The same core of ROMs run on both phones, but the Galaxy Nexus had a lot more storage.
I still like my phone, but I almost feel like I lost a hobby.
In response to the "get a hobby / start dating" comment. I'm married, work a ton, and have a few hobbies, but I still liked tinkering with my phone during my free evenings.
Yeah, where's all the 13 y/o developers (jk) who used to use the kitchen to make cute roms with custom everything (fonts wallpapers bootanimations dialer you name it) and really stand behind the ROM . As much as other big respectable devs who build from source like to ridicule them, I actually really miss them.
I see illusion ROM kinda doing it right now for the nexus 4 and love it. hopefully more come for us...
j_mullet said:
Is it just me, or is there a lack of diversity when it comes to ROMs for the n4? I have been using the nexus lineup since the nexus s, and it seemed back then, and with the galaxy nexus, there was more variety. As in sense ROMs or xperia ROMs, miui etc... With the n4 its miui or aosp variants like AOKP or cm10.
I was a flashoholic for sure back then but now it rarely seems like its worth the effort to try new ROMs out. I typically find one that is stable, and I stick to that for weeks or perhaps a couple of months. There is the odd new feature added to these new ROMs that's interesting, but nothing ever drasticly different.
Don't get me wrong, I love the ability to dump some lines of code in and have an LTE device, or benchmark near what the new s4 puts down, I do like the phone, but why no ports?? Even now there are 4.2.2 xperia ROMs on devices out there, why no n4 love? I have been waiting forever for an alternative lock screen (bb10 or lg's) that I don't think will ever come. Just find it weird.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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you have a point....but stock android with optimization is what most people download the roms for and get nexus 4 in first place (for many ppl)
thunder2132 said:
As a former Nexus S 4G and GNex owner, I agree with him. I don't flash roms anymore because I'm bored with them. I picked up another Nexus phone because I know from experience that Nexus phones push the limits of android, and I just don't feel that about the N4. I'm very thankful for all the devs that are out there, but most of the ROMs coming out for the N4 are large group roms (PA, CM10.1, AOKP) and are not made specifically for our device. ROMs that are made specifically for our device lack diversity.
With the HTC Evo 4G I was trying every ROM out there, and when ICS was released I was on the cutting edge with it, and upgraded to the NS4G because of the way it handled ICS. I then switched all over the place looking for more speed and stability, eager to try out every new feature. Then came the GNex, with Jelly Bean first being released, it was again an adventure of trying new things and having an active development community building for it.
The Nexus 4...I don't know. Other than aesthetics I don't think it's as good of a phone for me as the GNex was. The same core of ROMs run on both phones, but the Galaxy Nexus had a lot more storage.
I still like my phone, but I almost feel like I lost a hobby.
In response to the "get a hobby / start dating" comment. I'm married, work a ton, and have a few hobbies, but I still liked tinkering with my phone during my free evenings.
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Well you said it, galaxy nexus had jelly bean. There were no big updates during the era of the nexus 4, but give it a bit of time till KLP (or whatever it's gonna be called) arrives, none of those buggy touchwiz or sense roms will interest you. Oh and it's gonna be exclusive to a few devices (nexus line and GE phones)
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
I'd rather have developers pushing the boundaries of AOSP (so everyone can enjoy them) than investing time in a proprietary and in the end, lackluster result compared to the stock experience.
Unless the device is a direct relative, you won't see a good port of any OEM firmware.
I believe stock has a great level of quality and that can be seen on the polls, most people using pure stock.
Also we have great Roms that build upon AOSP and our device is first party supported (see PA). With features like HALO, privacy controls and others, they are delivering great improvements across all devices.
In the end, if you want the best AOSP experience, get a Nexus.
If you want the best Touchwiz experience, get S4.
If you want the best Sense experience, get One.
Etc.
If you really need a OEM overlay, I guess you have the wrong device, friend.
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I just installed PA with HALO to try to prove my thoughts wrong, and there's really no way to get rid of HALO? It's annoying and intrusive, I absolutely hate it, and it just sits there. I went to hide it, and it still just sits on the edge of my screen. Gah! It makes me claustrophobic. I realize that this isn't a popular opinion as everybody raves about HALO, but I can't stand it.
thunder2132 said:
I just installed PA with HALO to try to prove my thoughts wrong, and there's really no way to get rid of HALO? It's annoying and intrusive, I absolutely hate it, and it just sits there. I went to hide it, and it still just sits on the edge of my screen. Gah! It makes me claustrophobic. I realize that this isn't a popular opinion as everybody raves about HALO, but I can't stand it.
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Same here, I couldn't stand it for more than 5 minutes when I tried it. I even tried to like the whole pie craze, but after 2 days I got sick of swiping to use the navigation buttons, it just felt like extra work. I mean don't get me wrong the PA team are absolute geniuses at what they do, but it just wasn't for me.
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Note 2 Stock Roms On and Offtopic

Hello everyone! I started this because I noticed there aren't many threads regarding this topic, at least not many that compact questions and answers regarding stock roms.
First things first, I come from a Galaxy S1 and let me state the obvious: this phone is absolutely amazing not necessarily by comparison but by overall quality. Coming from the S1 let me say it was imperative for me to flash a custom Rom (CM rules!) because Sammy just wouldn't update the phone after the S2, stuck with GB, and frankly the phone just didn't cope in matter of hardware. So
anyway I was just "forced" to flash a custom Rom just to have a real smartphone experience. When I bought the note2 I really was prepared to flash CM as a necessary and natural requirement. But after a short period with the stock Rom I had a change of mind. Even though I had 4.2.3 on the s1, I really didn't mind the downgrade, because simply the overall experience with the Note2 was simply amazing. Fluid, fast, and great battery life by comparison (I am a heavy reader on my phone).
What I am really trying to say is I 'm pro for updates and new features, but after 2 years of flashing custom roms, I must say that at the end of the day all I want is a quality phone experience. Some people might say that doesn't apply to everyone because some people like performance or just like the notion of creating a custom experience... I totally understand and agree but at the same time I guarantee that most people (including me after 2 years of flashing) just want a stock experience with the expectancy of support from their brand maker in terms of present and future features.
Sorry for having such a large personal offtopic. I would really like fo this thread to be about Q/A regarding stock roms.
First question I would really appreciate to know is, being a new user of this phone, what stock rom do you think works best and whether anyone is using a stock different from their region for better performance/signal/etc.
Peace everyone!
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Unfortunately, rom comparison threads are prohibited because they always become flame-fests.
Welcome to the GN2 forum!
Like you I haven't found an absolute need to flash or even root the phone. The ATT apps have never been updated and frankly, don't annoy me as much as they had with other phones that I've bought.
With the ZeroLemon battery I don't have to recharge the phone every day or even every two days and with the S-Pen... just Awesome.
KLP upgrade
Will Note 2 ever receive Key Lime Pie upgrade?
nerve9 said:
Hello everyone! I started this because I noticed there aren't many threads regarding this topic, at least not many that compact questions and answers regarding stock roms.
Peace everyone!
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
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Hi, I came pretty much the same way like you. A few weeks ago, after using several custom ROM and Kernel, I decided to go back to Stock. I found out I really don't miss anything. Two day's ago I flashed the latest XXDME6 for my geo. Performance, battery life is amazing.Did some additional customizing with Simplistic and Xposed and I am 100% satisfied.
same here....been having a galaxy s 2 and been flashing alot....but now sticking to stock ! the open AOSP/AOKP are no match to the stock ROM... using Pearseus kernel.... but many people claim Jedi ROM is the best for note 2, highly tweaked and themed and based on stock so you will be having most if not all of note 2 features plus added functionality I believe most people are very satisfied with it.... unfortunately when I tried the latest version Jedi x16 I was ending up with boot loops...will try again in the near future
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It's a wonderful experience to go from one custom ROM to another as long as one desires! It's equally wonderful to revert to stock ROM. This is freedom! In Note 2, it's greater freedom!
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