Database Users

Will pure AOSP Froyo ROM ever be a reality on Samsung Galaxy S devices?

Im thinking of getting a Epic 4g when they are released but Im very hesitant on this because what I have read about Samsung devices being "locked down". First off I prefer AOSP over touch wiz or sense, and I hoping to see this possible on theses devices someday. From what I have seen this may come down to a driver issue as they are encrypted by Samsung. I also want to use Wifi Tether too. Id like anyone who knows about theses devices to shed some light on this and help me make a decision. I dont understand why manufactures feel they need to put crap onto of Android when is more usable with out it. I just wish Samsung they just gave us the option of either roms.

WhiteWidows said:
Im thinking of getting a Epic 4g when they are released but Im very hesitant on this because what I have read about Samsung devices being "locked down". First off I prefer AOSP over touch wiz or sense, and I hoping to see this possible on theses devices someday. From what I have seen this may come down to a driver issue as they are encrypted by Samsung. I also want to use Wifi Tether too. Id like anyone who knows about theses devices to shed some light on this and help me make a decision. I dont understand why manufactures feel they need to put crap onto of Android when is more usable with out it. I just wish Samsung they just gave us the option of either roms.
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you must be mistaken there mate
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/07/samsung-releases-open-source-code-for-galaxy-s/
this was one of the biggest reasons i chose the galaxy S over the droid X and ordered it yesterday ... it appears to me that the hackmmunity will grow quite big with the galaxy s series
edit:
in contrast to: http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/content/612-bad-news-droid-x-lovers-droid-x-lockdown.html

jodue said:
you must be mistaken there mate
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/07/samsung-releases-open-source-code-for-galaxy-s/
this was one of the biggest reasons i chose the galaxy S over the droid X and ordered it yesterday ... it appears to me that the hackmmunity will grow quite big with the galaxy s series
edit:
in contrast to: http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/content/612-bad-news-droid-x-lovers-droid-x-lockdown.html
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This contradicts what I read elsewhere for the better Ill see if I can locate where I read this at, If this is the case why is there no custom roms besides Cyanogenmod? Where is a AOSP roms at? Or is the device just that new nothing is out yet? If this is true Ill be getting the Epic over the Evo

Wifi tether comes with the device, and I have to say I haven't had any problems with its use so far
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

While trying this and putting my N1 aside, I'm surprised how much I'm missing FroYo
Any devs that would care to comment on the possibility of a FroYo port for the SGS?

jodue said:
you must be mistaken there mate
http://www.careace.net/2010/06/07/samsung-releases-open-source-code-for-galaxy-s/
this was one of the biggest reasons i chose the galaxy S over the droid X and ordered it yesterday ... it appears to me that the hackmmunity will grow quite big with the galaxy s series
edit:
in contrast to: http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/content/612-bad-news-droid-x-lovers-droid-x-lockdown.html
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sincere advise dont get samsung GS you will be hugely dissappointed. Cancel order if you can or hopefully you will have 14 days return policy.

riz157 said:
sincere advise dont get samsung GS you will be hugely dissappointed. Cancel order if you can or hopefully you will have 14 days return policy.
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What nonsense

I'm a little confused about the situation with ROMs myself, coming from the Windows Mobile world. If the entire source to the build of Android on the Galaxy S is available, surely it's possible to change anything, theoretically? It also seems that the bootloader has no or negligible security as to what it can flash.
On the other hand, I've seen claims that it would be impossible to get Froyo or any future Android updates if Samsung don't release them first (I know they've committed to Froyo). Unless the driver model changes dramatically in Froyo, which I doubt since then new drivers would be required for every phone, why would it be any more difficult to port newer versions of Android to the Galaxy S than any other phone?

riz157 said:
sincere advise dont get samsung GS you will be hugely dissappointed. Cancel order if you can or hopefully you will have 14 days return policy.
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Why do you say this? I purchased mine today and so far am very satisfied with
the phone.

Just testing xda app.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

jodue said:
you must be mistaken there mate
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Click to collapse
No, it's just that there are different components and layers which can be considered open or "locked down", and you both use different ones.
The bootloader for the samsung galaxy is not locked.
But there is an argument by the XDA forum member psychoace that some of the drivers for the galaxy S were not open sourced, and that in earlier android devices from samsung this made it very hard to create ROMs which are not based on Samsung's own ROMs.
As far as I know, this argument from psychoace was never countered, and so I see no reason not to believe it. (I did not look over the sources myself yet).
So can someone port new versions of Android over to the Galaxy S after Samsung has abandoned the device? I really don't know, but I wouldn't count on it, until someone who has experience with making custom ROMs says it is realistic.

The reason I state this is because other then the graphics, video playback, camera there is not much to shout about this device. The lagging is awful, it can't cope with multi tasking compared to say aswell the desire. The issue with the keyboard lagging. Internet crashing for no apparent reason. It seems as the samy gs cant handle the goodies packed into this device. No trackball, flash or led which is very useful.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

riz157 said:
The reason I state this is because other then the graphics, video playback, camera there is not much to shout about this device. The lagging is awful, it can't cope with multi tasking compared to say aswell the desire. The issue with the keyboard lagging. Internet crashing for no apparent reason. It seems as the samy gs cant handle the goodies packed into this device. No trackball, flash or led which is very useful.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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as far as i understand it, the lagging issues are just because of the touchwiz and especially the samsung-widgets. removing the widgets and replacing the luncher with luncher-pro/adw will be the first thing i do when i have the device in my hands. on the other side: the hardware of the galaxy s is very good in my opinion!
@bookwormat:
i think you are wrong! i have read in some forums that samsung has released the drivers for 2.1 together with all other code! in fact i am just pulling the code (including the full kernel) from the samsung open source center (http://opensource.samsung.com/). it's huge, 148MB ... when it's finished i will give it a look an confirm what's in there and what not.

You might just want to take into consideration the fact that the Nexus and Desire had some problems as well right after launch.
The nexus took some time ( a couple of months) to set things straight, the Desire- A couple of weeks only. But it's understandable, since it's 95% identical to the nexus, so HTC probably knew what is going to be problematic.
Also, you're taking things to major extremes. You make it sound like the device is catastrophically slow to the level of being unuseable, and crashes every 2 minutes.
Reality, well, is different. The longest lag i had personally is 1.5 seconds when loading asphalt 5. Every other lag when opening an app- less than half a second.
I'd also like you to refrain from stating one personal problem as a bug in the device, you are the only known member in this forum that is having trouble with the keyboard.
A little search in MoDaCo forums reveals that some users are reporting slight problems with the keyboard, but it's limited to Firmware JG01 only.
It's sad that instead of taking a moment to see if you can solve these problems or helping others find a solution, you preffer to bash the device in every occasion.

For some reason Riz is really down on his SGS and to such an extent that it seems he's got a grudge against the device. Sell it or trade it in if it really makes you that unhappy.
For me it's really an awesome phone that comes with some minor annoyances that seem entirely caused by the fact that it's brand new. So far it appears that Samsung is putting a lot of effort in maturing the software and I expect the issues to be solved within a matter of weeks. In all reality it would take about 10 minutes to setup a new phone and have it operate well without even upgrading any firmware. A simple switch to launcherpro followed by a root with update.zip and then installing autokiller (i use strict profile) will solve 99% of the lag problems.
Battery life is very good after the first initial cycles.
GPS doesn't work right you may all ***** about that.
I'm sure I would be happy with the new HTC's, or even the iphone 4 (the thought of buying into apple's nasty attitude does make me cringe a bit) but I would still choose the SGS again providing they fix the gps.

Perhaps I'm being over critical but there are serious flaws with this device, there is no denying this.
GPS not working - there doesn't seem to be a solution, can't use copilot or googlemaps.
Lagging/freezing - changed to launcher pro not as bad but still occurs.
I hope the boys at samy are working hard to find fixes for these problems. If there are solutions then please guide me to them.
Don't get me wrong this device has potential and there alot of good features but due to issues mentioned above it just ruins the users experience.
I paid good money for this device not so that I could put it down but to use it. I'm just stating my experience for the benefit of others who maybe considering to buy this device.
If there are solutions wonderful p

dakine said:
For some reason Riz is really down on his SGS and to such an extent that it seems he's got a grudge against the device. Sell it or trade it in if it really makes you that unhappy.
In all reality it would take about 10 minutes to setup a new phone and have it operate well without even upgrading any firmware. A simple switch to launcherpro followed by a root with update.zip and then installing autokiller (i use strict profile) will solve 99% of the lag problems.
Okay - could you please give me link to guide on rooting.
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Click to collapse

I really dont uderstand all this gps not working talk.I use co pilot a lot and its extremely accurate and keeps lock in all weathers.Googe maps works indoors to within a house or so and out side gets me within 15 feet or so.I did have gps issues initially until I flashed firmware and factory reset.My i8910 hd had better gps but that was an exeptional phone for gps

Okay - could you please give me link to guide on rooting.
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Download the update.zip file from this thread.
Or direct link here
Copy the file to the internal storage card of the phone using Kies or whatever method you like.
Disconnect the usb cable
Turn off the phone
Press and hold these buttons at the same time: volume up+home+power, keep them pressed until you see the samsung logo.
Use volume rocker to navigate to update.zip and then press home to select.
Phone will reboot and you are now rooted with superuser.
The whole process takes less than 5 minutes.
I'm not responsible for anything

I like the phone but there are problems
1.keyboard has dup presses... solved with HTC keyboard. Also l key in portrait mode doesn't always work.
2. Gps lock not as good or reliable as my I 8910
3. StallING.. fix fixed it the only program that has a lag to load is sygic.
4. Image resizing not working well in gallery and web.
5. Still doesn't always switch back to 3g from edge. Jg1 is better than previous.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Customizing vs. N1

So I may jump ship from the N1 to the Vibrant. On the N1, in less than ten minutes I can run a nandroid backup, flash a new kernel, new radio and a new rom. In another 3-4 minutes, I can switch back. I've literally switched kernels >3 times/day before. How much different will things be on the Vibrant? Is it harder to do these things? Is there as much risk?
Thanks

right now no one knows, there is no custom kernels, custom recovery, custom roms, etc

There are custom roms and you can easily root the device...but it will obviously take some time to reach N1's customization...

I've had my G1(I know, not the N1) since day 1, and I've been flashing roms since day one. The only reason I flashed roms was because I felt the G1 was lacking in a lot of things. Now that I have the Vibrant, I feel like there's no need to flash a different rom. It's already pretty fast, and I actually like the touchwiz UI. The UI doesnt completely take over the Android interface, it's more like adding extra little features.

ultra spikey said:
I've had my G1(I know, not the N1) since day 1, and I've been flashing roms since day one. The only reason I flashed roms was because I felt the G1 was lacking in a lot of things. Now that I have the Vibrant, I feel like there's no need to flash a different rom. It's already pretty fast, and I actually like the touchwiz UI. The UI doesnt completely take over the Android interface, it's more like adding extra little features.
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Exactly, plus the Black/Blue color scheme is far better looking to me over stock Android. TouchWiz is not like Sense or previous generations of the skin and that's a good thing.

Ill second that. I am really enjoying my touch wiz interface and I didn't think I would. That being said I miss my app drawer that slid up from the bottom.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I don't know much about flashing to different ROMs yet, but I can give you an overview of the TouchWiz experience from my viewpoint.
Coming from an iPhone, I really like TouchWiz 3.0. And believe me when I tell you: that was their goal with the UI. It screams Apple, in layout and function. But of course, it ultimately feels a bit like an imitation in some areas. I feel like they rushed TouchWiz 3.0 out of the door.
The Clocks and Alarms app is much better than the iPhone's, which is something I was not at all expecting. It's really quite nice. The calendar app is about on par, in terms of layout. The upper hand is that this syncs OTA with Google's cloud services. The music player is very 'iPod-like', but is ultimately a rush job (embedded album art does not work very often and so forth).
All things considered, it's a really nice UI for Android.
That said, there are some really basic functions which did not make the transition from stock Android. For example: you cannot fully edit contacts in the 'Contacts' app. You cannot delete them, you cannot add custom ringtones. Coming from the iPhone, where I had meticulously completed the profiles of every contact with an obscene amount of info and custom ringtones, this is annoying.
There are a few 'little things' like that, which really matter to me. And this has kind of soured the experience for me, making me second-guess my decision. To be honest, I'm still sort of on the fence over this of the N1 as my iPhone replacement.
The grey area for me is in Android 3.0's release. Google has stated that they're going to overhaul the UI. The idea is that they want to make it more user-friendly, to make the use of custom skins less prevalent. Well, I'm all for this. Trouble is: will these handset manufacturers adopt it, considering their vested interests in their custom experiences?
Samsung's UI is definitely my favorite out of Sense, MotoBlur and the lot. But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't wish for a Nexus One for the security of owning the only unlocked stock device.
Hope that helps...

Give it some time and stock Android will be on the Vibrant. Thats the great thing about Android and Xda.

Yeah, I really love the idea of xda and the amount of support that all of these devices receive from the community. Of course, the trouble is: if you root for a custom rom - even if it's stock Android - the N1 is the only solution for getting OTA updates regularly. With stock Android on the Galaxy S, you're going to have to re-flash every time the ROM is updated. Not the end of the world, but definitely irritating.
Running a JB/Unlocked iPhone, I'm used to dealing with work-arounds, and waiting for hacks. That's the price I paid for using a non-carrier phone. I couldn't accept the automatic updates from Apple, and this became a mild annoyance (reinstalling everything and so forth). But when you decide to 'play nice' and own a carrier-specific phone, you kind of want the experience of timely OTA, non-hacking-related updates that simply update your device, without first wiping it clean.
Know what I mean?
I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep my Galaxy S, or buy an N1 while there's still time (the 'rumors'? of the N1's touchscreen issues are really all that held me back). But either way, I hope that all devices have some way to experience the latest and greatest from Google.

The touchscreen is bad on that phone especially when it comes to multitouch. I'm sure you've already seen the videos comparing the two touchpads and the Vibrant's touchscreen is SO accurate... multitouch included.

Jon C said:
Yeah, I really love the idea of xda and the amount of support that all of these devices receive from the community. Of course, the trouble is: if you root for a custom rom - even if it's stock Android - the N1 is the only solution for getting OTA updates regularly. With stock Android on the Galaxy S, you're going to have to re-flash every time the ROM is updated. Not the end of the world, but definitely irritating.
Running a JB/Unlocked iPhone, I'm used to dealing with work-arounds, and waiting for hacks. That's the price I paid for using a non-carrier phone. I couldn't accept the automatic updates from Apple, and this became a mild annoyance (reinstalling everything and so forth). But when you decide to 'play nice' and own a carrier-specific phone, you kind of want the experience of timely OTA, non-hacking-related updates that simply update your device, without first wiping it clean.
Know what I mean?
I'm still not sure if I'm going to keep my Galaxy S, or buy an N1 while there's still time (the 'rumors'? of the N1's touchscreen issues are really all that held me back). But either way, I hope that all devices have some way to experience the latest and greatest from Google.
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While its a little early to be 100% yet but Android hacking is a lot different than iphone hacking. The iphone is a closed system and you have to wait till its broken open to update. Android is already open when its released. As for OTAs if Cyanogen supports the Vibrant then there is an app to download and install new updates. Typically if you stay with the same developer, like Cyanogen, then you don't have to wipe when there are updates.

After froyo 2.2 all my touch screen problems was gone.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

So untrue after froyo 2.2 those problems was fix the nexus one is a awsome phone.and I believe the same for the vibrant.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

Can you do me the world's biggest favor?
Would you make some YouTube videos, showing the multitouch tests of your N1? I so, so, so, would love to own one, but I have zero tolerance for faulty hardware. I've been researching this stuff since the N1 launch, and it's the only thing holding me back from purchasing that device.
'Multitouch Vis Test' is probably the easiest way, but if you can think of others to test with, that would be great.

Jon C said:
The music player is very 'iPod-like', but is ultimately a rush job (embedded album art does not work very often and so forth).
.
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I haven't used my iPod Nano 4th Gen in some time, I find that the N1 is handling my music needs just fine. But if I had a nickel for every time album art was hosed on my iPod Nano I would not have a mortgage anymore...

hah2110 said:
So I may jump ship from the N1 to the Vibrant. On the N1, in less than ten minutes I can run a nandroid backup, flash a new kernel, new radio and a new rom. In another 3-4 minutes, I can switch back. I've literally switched kernels >3 times/day before. How much different will things be on the Vibrant? Is it harder to do these things? Is there as much risk?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First you must know that the process is completely different. For right now most roms are installed through the Odin process. This process completely wipes all of the information on the phone (including apps and settings) and then installs the new rom. So you will have to backup your apps and settings every time you change roms (Titanium backup would work but it's not always fool proof). Second all roms are going to be based off of Samsung code. That means no Sense roms, no stock roms (well you can get the stock launcher but your dialer and notification bar will always be touchwized), and no froyo until Samsung releases there own version. This has been true so far with all previous Samsung phones and looking at the development with the I9000 it seems to hold true for the Galaxy S. All this does put you at less risk of bricking your phone but it does mean you also have less chance of serious customization. Also with limited source code for the I9000 (there are some drivers that are not source code but actually compiled) it's very difficult to just plop roms on from other sources.

psychoace said:
First you must know that the process is completely different. For right now most roms are installed through the Odin process. This process completely wipes all of the information on the phone (including apps and settings) and then installs the new rom. So you will have to backup your apps and settings every time you change roms (Titanium backup would work but it's not always fool proof). Second all roms are going to be based off of Samsung code. That means no Sense roms, no stock roms (well you can get the stock launcher but your dialer and notification bar will always be touchwized), and no froyo until Samsung releases there own version. This has been true so far with all previous Samsung phones and looking at the development with the I9000 it seems to hold true for the Galaxy S. All this does put you at less risk of bricking your phone but it does mean you also have less chance of serious customization. Also with limited source code for the I9000 (there are some drivers that are not source code but actually compiled) it's very difficult to just plop roms on from other sources.
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Why can't CM do his thing?

cm is trying to port cyanogen to the vibrant. in fact ive read that the vibrant and the droid x are his 2 top priorities so it will come soon enough. and once he gets it done we will probibly see a bunch of roms based of cyanogen

blazewit said:
cm is trying to port cyanogen to the vibrant. in fact ive read that the vibrant and the droid x are his 2 top priorities so it will come soon enough. and once he gets it done we will probibly see a bunch of roms based of cyanogen
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I have yet to see any information confirming any of that. First on his twitter he only seems to be working on the Evo right now. Second I doubt he would work on the Droid x until it's rooted (which most likely will be never). Last I have seen only a small pattern of talk about someone in conversation with Cyanogen about allowing a Galaxy branch of the CM code for use with the Galaxy S. Problem is this doesn't solve the issue of not having source code for a few drivers. This does not even attack the issue of getting the rom onto the phone. So don't hold your breath for any of that.

yea your right it was just one site claiming that cm is working on the vibrant,from what i can tell gothdroid and a bunch of other g1/dream devs are working right now for custom recovery and porting cm6 and froyo asop

Where the hell are those AOSP ROMs?!

I'm starting to be really pissed off, what's problem with N3? I don't get it, i saw kondik's photo on twitter like 2 months ago and yet there is no even nighty nighty build or ultranighty, nothing. Other devices like G2, Z1 got AOSP long time ago.

tafmasterpl said:
I'm starting to be really pissed off, what's problem with N3? I don't get it, i saw kondik's photo on twitter like 2 months ago and yet there is no even nighty nighty build or ultranighty, nothing. Other devices like G2, Z1 got AOSP long time ago.
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Developers have lives. plus if you read CMs site and blogs and posts you'll see that schoolwork comes first for a couple of them, plus they probably won't bother with the Note 3 until KitKat is released... If you are that desperately craving AOSP why did you buy a Samsung device? A company that is notoriously slow with updates/ROM stuff etc.... - Just sell it and go buy a Nexus.

Aosp stands for android open source project. Aka stock android.
Sent from my HTC first using xda app-developers app

radicalisto said:
Developers have lives. plus if you read CMs site and blogs and posts you'll see that schoolwork comes first for a couple of them, plus they probably won't bother with the Note 3 until KitKat is released... If you are that desperately craving AOSP why did you buy a Samsung device? A company that is notoriously slow with updates/ROM stuff etc.... - Just sell it and go buy a Nexus.
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That's the answer. Samdung has an absolutely horrible history in the Open Source community, and it's not getting better anytime soon. Anybody who wants AOSP/CM ROMS should NEVER buy a Samdung device.
They do make great devices, but they have the worst attitude toward the dev community, routinely providing incomplete and/or outdated sources and/or the absolutely bare minimum required for a questionable level of GPL compliance, and they'll never provide userspace drivers, which is where 90% of the problems are in supporting their devices.
It's just a reality, and anyone hoping for full compliance and an open and friendly attitude toward AOSP/CM community is delusional.

donalgodon said:
That's the answer. Samdung has an absolutely horrible history in the Open Source community, and it's not getting better anytime soon. Anybody who wants AOSP/CM ROMS should NEVER buy a Samdung device.
They do make great devices, but they have the worst attitude toward the dev community, routinely providing incomplete and/or outdated sources and/or the absolutely bare minimum required for a questionable level of GPL compliance, and they'll never provide userspace drivers, which is where 90% of the problems are in supporting their devices.
It's just a reality, and anyone hoping for full compliance and an open and friendly attitude toward AOSP/CM community is delusional.
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Give me an SD Card option or at least 64GB option and I will do it asap, that's all i ask, i don't even need removable battery and 5.7 inch screen, just SDCard or bigger storage option and powerful processor(Snap 800 is fine!). Please don't tell me about "mighty cloud services" i want normal storage for my music.
But guys tell me one thing, there is no such thing like Galaxy Note 2 google edition and there is a CM rom, there is no LG G2. Sony Z1 and others Google edition roms, and they have CM or any other stock android variations literally DAYS after release, note has none, totally, literally, NOTHING. Why no love for note ? I really don't get it. :crying:

Few people are ready to give up the support for S-Pen and adopt AOSP based roms. Besides the S-Pen is the main reason people buy the note series.

I actually bought the phone because it makes an awesome reading device. I only used s pen to try it out. i yet have to find the killer feature I would use it more often for.
I'm rooted, added a different launcher and some widgets and it comes now pretty close to what I wanted. If you want other roms, be patient. It took long for the razr HD but I finally put pacman rom on it. So I'd say it comes down to what you really want. If the latest FW is top priority you have to live with small onboard memory. I prefer the big screen and have all my apps and music right on the phone on a 64gb sd card including navigation and maps. I can't stand all this cloud stuff for different reasons, the biggest one being privacy. But these are just my 2 cent.

Mikegrmn said:
I actually bought the phone because it makes an awesome reading device. I only used s pen to try it out. i yet have to find the killer feature I would use it more often for.
I'm rooted, added a different launcher and some widgets and it comes now pretty close to what I wanted. If you want other roms, be patient. It took long for the razr HD but I finally put pacman rom on it. So I'd say it comes down to what you really want. If the latest FW is top priority you have to live with small onboard memory. I prefer the big screen and have all my apps and music right on the phone on a 64gb sd card including navigation and maps. I can't stand all this cloud stuff for different reasons, the biggest one being privacy. But these are just my 2 cent.
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Pretty same as me, i just need storage for all my music and i was really tired because my iphone 4 32GB was almost always fullfiled to the max, I hate deleting and need to choose between tracks. The S-Pen is working, i don't know what's about that, note 2 has tons of AOSP ROMs and many peoples are fine with that.

tafmasterpl said:
Give me an SD Card option or at least 64GB option and I will do it ASAP...
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Same reasons here. But big screen in a small frame was what sold it. Almost got the oppo, but besel and weight made note3 the best hardware. Figured the snapdragon would make this device fully aosp supported, but so far no love.
SPen..? I've got gmd pen gestures, papyrus, better screenshot, etc. I can easily have all the "tw functions" i need on an aosp rom. Samsung has nothing that I can't get better versions of through play
Imagine this hardware and omnirom.. I can't wait, and as soon as an alfa is out I'm on it..

Mikegrmn said:
I actually bought the phone because it makes an awesome reading device. I only used s pen to try it out. i yet have to find the killer feature I would use it more often for.
I'm rooted, added a different launcher and some widgets and it comes now pretty close to what I wanted. If you want other roms, be patient. It took long for the razr HD but I finally put pacman rom on it. So I'd say it comes down to what you really want. If the latest FW is top priority you have to live with small onboard memory. I prefer the big screen and have all my apps and music right on the phone on a 64gb sd card including navigation and maps. I can't stand all this cloud stuff for different reasons, the biggest one being privacy. But these are just my 2 cent.
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Click to collapse
Where did you download the pacman rom form i can find it for the s3, but not the Note3?

The dev community seems to be struggling at the moment (at least with this and the Motorola moto g).
It's a sad time when you have to buy a phone with the possibility of never being able to leave stock firmware (luckily moto g is almost vanilla)
Sent from my XT1032 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

ninja75 said:
Where did you download the pacman rom form i can find it for the s3, but not the Note3?
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Pacman is not for the Note 3 yet. I wrote that it took a while until it came to my Motorola Razr HD.

I would absolutely LOVE an AOSP stock rom for my Note 3. Something like the google play edition of the S4 would be perfect... really surprised this has not been done yet, especially with the hardcore specs of the Note 3, hopefully OmniROM will provide our needs!

Mikegrmn said:
Pacman is not for the Note 3 yet. I wrote that it took a while until it came to my Motorola Razr HD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, this is the only thing holding me back from getting the note 3

Android N & ZTE, etc

Just wondered, if most people want a pure Android experience, why do all the manufacturers insist in putting their spin on it? It must cost them more in development and, ultimately, unhappy customers and fewer sales...why not just save the hassle and release the hardware with a stock software experience?
Sent from my ZTE A2017 using XDA Premium HD app

1. Eg Samsung have it own "app store" that make money.
2. Some of user want to use re-maked software.
3. Money
4. Money
5. Custom branding needs - not every brands want to looks like a clean Android.
6. Overall money - eg they said "ooooo we bring a loot of work to our customer experience with system"

Imo zte should have just themed the icons, & allowed the user to flash cm like themes but with deeper customization like re scaling and re positioning of elements and grids of the ui. now that would have been awesome. hmm and maybe throw in a smart notice widget with google assistant integration; imagine the lg g4 widget but with the brains of google assistant XD

jetsetwilly said:
Just wondered, if most people want a pure Android experience, why do all the manufacturers insist in putting their spin on it? It must cost them more in development and, ultimately, unhappy customers and fewer sales...why not just save the hassle and release the hardware with a stock software experience?
Sent from my ZTE A2017 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I'm one of those who doesn't want a pure Android experience because it lacks the customizations and options I need. Last year I got a Huawei with EMUI, and then I sold it to get a phone with pure Android and I have to say that I missed EMUI since the first day because it came with a lot of features and things that are actually useful and I can say I was using at least 90% of those things in order to make the usability better: fingerprint gestures, one hand mode, movement gestures, apps, etc.
Before I used to get devices with pure Android and then install a couple of ROM'S/Add-on in order to have a great experience, but many UI have been improved by now and they offer a more mature and stable experience without the need to be rooting or anything. I can talk about Huawei with EMUI or Xiaomi with MIUI, both started like crap, but right now they are more polished and better, and probably that's what ZTE wants to achieve in the future, because MiFavor feels like a lot like a version of EMUI from a couple of years ago.
:cyclops:

Would you android experience reduce the blostware. The axon 7 system apps on my phone is 19gb. Where is that made up from and what can you delete?

front firing speakers said:
Would you android experience reduce the blostware. The axon 7 system apps on my phone is 19gb. Where is that made up from and what can you delete?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something is wrong with your devices... I don't have 19gb taken from clean system. More like 8-9 Go, still a lot but nothing too extreme...

front firing speakers said:
Would you android experience reduce the blostware. The axon 7 system apps on my phone is 19gb. Where is that made up from and what can you delete?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
djona12 said:
Something is wrong with your devices... I don't have 19gb taken from clean system. More like 8-9 Go, still a lot but nothing too extreme...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, no more than 10GB for system. That's why I always do a full reset and wipe when I get a new device, and I even delete all the internal memory. Some manufacturers like to put garbage on the internal memory.

Why does mine show 17.79gb?
---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------
It's been like that since new, nothing to do with factory resets. I've done a few of those already. Must be Chinese bloatware. Just not sure though what I can remove

front firing speakers said:
Why does mine show 17.79gb?
---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------
It's been like that since new, nothing to do with factory resets. I've done a few of those already. Must be Chinese bloatware. Just not sure though what I can remove
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a China model?
Do a factory reset and do not use Google to restore, use the 'WeShare' app to backup all data to your SD card before you factory reset. When done resetting, just open 'WeShare' and choose restore data from SD
Only do this if your total internal storage shows 16GB or somewhere around there

Yes it is, what does this procedure actually do? Thank you

People don't want stock android. Xda people, yes. Normal people, no.
If you remember some manufacturers had "Google play editions" of their regular phones. Which were their phone (galaxy s X) or so, but stock Android. They didn't sell. People =/= xda people in an way.

aPexalpha said:
People don't want stock android. Xda people, yes. Normal people, no.
If you remember some manufacturers had "Google play editions" of their regular phones. Which were their phone (galaxy s X) or so, but stock Android. They didn't sell. People =/= xda people in an way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have a vzw galaxy s4, mdk bootloader (semi unlocked) running 5.1 GPE. I think there's a aicp 7.x rom available, but nothing official as this device has been EOL for a while. It's a spare/backup phone which is used rarely.

aPexalpha said:
People don't want stock android. Xda people, yes. Normal people, no.
If you remember some manufacturers had "Google play editions" of their regular phones. Which were their phone (galaxy s X) or so, but stock Android. They didn't sell. People =/= xda people in an way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Give this man a cookie!
The truth is that normal people like those extra functionalities that a custom UI gives, and I had every Nexus until the Nexus 6 and I used to root and install a lot of stuff, but from 2-3 years to now, stock roms on the phones are pretty decent by now.

aPexalpha said:
People don't want stock android. Xda people, yes. Normal people, no.
If you remember some manufacturers had "Google play editions" of their regular phones. Which were their phone (galaxy s X) or so, but stock Android. They didn't sell. People =/= xda people in an way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People didn't buy them because they were full price. They could get big discounts on the carrier version.
Galaxo60 said:
+1
Give this man a cookie!
The truth is that normal people like those extra functionalities that a custom UI gives, and I had every Nexus until the Nexus 6 and I used to root and install a lot of stuff, but from 2-3 years to now, stock roms on the phones are pretty decent by now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Galaxo60 said:
Actually, I'm one of those who doesn't want a pure Android experience because it lacks the customizations and options I need. Last year I got a Huawei with EMUI, and then I sold it to get a phone with pure Android and I have to say that I missed EMUI since the first day because it came with a lot of features and things that are actually useful and I can say I was using at least 90% of those things in order to make the usability better: fingerprint gestures, one hand mode, movement gestures, apps, etc.
Before I used to get devices with pure Android and then install a couple of ROM'S/Add-on in order to have a great experience, but many UI have been improved by now and they offer a more mature and stable experience without the need to be rooting or anything. I can talk about Huawei with EMUI or Xiaomi with MIUI, both started like crap, but right now they are more polished and better, and probably that's what ZTE wants to achieve in the future, because MiFavor feels like a lot like a version of EMUI from a couple of years ago.
:cyclops:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take it that by this you mean that you'd like the customization w/o having to root it? As IIRC there's a VERY GOOD and VERY COMPREHENSIVE customization tool that works on rooted devices. I've forgotten the name of it now as by the time that I found it, I was pretty happy with stock android v. bloated LG, HTC, etc.
Secondly many of the features that you mention are AFAIK standard Android features. Usually it seems if any extras are any good that they eventually show up in stock or a google app, e.g. swype enabled keyboard which the google keyboard now does as well although to me it seems that ALL version(swype to stock) have SEVERELY dumbed down the default dictionaries as when the feature first appeared it was so accurate but nowadays I get imbecility by default. I haven't gotten round to digging into this particular gripe yet as I've essentially given up on phones/tablets for any meaningful communication beyond as a phone. Anything remotely complex waits until the ULTIMATE input device is available, i.e. a computer and ... wait for it ... a KEYBOARD (although I do like active styluses, not the crappy long finger capacitive crap... even m$ hw rec is halfway decent... and beats swyping, etc. by miles but is still no REAL-honest-to-god-hw kb replacement... emoji's are cute and all but at the end of the day useless tripe best suited to frivolities and then even rare application is best IMNHO...)
Damn! Now I'm probably going to investigate WTF happened to swype keyboards that makes them very nearly useless now as they apparently have dictionaries suited to ADHD kindergartners...

cutterjohn said:
I take it that by this you mean that you'd like the customization w/o having to root it? As IIRC there's a VERY GOOD and VERY COMPREHENSIVE customization tool that works on rooted devices. I've forgotten the name of it now as by the time that I found it, I was pretty happy with stock android v. bloated LG, HTC, etc.
Secondly many of the features that you mention are AFAIK standard Android features. Usually it seems if any extras are any good that they eventually show up in stock or a google app, e.g. swype enabled keyboard which the google keyboard now does as well although to me it seems that ALL version(swype to stock) have SEVERELY dumbed down the default dictionaries as when the feature first appeared it was so accurate but nowadays I get imbecility by default. I haven't gotten round to digging into this particular gripe yet as I've essentially given up on phones/tablets for any meaningful communication beyond as a phone. Anything remotely complex waits until the ULTIMATE input device is available, i.e. a computer and ... wait for it ... a KEYBOARD (although I do like active styluses, not the crappy long finger capacitive crap... even m$ hw rec is halfway decent... and beats swyping, etc. by miles but is still no REAL-honest-to-god-hw kb replacement... emoji's are cute and all but at the end of the day useless tripe best suited to frivolities and then even rare application is best IMNHO...)
Damn! Now I'm probably going to investigate WTF happened to swype keyboards that makes them very nearly useless now as they apparently have dictionaries suited to ADHD kindergartners...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The tool is called Gravitybox, and I used as well, but more and more ROM's and even Android are taking those features, so there is no need to root or customize anymore except when you really need specific things with a particular objective.

front firing speakers said:
Yes it is, what does this procedure actually do? Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I heard from my local service centre that the software storage format is 16GB, so if its installed without doing a factory reset to reset the storage to default 64GB, it will stay at 16GB

It's a 128gb a2017 on b013. When it updated from b07 to b013 it performed a factory reset. When I received phone originally from Ali express, it was already showing around 16gb of system stuff. Currently it's 17.5gb. What's going on?

front firing speakers said:
Yes it is, what does this procedure actually do? Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not too sure. Might wanna contact zte.cn
I was told to do a factory reset and to not backup using google when they installed software meant for the A2017 model on my A2017G model.

jetsetwilly said:
Just wondered, if most people want a pure Android experience, why do all the manufacturers insist in putting their spin on it? It must cost them more in development and, ultimately, unhappy customers and fewer sales...why not just save the hassle and release the hardware with a stock software experience?
Sent from my ZTE A2017 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because stock experience is useless in China where Google services are blocked.
Sent from my ZTE A2017U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

SM-t355Y compatibility with other roms?

Basically I looking at running a stock android experience, something akin my nexus 6p.
From what I can see, there is not much info in the way of this particular model due to whatever reason.
When I had a Xoom, I was able to flash all the different versions on it as long as I didnt care about the LTE functionality, is that the same with the tab a? (assuming all other functionality is working in the rom)

Doograwr said:
Basically I looking at running a stock android experience, something akin my nexus 6p.
From what I can see, there is not much info in the way of this particular model due to whatever reason.
When I had a Xoom, I was able to flash all the different versions on it as long as I didnt care about the LTE functionality, is that the same with the tab a? (assuming all other functionality is working in the rom)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can probably use ROMs for the T350 and only lose LTE but the chance of using anything else are slim to none. Samsung's Tab A designation doesn't mean much at all. It pretty much only designates into what price category the tablet falls.

4929york said:
You can probably use ROMs for the T350 and only lose LTE but the chance of using anything else are slim to none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know! Now, to actually root the prick, had nothing but issues with it on 7.1.1