Develop Bugs

Post what YOU did to make your Touch Pro 2 GREAT

I'm about to give up on this phone. It constantly lags/glitches/resets in messaging, has all kinds of issues with multitasking, and is extremely slow and unreliable.
ANYONE out there that has a fully functioning messaging/internet/calling machine out there - please post what you did from start to finish to create a great phone.
Thank you.
This is my last attempt - been terrible since "upgrading" from AT&T Tilt

I see from your sig that you're using a ROM with Sense 2.5 which may be the source of your problems.
If you want to read my story, keep going. Otherwise, my tip is to "downgrade" to official WinMo 6.1 ROM.
Here's my story:
When I bought the device, I was pleasantly happy with the stock ROM which has WinMo 6.1 and the version of TouchFlo3D that doesn't have the weather in the Home tab.
The 1st ROM I flashed was the official HTC released WinMo 6.5 ROM. Huge mistake. Everything worked but just seemed slower. I've since tried multiple cooked ROMs over the months. They were all faster than the official WinMo 6.5 ROM but there was always a glitch here and there. Often, it was minor enough to be suitable for daily use.
But then I decided recently to switch back to my stock WinMo 6.1 ROM just for the heck of it. It's so much faster and smoother. And everything just works.
Positives of the original WinMo 6.1 ROM over others:
1. Multitasking - Under normal usage, I've never had an application autokill because RAM was running out. This is the case even with Push-Internet enabled. With other ROMs, I can almost never run Opera, Streaming Media, and MSN Messenger at the same time. One of them will certainly autokill.
2. TouchFlo3D smoothness - There's no stuttering and drops in framerates when moving the slider. With other ROMs, (especially Sense2.5) it's never as smooth.
Drawbacks of the original WinMo6.1 ROM over others:
1. Lockscreen - The stock lockscreen of WinMo 6.5 is much more elegant and useful than that of WinMo 6.1
2. TouchFlo3D - It has since been replaced by newer versions with more functionality and eyecandy. But to be honest, the only thing I miss is the weather forecast on the Home tab.
3. Overall finger friendliness in the OS - Dropdown menus and checkboxes are all better in WinMo 6.5.

Its up to you if you want to move back to 6.1....but i hated 6.1... i had more problems with it
With windows 6.1... i had problems with my bluetooth... when i have the bluetooth on my ear for 10 minutes without a call... i lose connection,, i get "lost connection"
With windows 6.5.... the problem was solved... didnt have no bluetooth problems anymore

I want to love my TP2 but ever since I upgraded my OS to 6.5 and other cooked ROM's, I've had issues. WM 6.5 seems to cause my TP 2 either go into standby of death (cant come out of standby) or if and when it eventually decides to come out of it, the screen is frozen.
With cooked ROMS, I have to constantly flash different ROM's in hopes of finding one that is stable and runs smoothly. I have until the 5th of March to either get a replacement TP2 with 6.1 WM running on it or find a cooked ROM that features stability and smoothness.

I found the EnergyROM series to be quite stable and fast for me. Only drawback is you should get the Titanium version instead of the Sense/Manila version. Much much faster.
I have a Tilt2, and the stock 6.5 ROM was slower than molasses. Dunno if you can downgrade the Tilt2 to 6.1.

Your issue is exactly why I do not switch to the cooked ROMs until they are very mature for my particular device. The unintended consequences and insurmountable little glitches drive you crazy. There are great ROMs out there, but look at each ROMs thread and you will see that they all have their issues.
I have the Tilt 2 with stock 6.5. I feel pretty certain my setup and speed can smoke any other U.S smartphone that you would trade in for. First I removed all of the bloat with CrudScraper and manual methods. Next I turned off all TouchFlo. This is the single biggest improvement to my device's performance. TF takes up big time resources and in my opinion is one of the worst interfaces available for WM. I also turn off all Today screen plugins. I use Mobile Shell which is the one big trade off...it is awesome, but it too is a huge resource hog. Install Manila NoPushInternet, get rid of Opera 9. Install SSK TP2 Dynamic Resource Proxy. Then become very adept at using the Rhodium Keyboard controller. Install something like Memmaid and schedule daily cleans of the cache files and temp folders. Install something like SKSchema that allows you to schedule soft resets overnight while you sleep. I recommend loading Pnonex 2.2 or Inesoft Phone to add incredible functionality to your phone with contacts/favorites/profiles. Stay in Edge as much as possible. Only switch to 3G when you need to surf or download. Except for the extremely long reset time, my device smokes my brother's Moto Android and my other bros iPhone. I have no issues with freezes, connecting to internet, not getting notifications and many of the other issues I hear about. These issues are almost always related to a cooked ROM or an unstable 3rd party app. Don't get me wrong, the stock ROM could have been soooo much better. But I will match my functionality and stability against any cooked ROM here. Bottom line is, to each his own.

Slow down, notice the subtle nuances then decide
I went from my Wizard to first a Cliq then a Behold 2 before realizing that I am a WinMo girl and going with my first instinct and getting my TP2 (all within my buyers remorse time). I had a stock 6.1 and then "upgraded" to first a stock 6.5, then to cooked variations.
I went back to my stock 6.1
I removed most bloat, added a few updated programs, used Advanced Config to tweak things. My rom doesn't have the pretty Home page with the weather (which frankly is the ONLY thing I miss), but I can go roughly 36 hours with very heavy usage and up to almost 3 days with normal to light usage. It is stable and fast. I have no internet issues, no BT issues, no wifi issues. I do not use email on my phone so I don't know if there is any issue or not, but I do rely heavily on GPS and have had no problems.
I did add some cab files that made little tweaks, like the one that gives me a snooze option on my stock alarm. I did upgrade my Opera to 10 from the stock 9. I use TCPMP as my media player, and removed most of the tab options--keeping only Home, Calendar, Weather, Programs, Settings. I changed my splash screen to a custom one I made, and switched my wallpaper...but other than those minor things, it is a stock rom and I am happy with it.
There will always be a debate over 6.1 vs 6.5 versions...I prefer stability and speed to eye candy, so for me 6.1 wins. I felt 6.5 was like going to Vista. Sure it was prettier, but the "improvements" just didn't feel like an improvement to me.
The best thing to do while you are still in the buyers remorse period is to go stock, add some tweaks and feel it out. From that you can decide if you are a 6.1 person or a 6.5 person. You will also get a basic feel for the device and what it is capable of. Many cooked roms here are great, but as with anything cooked, it is a matter of taste. Perhaps you haven't found your right flavor yet. But if you keep blowing through roms, you aren't getting the full TP2 experience.
Here's an analogy--I was just in Vegas, but this was the first time I really SAW Vegas. There is an old Vegas (6.1 rom) and a new Vegas (6.5 variations). I enjoyed the buffets and shows at old Vegas, but loved the lights and sparkle of new Vegas. You won't know what works for you if you don't check it out individually and linger for a bit. Much like my stay in Vegas, if I blew through it (as you seem to be going through roms), all the subtle nuances would be missed.
THERE ARE WAYS TO TWEAK THE DEVICE. Maybe you just aren't feeling WinMo and need to move to a Droid...some people are like that (I'm not one of those people). As far as a WinMo device goes though, this one is rock solid.

akashastrega said it best
I agree with akashastrega above. Each user has his/her own needs.
I am a power business user of my phone. I use it all day every day for email, calendar, etc. I do not use it as a music player.
I am on Ark's 6.5 ROM (a couple builds ago). It is stable and I have it tweaked to my liking.
I would definitely suggest looking around at the ROMs to find one you like. Some are more sparkly than others and some are more stable than others. Once you find a ROM, decide what tweaks you want/need. And if you are having any issues, serach for solutions.

Just got my Tilt2 and so far have disabled TF3D and added some cabs. Seems to work great. Havent had problems with freezes or anything. Disabling TF3D really made a huge difference and I reallllly like this phone compared to the Fuze I used to have.

Disable TF3D.
Add PocketBreeze, PhoneAlarm and PocketWeather.
Happy camper.

Flash DeepShining Rom and enjoy. Fast, stable and AWESOME.

After noticing that HTC had posted the Tilt2 shipped ROM here:
http://www.htc.com/us/support/tilt-2-att/downloads/
http://member.america.htc.com/download/RomCode/HTC_Tilt2_ATT/HTCTilt2ATTOriginalShipROM.exe
I decided to check if they had done the same for the T-Mobile TP2, and of course it was not there. Checked on their forums and posted on this thread to try and request it so that it would be available to anyone who preferred the 6.1 ROM over the 6.5 upgrade.
http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/windows-phone/f/34/t/215.aspx
Maybe they would be more willing to post this as well if there was enough demand for it.

Zylograth said:
After noticing that HTC had posted the Tilt2 shipped ROM here:
http://www.htc.com/us/support/tilt-2-att/downloads/
http://member.america.htc.com/download/RomCode/HTC_Tilt2_ATT/HTCTilt2ATTOriginalShipROM.exe
I decided to check if they had done the same for the T-Mobile TP2, and of course it was not there. Checked on their forums and posted on this thread to try and request it so that it would be available to anyone who preferred the 6.1 ROM over the 6.5 upgrade.
http://community.htc.com/na/htc-forums/windows-phone/f/34/t/215.aspx
Maybe they would be more willing to post this as well if there was enough demand for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cdguider managed to extract the stock 6.1 TMO US ROM, minus the radio anyway (which is still available separately), you can find it and the info in THIS thread

ChasDun said:
Your issue is exactly why I do not switch to the cooked ROMs until they are very mature for my particular device. The unintended consequences and insurmountable little glitches drive you crazy. There are great ROMs out there, but look at each ROMs thread and you will see that they all have their issues.
I have the Tilt 2 with stock 6.5. I feel pretty certain my setup and speed can smoke any other U.S smartphone that you would trade in for. First I removed all of the bloat with CrudScraper and manual methods. Next I turned off all TouchFlo. This is the single biggest improvement to my device's performance. TF takes up big time resources and in my opinion is one of the worst interfaces available for WM. I also turn off all Today screen plugins. I use Mobile Shell which is the one big trade off...it is awesome, but it too is a huge resource hog. Install Manila NoPushInternet, get rid of Opera 9. Install SSK TP2 Dynamic Resource Proxy. Then become very adept at using the Rhodium Keyboard controller. Install something like Memmaid and schedule daily cleans of the cache files and temp folders. Install something like SKSchema that allows you to schedule soft resets overnight while you sleep. I recommend loading Pnonex 2.2 or Inesoft Phone to add incredible functionality to your phone with contacts/favorites/profiles. Stay in Edge as much as possible. Only switch to 3G when you need to surf or download. Except for the extremely long reset time, my device smokes my brother's Moto Android and my other bros iPhone. I have no issues with freezes, connecting to internet, not getting notifications and many of the other issues I hear about. These issues are almost always related to a cooked ROM or an unstable 3rd party app. Don't get me wrong, the stock ROM could have been soooo much better. But I will match my functionality and stability against any cooked ROM here. Bottom line is, to each his own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In short, you must walk on egg shells or winmo will crash and burn. As far as "smoking" the motodroid, that statement i believe is exaggerated. Yes it may (even then it's a maybe) run a little faster but i wouldn't use the word "smokes". Even if it does run faster, i'm willing to bet your brother hasn't had to do anything anywhere close to what you stated in the book you just wrote about what you did to your phone to make it stable. I don't care what ROM or what apps you install on your winmo phone, the core code is still crap and completely unstable and slow. You can't fix that with a cooked ROM or a 3rd party app.
To answer the original question: My suggestion is to wait for the android port to be completed and install android on your tp2. I've owned several winmo phones dating back to winmo 5 and I am now on the tilt2 with winmo 6.5 and i gotta say 6.5 is the worst of them all. The sms freezing/lagging and the sluggishness will never go away. The current android build isn't fully functional yet but you can make and receive calls, text, and get data on it so I use it about 50% of the time on my tilt2. Blows winmo out of the water as far as stability goes and the port isn't even complete. Looks to me like that's what you're looking for, stability. The only reason I don't use it exclusively is because power management isn't working properly yet so it drains the battery pretty quickly. But progess is being made as we speak.
Good luck.

This device has no bugs at all.
Use stock rom, or NRG rom, with sense 2.1, and WM build 21XXX, and u will see.
Its by far the stablest and smoothest WM device i had, even with the 528 qualcomm proccessor.
The only annoying thing on this device, is the modified bluetooth stack that sometimes causes the device to freeze on activesync via bluetooth.

To add something to this thread.
For the fun of it i tested my Tp2.
Normaly i dont lets apps stay open.
But just to let you all know i openend up
9 applications i started with round 70% free memory.
With all apps open it whent down to 35 % free memory.
Now this is nice to know.......no freeze no glitch and my tf3d slider works perfect.
After closing the apps i have 69% free memory back.
I use this phone alot for the hardware keyboard.( i have Hd2 to)
And i run official rom 2.1 sense.
Hope it helps a litlle.
Greetz.

I have the tilt 2 & I'm running JoshKoss 1.8 sence2.5 full build. It's running fast & stable no freezes or resets. I primary use this phone for e-mails, internet, & phone calls. I'm not into watching movies or listening to music on it.

I play with alot of cooked ROMs and I never really had any problems. I would say that you have to know the device and what you want. Typically after flashing, I will go deep in and turn off whatever that I don't need. So gone with all the auto-updates, gsensor, push internets etc. I even use MemMaid and disable all the startup items, services and notifications that I do not need.
My device runs alot faster and stable as a result.

actually MIGHTY ROM seems to be the bet rom around.. its stable and FAST!!

I'm using my TP2 with the Stock 6.5 & have never faced any problems whatsoever

Suggestions for a ROM for me. Please! Anything is appreciated!

Hey guys, school just finished so I have finally had time to play with my phone and mess with apps/ROMs. I used to run the Energy ROM, i flashed up to the new energy ROM but there wasn't anything i liked about it. Except I loved the Start button in the bottom row along with the soft keys. I have also tried the Valkyrie ROM (didn't like it at all) and the Leo Evo ROM, which was pretty nice except it runs slow and it seems kind of glitchy. In about 30 of straight use, I had to run a couple of soft restarts. Other than that I wouldn't mind the LEO Evo ROM.
I liked the older Energy ROM i was on, however I really want the Start button in the bottom left hand corner. I was trying to look for a cab for this, but was unsuccessful.
I wouldn't be opposed to trying a different ROM Im open to anything. I typically like to run the Windows Titanium screen because it runs faster than Sense for me, im a big texter, and I don't have data plan, so I need easy WiFi setup and workability (although this is no problem with the Keyboard Controller, I have it set to the back mute key, finally found a use for it, eh? haha). So lets hear what you guys got for me!
EDIT: Also, Is there a way to access the task manager with the Start button in the bottom left corner, besides going to start, then tools then task manger or whatever
I was also looking into the Titanizer, anyone know anything about how well it works? Thanks

I went through a few roms before installing Leo Cell Evo 9.1 (23XXX Build). While I was happy with roms I went through first, I was impressed with the Leo Cell Evo rom. There are so many things that you can customize to make it truly yours. You can also stick with how it installs and be more than satisfied with it. In the rom, the "Tweak Tools" are available under the programs tab and all the options are there. 3 thumbs up from me.

I have had good luck with the Energy roms with Titanium only. In order to get the start menu button in the bottom curtain you just need to flash a rom with a build in the 23xxx series. The 21xxx series roms are with the start menu on the top curtain. I find the 21xxx roms to be more stable and I like having the task manager at my disposal and to be able to take a quick glance at my memory usage as well with the 21xxx rom.

khoyifish said:
Hey guys, school just finished so I have finally had time to play with my phone and mess with apps/ROMs. I used to run the Energy ROM, i flashed up to the new energy ROM but there wasn't anything i liked about it. Except I loved the Start button in the bottom row along with the soft keys
I was also looking into the Titanizer, anyone know anything about how well it works? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, I like almost everything about the NRG ROMs. I would suggest that you pick your ROM and then stay with it for a week or so to get to know how it works. NRG ROMS in particular need to be tuned to make battery life longer, and the battery gauge is not so accurate for the first few days. I like the tools that he cooks into the ROM.

Yeah well with the 23xxx series, I was really satisfied withe the NRG with the bottom start menu but there were a lot of things that glitched here and there. Like for some reason, it took me forever to try to get rid of the keyboard once it came up in total commander or something like that.
This is what I have stuck to the longest so far. I have little things that bother me a lot, thats why I have been flashing a lot. Along with using the Titanium theme I use an app from the Marketplace called "Home Screen Customizer" which lets you remove and reorganize your ascreen and add an "Apps" page. I also threw in a Facebook and MS Office tab from the second link. But I think my final decision is cooking this ROM in the link with some apps and games from other ROMs. I'm not looking forward to all the work though. haha.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=625614&highlight=rim+rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=511052

If you want the start menu in the left corner (windows 6.5.3 or 6.5.5) And the taskmanager linked with the start button, you should really check out the valkyre roms again.
Espescially this version valkyrie.ftp v6.5.23115tr2.5 25th april wm6.5.5 without extra tabbs. This is one of the fastest and most stable roms you are going to find here for the rhodium.
You said you didn't like that rom, what didn't you like about it? If don't like the layout, you always change it yourself. But if you want a really stable and fast rom, you should check it out again.

Ark's Rhodium roms are my absolute favorite.
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1730&page=1
i have used EnergyROM since February (Thats when i got my Rhodium) but Ark's roms are the fastest, cleanest, and overall best for battery life I have found. I love it. I highly highly highly recommend it if you like the stock look but a custom feel with a super fast shot of adrenaline in there!
If you get the HTC Messaging Client one then I suggest you install the newer version of it via CAB (if i find it, i'll post it here) because the new 2014 revisions of the HTC Messaging Client are faster-- i mean, if you text

Lennyz1988 said:
If you want the start menu in the left corner (windows 6.5.3 or 6.5.5) And the taskmanager linked with the start button, you should really check out the valkyre roms again.
Espescially this version valkyrie.ftp v6.5.23115tr2.5 25th april wm6.5.5 without extra tabbs. This is one of the fastest and most stable roms you are going to find here for the rhodium.
You said you didn't like that rom, what didn't you like about it? If don't like the layout, you always change it yourself. But if you want a really stable and fast rom, you should check it out again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not so much the layout as the little things that bug me. I tried that built you suggested and it was nice but for some reason it always sent me a confirmation text saying that my last text I sent out was sent. I tried disabling it when I went into Message Options- then uncheck the box for delivery confirmation. I posted on the Valkyrie thread about it maybe there is a fix for it. I tried different styles but I like the standard threaded SMS (similar to the 6.1 style).
and shishir95, I tried to look at that ROM you suggested and I had to make a htcpedia account and I did not get a confirmation of my account yet.. I did look at some of the ROMs and apps and im awaiting my confirmation now

Slow performance after WM6.5 upgrade

Hi, I have a Verzion TP2 and finally took the plunge to do the VZW WM6.5 upgrade.
Bad decision! I'm experiencing really slow performance and reduced battery life.
I like some of the new features, but the slow performance is not acceptable.
Anyone have any good advice for speeding things up? I know disabling sense UI will help, but then it would just be another crappy WM UI phone.
I did some searching here and wasn't able to find much. (Admittedly I didn't spent tons of time looking.)
Help is greatly appreciated! TIA!

Just put a custom rom on your phone and most of your problems are solved. And believe me, you never want to go back to stock.

THanks for the info. Not certain that I want to go away from stock because my carrier (Verizon) may get quite cranky & not want to support me or service my phone if something goes wrong.

I have an unbranded European version of the phone on the UK Vodafone network, so I'm not sure how much help I can be. But I thought I would offer some advice based on my own experiences.
Firstly I assume the version of WM6.5 you upgraded to is the Sense 2.1 version and not Sense 2.5? I remember when I first upgraded I immediately noticed a big slowdown in comparison to the WM6.1 version which flew. If it's any help, you'll soon learn to live with the slowdown and eventually it will become "normal" and it's only when you downgrade you'll realise the difference.
In terms of speeding up the device there is not much you can do, apart from reduce the ram usage. There are a couple of cabs which significantly lower the ram usage.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=532948
Secondly you might want to install an app called "memmaid" or "sktools" and disable certain processes and apps from starting up. Admittedly I don't really know what most of these processes do, but I've generally found these ones are ok to disable:
certenroll
notificationmanager
htcsipsrvc
gpsprivacy
softwaredisable
htcservices
dtpt
sqmupload
btagsvc
ssw
ussd
htcap
The same goes for startup applications where I have found these are ok to disable. (ignore the apps that are not installed on your device)
poutlook
speedbmonitor
delwmptempfolder
htcstartup
pkg
spbmobileshell (I have a switcher between this and Sense interface so dont need it on startup)
memmaidtweaks
superstarter.exe
Also, I remember seeing certain apps u can download from here that strip certain branded roms of all the bloatware. As my Touch Pro 2 is not branded, I've never used one and don't have any knowledge on them. But I'm sure someone on here will gladly point you in the right direction for a Verizon one. (If it indeed exists)
You might also want to install "advancedconfig" where you can tweak certain things in your phone to speed it up a bit.
I realise you don't want to go down the custom rom route, but unfortunately it may the only way to achieve what you want. I've now customised my official WM6.5 Sense 2.1 rom to how I want it (whilst waiting for my upgrade so I can switch to something like the HTC Desire on Android) and therefore don't use a custom rom, but I've tested the vast majority of the custom roms and I'm sure you'll find something you like. In your case, I'd suggest a hybrid of WM6.1 with the Sense 2.5 interface. If you can get your head around the lack of smooth scrolling in certain apps and what-not, you'll find a nice balance of speed and a very pretty sense 2.5 interface. (I personally couldn't get my head around it haha!)
I'd very much like to use a custom rom as I quite like Sense 2.5, but there was always a problem with the text message app. Be it the very slow "HTC Messaging" or the problem with the unread count after disabling it. I haven't tried a custom rom in a few months now so I'm not sure if this has been resolved. If so, can someone please let me know as I can't keep hard resetting my phone to test.
Anywayz good luck, and I hope this helped a bit. I don't come on this site too often but I will bookmark this page and try and remember to check it so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks fade to black for your well laid out response.
I am also waiting to upgrade to the Desire next month but I am not sure I want to get rid of my Touch pro 2. I am so used to the hardware keyboard plus even though I would have had the phone for 1 year by 30 July, it looks brand new. Carrying 2 smartphones about is not an option for me. I have also just had the screen replaced under warranty after it developed newton rings. HTC returned the phone with the latest WM6.5 i.e. with Sense 2.5 and it seems very smooth. No crashes or nothing since I have had it back about a week now.

You're very lucky then as I still have a year left on my contract :-( Lol..
Yeah losing the hardware keyboard is a bit worrying, but i've not had the HTC Wizard, then the Kaiser, and then the Touch Pro 2. So to be honest I'm quite looking forward to a "thin" device for once. Hopefully will be able to get used to the onscreen keyboard.
You could always try waiting a few more months until HTC release an android device with a keyboard? Tbh it's quite surprising how they haven't already.

@Fade2Black101 Thanks for the suggestions! I have begun looking at things and immediately went for disabling the push internet because my memory is a bit tight. Well, instead of installing the CAB file I went in to manually edit the registry and found that it was not enabled in my ROM. :-(
I'm going to try some of the other stuf you suggested, but have not had time as of yet.
I probably shouldn't be, but I am shocked that Verizon released an update that brings the phone to it's knees in terms of performance.

was there a noticable difference in ram usage after editing the push setting? I remember when I tried doing it manually and it didnt have the same effect as installing the cab. So unless you noticed a big change, i'd suggest using the cab.

I don't have Verizon, but, if the rom's out there for Verizon are like the GSM ones, you can probably download the "stock" Verizon Rom, in case you need warranty service. Just flash back to the stock version before returning it.
Of course, if you phone is unbootable, then, you're pretty much screwed
Sailing_Nut said:
THanks for the info. Not certain that I want to go away from stock because my carrier (Verizon) may get quite cranky & not want to support me or service my phone if something goes wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

fade2black101 said:
was there a noticable difference in ram usage after editing the push setting? I remember when I tried doing it manually and it didnt have the same effect as installing the cab. So unless you noticed a big change, i'd suggest using the cab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked the registry and the settings weren't even there except for one and it was set to disabled. Also when I check the task manager under processes, opera isn't there. So I'm pretty sure that push internet is not running on my phone.

Rant about hardcore users, productivity and the Sense launcher

There are some things I can't get my head around.
From the screenshots of all the cool user ROMs and themes available it's clear they've been designed by clever people who use their phones a lot. So why does it appear from these shots they use the Sense launcher, and their default home screen has a big Sense clock and hardly any apps?
Presumably, like me, these people are pulling their phones out their pocket and putting them back there many times a day. Presumably also, like me, these people use a number of apps and widgets in a day that hits two figures. With this in mind, I want to be able to get to those apps and widgets easily and quickly. I.e., with as few swipes/clicks/screen presses as possible. I'm sure these people do too, right?
So that rules out the Sense launcher doesn't it, with its 4x4 grid limitation and non-resizeable widgets. Not to mention its time-consuming spin-in carousel effect every time the phone's security screen is unlocked. I haven't found anything useful the Sense launcher does that another launcher can't, at least after downloading other apps.
Furthermore, who really keeps that big clock on their home screen, when 1. you probably wear a watch; and 2. you can see the time on the top right. It seems like a silly amount of screen 'estate' to use.
Or is it that these people in fact have a more practical default home screen and it's just tradition to post the screenshots they show?
Finally, why do so many of these otherwise brilliant ROMs not mod the battery icon to show how much battery is remaining, percentage-wise? Appreciate this can be modded using the kitchen website. But surely everyone wants this info from the off, so is it not included?

Well, I'd never call myself a hardcore user - although I believe that term should be defined too, because I'm not sure it's interpreted the same way by everyone. That aside though, here's what I think on tinkering with the launchers. You buy an Android phone - be it of any manufacturer. In general, and especially considering the top level models, it can be said that there isn't much diversity hardware-wise. What does make a difference is the UI, the services integrated and how the phone handles them. (And let's exclude synthetic benchmarks for now, I don't believe they represent real-life scenarios.) So, someone knowledgeable going for an HTC device (meaning it's not chosen because of price or because of how "pretty" it is), imo, means they're attracted to Sense: those little nuances that do make the difference. Ditch the launcher and you've pretty much ditched at least about half of what Sense - of what HTC is about. But then, why did you go for HTC in the first place? And the same can be said with Samsung and SE as well, those who quite heavily modify the Android UI. Sure, you can do it, you can dump the whole customized everything...but can doesn't mean that you should: if you're a "hardcore user", however we define the rest of it, you know you'll have an easier life with a phone that runs stock Android, there's no point in choosing something customized (read: more complicated), with risk of locked bootloaders and whatnots.
And you're right: you can get the puzzle pieces from the Market (or elsewhere) to create a Sense-like experience. That's because Sense offers so many good things in one package that ppl are aiming at re-creating it, but ask this: if you want to re-create it, why not spare yourself the hassle and use the real thing right out of the box?
As for the clock: I haven't even owned, much less worn a watch for at least about ten years, nor do I feel the need. Actually they seem pretty redundant now that mobiles have become as complex as they are and being carried everywhere. But as for the battery percentage - I couldn't agree more, I wish I knew why HTC itself doesn't make it available at least as an option.

In addition to the great points made by breathlesstao, I'll add the following:
Many devs concentrate on performance, stability and removing bloat when developing their ROMs, so if you want UI mods like battery percentage etc then the option is there for you to do it yourself. It would be nice if HTC could add percentage but they do have a battery widget that shows it.
As for on screen icons, I suppose many people like a sleek looking interace with not a lot of clutter. Plus, the more you have on the homescreens the more likely you are to experience lag when scrolling between the screens. Personally I have every app I use often on one of the 7 screens and if I need anything else it's only a few presses away in the all apps menu. I like it to be set up with each page having similar types of app, so on one I have music / media related stuff, another tools / settings type stuff... etc. See my helicopter view screenshot below for an example. My screen aren't crammed, but then they're not too sparse either.
I actually like the flipclock as it integrates local weather and just generally looks cool... I also haven't had a watch since the 1990s.
Choice and the ability to customise things are part of the many joys of Android, you set it up your way and use it your way.

The replies are right in. As for the launcher I have people coming to me all the time cause their phone is slow and lagging and whenbi unlock screen they have dozens of shortcuts all over the screen. Of course its gonna be slow when it need to reload a the launcher and all those Widgets. I swear some look so much like an icrap with all the shorcuts when I see it I have to double check. Lmao
As for the battery icon, you have to edit the coding for the file to add the extra 150 images that make up the % battery and charging icons and the bigger the file......
Now the clock well to be honest I remove the clock from the top bar any chance I get as I see it as pointless. We have Widgets for that.
As for sense it has its pluses like everything is prebuilt in. Social networking (not sure as I don't use FB at all) built into contacts and all the other handy apps that it comes with. I mostly run a senseless Tom my self but that is only due to it be long a resource hog. But the contacts and dialer work so well together that I have not found a better dialer/contact combo. The sense 3 lockscreen is just too good. I have widget locker but prefer the sense lock screen

Some very good replies, and here is my take, i've been modding my phone(s) now for a few years now (Since the Windows Mobile 5 Genre) and I would say function is not the only thing i look for. I want "coolness", "graphics"... I love the way the flip happens when you unlock a Sense ROM ..I strive to make it smoother !
Having said that I do resort to simplicity at times however, and you can too. have a look at Cyanogenmod and get Launcher Pro.. Ain't nothing simpler than that with the most "Function".
The ROM above will satisfy anyone who loves Function over Heavyness and also it has the option of showing percentage battery amongst plethora of other customizations neatly laid out in the settings menu.
But sometimes that just isn't enough for me..I want a ROM with More......Sense framework is probably the best Integration of everything I've ever seen. Yes its huge ! But then...this phone ain't that weak either...It is a beast
That is why you have an "option" my friend...an option to choose non-sense ROM or a Sense ROM. You could go for a Sense ROM (if you like all the integration of sense) and get yourself a different launcher from the market if you choose..customize it with the battery percentage mod.... yourself... The Dev's like to leave the option customize some aspects of their ROM's to the users... mostly because its personal preference.
The Sense Rom cooks, mostly, give u the most basic thing... A highly optimized ROM with a stock-like UI. You can choose to customize it the way you like ! After all thats what XDA is all about ..do it youself modding..

Hi all,
Your responses are appreciated and it's nice to have a polite conversation about this!
You're right breathlesstao, what the hell's a hardcore user. I just meant anyone who'd flash a ROM, root their phone, perhaps mod some element themself.
So I guess many of you - suprisingly for me - are happy to swipe between screens to get to their apps or widgets. You like what less clutter for doing this. Can see your point of view! I don't experience any lag though, zelendel, for packing my homescreens.
I suppose it was assumed that if you're more knowledgeable you'd be aware of apps and widgets with more options and functionality than the Sense launcher and its own widgets, and choose to use the former instead.
To be clear, I do like using other HTC features such as their contacts and dialler. It's just the homescreen layout I'm ranting about.
In particular for me, a good GUI, as well as looking pleasant, is as simple and quick to to use as possible. So when, for example, I'm going for a lunchbreak at work it's satisfying to be able to put my music or podcast-player on in a second without having to hunt it down.

i keep meaning to try a non sense rom but i like virtuous unity 2.39 sense 3.0 rom so much i´m loathe to part with it.
i know it only takes twenty minutes to go back to it but i just find it does everything in such a pleasant manner.. its smooth fast responsive and most of all it looks the buisness. plus as others have said you dont have to use all that sense stuff if you dont want to.
for music i do tend to use the stock player but i have been playing with other ones of late same with video but things like the clock and weather widgets for me are much more polished on the sense versions than anything comparible available from the market. plus i´ve not had any problem running low on ram or anything, the dhd is more than capable of handling sense 3.0 and whatever else one cares to throw at it without any hiccups

Circle launcher 1x1 widgets are the best
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

killersloth, thanks for the heads up - it looks very useful.
ponk2k, you know I also use VU (2.39) but with Launcher Pro - have uninstalled the Sense widgets that aren't connected to anything else. You probably think what's the point! To answer my own question, I wanted a custom ROM for things like battery life optimisation, and the VU team's branding has seemed more user-friendly to me than the non-Sense ROMs. Though maybe I'll try one soon. While I've got you though, can I ask if you have a problem with the brightness dimmng slowly on command in most scenarios with that ROM version? More info in my question here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1292894

Capys runny 1.5 is perfection
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

killersloth said:
Capys runny 1.5 is perfection
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
100% bug free? I was thinking of trying it.

CitizenLee said:
100% bug free? I was thinking of trying it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a fair warning man. No rom will be 100% bug free. That is what the stock roms are for. The roms here are for learning and trying new things. So there will always be bugs that need to be fixed. Plus some things that one person may see something a a bug while another sees it as a feature.

zelendel said:
Just a fair warning man. No rom will be 100% bug free. That is what the stock roms are for. The roms here are for learning and trying new things. So there will always be bugs that need to be fixed. Plus some things that one person may see something a a bug while another sees it as a feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks lol.
&by 'perfection' I definitely don't mean bugfree but it is everything I expect in a good rom. From the improvements to audio, the good battery life, and now decent skins too...
If it was bugfree what would be the fun in developing with it ?
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

zelendel said:
Just a fair warning man. No rom will be 100% bug free. That is what the stock roms are for. The roms here are for learning and trying new things. So there will always be bugs that need to be fixed. Plus some things that one person may see something a a bug while another sees it as a feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I meant with the basic day to day phone functions and stuff like WiFi, video playback etc. To me that's an expected level of functionality for any non beta ROM. I've flashed and tested many over the last 2.5 years of owning Android handsets so my standards are quite high

CitizenLee said:
I meant with the basic day to day phone functions and stuff like WiFi, video playback etc. To me that's an expected level of functionality for any non beta ROM. I've flashed and tested many over the last 2.5 years of owning Android handsets so my standards are quite high
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is fully functional. I believe there is the bug in camcorder still where you have to watch play.the video in the same orientation you recorded it.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using xda premium

I haven't had any problems with vu dimming slowly no. I do find that the dimming settings on the ROM are a bit brighter than on the stock ROM though but with no noticeable battery drain incurred.

Thanks will have to investigate further.

zelendel said:
Just a fair warning man. No rom will be 100% bug free. That is what the stock roms are for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...aaaand potentially not even those. I mean, they're made by humans as well, and humans are bound to make mistakes, aye? It happens.

The most productive thread i ever encountered !!! Thanks to OP

[Review] Sense4a - The joys and gripes of running HTC made software

So now I am running the TSM UltimateKangBang made possible by Nitsuj17 and the deluge of other people whose work is ingrained into the 0's and 1's that is currently making my phone's MSM8255 chip brim with life! Previously I ran the stuff from the good people behind TeamKang and their AOKP - essentially Android 4.0 as Google envisioned it with a little spice and Unicorn Porn! (Trust me, there is an app called that on AOKP, but it isn't what you may think it is ) Since this is a review, expect a fair share of biased opinion being present and categorical truths about Sense4a and the AOSP design! You've been warned.
I am not all in for the Spartan and frankly "cold" and unfriendly feel that Google went for on the ICS.. It seems too clinical, too sterile. Nevertheless, I do like it over previous iterations and I love the fact that there seems to be a level of consistency in the UI.
On the other hand, I love the feel of Sense4. It is cheerful and friendly-looking AND at the same time looks smart and professional, a feeling that I didn't get during my brief experience with a Honeycomb Samsung Tablet. On the flip side, the Sense4 apps seem to lack the same ease of use and simplicity that Google's vanilla version has. For instance, even though it has been sometime since I used the Email app on AOKP, I know exactly where each button is and how to go about the app. The Email app on Sense4, not so much.
The Good:
Let us get down to it. Things that are nice about Sense4 are the animations. Many are subtle, but the best is the most conspicuous animation of them all - the screen unlock. The little metallic ring zooms out of the screen in a magnificent way. Also, if you randomly touch the lock screen, the ring jitters with a forceful smash on the ground-like effect, causing ripples to emanate from it. I say, cool
The whole ensemble of animations makes the phone super smooth and slick. I had issues with animations and screen transitions on AOKP, on a regular basis. But on this ROM, I have yet to experience one, and I have installed ALL my apps to the point where I ran out of internal space to install apps! And still, the OS is smooth. At one point, I was contemplating the possibility of buying a new phone as my DInc2 with AOKP was not smooth enough, leading me to believe that it must be the poor hardware. Well, with Nit's Sense4a ROM, I am happy to note that that is simply NOT the case. Well, for once I am pleased with the outcome of a skin made by a manufacturer. It means a lot when a not-so-average Android phone user, like me, says "Well, HTC, your skin is *not* the worst!"
HTC also did a pretty good job with the lockscreen. The missed calls, messages, calendar events, etc. appear prominently on screen. I like the alarm and timer events too. And then to activate any app or action icon, you need to drop it into the ring. Neato! A constant issue I had with AOKP and I believe CM9 was that after locking the device with the power button, when I turn on the screen with the power button, the phone momentarily displays the app/homescreen I was viewing before realizing that the phone is actually "locked" and then showing the lockscreen. No matter what setting I changed, this issue didn't go. Thankfully, however, this is not a problem on the Sense4's lockscreen which does what it should and not reveal my secrets unauthorized, even for a moment!
The widgets are nice as well. I've been dying to find a Calendar widget that works as well as the one on Sense, and now I have it. The email, music and weather widgets are great too. However, I am a bit disappointed that the homescreen is a 4x4 grid. That is a waste of screen real estate, but unfortunately I was unable to use HTC widgets on a third party launcher (bummer). I also do not like Google's decision OR HTC's to make the app drawer have horizontal pagination. That is a major PITA and slow. A vertical scroll is so much faster to make you reach the last app... On the plus side, it has tabs for frequent and downloaded and you can sort apps alphabetically or date used or installed (I didn't figure that out).
The annoying:
However, it is not all rosy, even for rosie. My main gripe is with the design decisions that HTC made with their apps. Many of those decisions seem to add to the time needed to use the app and makes it cumbersome.
Let's start with Music. To go from Now Playing to the music on the phone, I need to press the back arrow (on the top) and choose "My phone". And then to flip through songs/albums/artists etc., I have to use a drop down menu. Meanwhile, Google Music lets you swipe the lists horizontally to change them. And it always seems to take a moment to load the song list or album list etc.
Next offender, the Email app. Its faults include needing to use a drop-down menu to choose folders that in turn brings up a list of folders to choose from. Google's email app does it better. Also, I need two button presses to go from an email to the next or previous compared to one button on Google's email app, though the AOSP Email app should have been made consistent with the Gmail app where you can swipe to the next or previous email . Nevertheless, it has the ability to show emails in threads, good support for Exchange email.
The phone app also hits a nerve. I believe Google's implementation is pretty much perfect and HTC's doesn't add anything new, excepting annoyances. All you get when you open the app is a dial pad and a list of names. I need to go to a menu to see call history and my phone book. Well, why not just add tabs like Google? The "People" app is basically what I am talking about. If you simply added a 4th tab in that app with the dial pad, that would be a perfect phone app. :disapprove:
Now the camera app is good except for one teeny problem (and I am nitpicking here) which is I need to go to settings to change the camera from back to front. But otherwise, that is well laid out. In fact it is better than Google's in terms of looks (I was always of the opinion that Google's ICS Camera app was made by someone who couldn't make small graphics and so chose plain colors to make the UI. Something I would've done) and also because you can either take a photo or video by just changing the button you press unlike in AOSP where you need to go through some button presses before that happens.
At this juncture, I'd like to note that I <3 the Camera on TSM ROM! It works! 720p video and panorama mode and the many other modes (except slow motion capture, which recorded at normal pace)! And no tearing in Camera360 or other apps! There are still some glitches with the app and the framerate of the 720p doesn't seem smooth, but that is understandable given that we are working with leaks only! So you heard me folks! If you want a proper camera on ICS, this Sense4 ROM should do the trick...​
Back to taking a swing at Sense4!
Now comes the notification panel. There are way too many icons on the top bar, especially when I listen to music. There are a total of 3 icons telling me I am listening to music: The headphone icon (thanks, but I jolly well know there are headphones attached to the phone, mainly because I put it there!), the beats audio icon (I believe this is a product placement decision. It is obvious that HTC is making a ton of money simply due to that software redundancy...) and of course the "play" icon of the music player. I also don't like that there are no notification toggles that can be hidden/shown as one pleases like on CM9 or AOKP (activating it in the tweaks causes it to show ONLY the toggles and no other notification when I have no notifications that can be cleared, even if I have notifications that CAN'T be cleared... )
Frankly I don't care for the "Beats audio". It may work better with some beats audio hardware in the phone and may be the actual earphones themselves, which I can't be bothered to buy. But I liked Google's MusicFX app... It gave me a nicer sound. At times I feel the beats audio sounds richer and more even, but the volume is low to appreciate the whole dynamic range... I heard louder sound at the same volume on AOKP.
So there you have it. My impressions on Sense4. The central theme behind the shortcomings of the HTC apps seems to be the usage of the drop down menu rather than using the more accessible tabs available on most default google apps.
But still, I must admit I like how the whole interface feels. I find myself unlocking my phone, swiping through screens and then simply relocking it as I have nothing to do! I can't take my eyes off of that gorgeous interface... As and when more tweaks become available, rectifying the shortcomings of Sense4, I'll be deeper in love with it.

One thing I have to say about the dialer is that full sense 4 is more like the sense 3.5 dialer where it has the people app included in the dialer. Sense 4a is more based on sense 2.1 where it didn't have this feature.
Sent from my KangBang'd out vivow

Thanks for the review. I was running MIUI weeklies from about July 2011 until a couple weeks ago. If we didn't get stuck with no new stable builds after 1.12.09, I probably would still be running it. But I wanted to go back and try something else anyway. MIUI customization is second to none, so maybe I'll go back to ICS MIUI as Nits does amazing work.
As of a week ago, I'm running TSM Sense 5.01 M. It runs incredibly smooth and stable on my phone, and everything works.
With the increasing stability of ICS roms, I'm thinking of trying one out. TSM UKB seems to be the ICS rom of choice for many. I appreciate your feedback, and may jump to UKB in the next couple weeks. One thing you didn't mention was battery life. How does it compare to stock, or other roms you've tried? I've been through the rom thread, but since you gave a thorough review of the rom, I thought I'd ask.

ttupa said:
Thanks for the review. I was running MIUI weeklies from about July 2011 until a couple weeks ago. If we didn't get stuck with no new stable builds after 1.12.09, I probably would still be running it. But I wanted to go back and try something else anyway. MIUI customization is second to none, so maybe I'll go back to ICS MIUI as Nits does amazing work.
As of a week ago, I'm running TSM Sense 5.01 M. It runs incredibly smooth and stable on my phone, and everything works.
With the increasing stability of ICS roms, I'm thinking of trying one out. TSM UKB seems to be the ICS rom of choice for many. I appreciate your feedback, and may jump to UKB in the next couple weeks. One thing you didn't mention was battery life. How does it compare to stock, or other roms you've tried? I've been through the rom thread, but since you gave a thorough review of the rom, I thought I'd ask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh battery life is superb.. refer to this post I made: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27465676
That is the battery life with just stock battery!!!
Sent from my vivow using XDA

litetaker said:
Oh battery life is superb.. refer to this post I made: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27465676
That is the battery life with just stock battery!!!
Sent from my vivow using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent! This one sounds very promising, and I will probably make the leap when I've got some time.

Indeed battery is great. I took 29 photos today while at a job site and have been using my phone since 7:30am (now 6:33pm) and battery reads 58%. Skyraider hated when I took photos. It had great battery life, but camera would eat it up. UKB does not. Fantastic ROM. I do not foresee myself changing ROMs until I change phones at this point.
Sent from my Droid.

ttupa said:
Excellent! This one sounds very promising, and I will probably make the leap when I've got some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery is great on ukb. I left for work this morning at 5am. I work in a poor reception building...the signal is constantly at 1 or no bars and switching between 3g and 1x. After 13 hours at work my battery is at 52%.
Sent from my vivow using XDA

I figured I'd ask here instead of the dev thread, but does the hot reboot option not work for anybody else on UKB 3.5?
Sent from my vivow using XDA

litetaker said:
So now I am running the TSM UltimateKangBang made possible by Nitsuj17 and the deluge of other people whose work is ingrained into the 0's and 1's that is currently making my phone's MSM8255 chip brim with life! Previously I ran the stuff from the good people behind TeamKang and their AOKP - essentially Android 4.0 as Google envisioned it with a little spice and Unicorn Porn! (Trust me, there is an app called that on AOKP, but it isn't what you may think it is ) Since this is a review, expect a fair share of biased opinion being present and categorical truths about Sense4a and the AOSP design! You've been warned.
I am not all in for the Spartan and frankly "cold" and unfriendly feel that Google went for on the ICS.. It seems too clinical, too sterile. Nevertheless, I do like it over previous iterations and I love the fact that there seems to be a level of consistency in the UI.
On the other hand, I love the feel of Sense4. It is cheerful and friendly-looking AND at the same time looks smart and professional, a feeling that I didn't get during my brief experience with a Honeycomb Samsung Tablet. On the flip side, the Sense4 apps seem to lack the same ease of use and simplicity that Google's vanilla version has. For instance, even though it has been sometime since I used the Email app on AOKP, I know exactly where each button is and how to go about the app. The Email app on Sense4, not so much.
The Good:
Let us get down to it. Things that are nice about Sense4 are the animations. Many are subtle, but the best is the most conspicuous animation of them all - the screen unlock. The little metallic ring zooms out of the screen in a magnificent way. Also, if you randomly touch the lock screen, the ring jitters with a forceful smash on the ground-like effect, causing ripples to emanate from it. I say, cool
The whole ensemble of animations makes the phone super smooth and slick. I had issues with animations and screen transitions on AOKP, on a regular basis. But on this ROM, I have yet to experience one, and I have installed ALL my apps to the point where I ran out of internal space to install apps! And still, the OS is smooth. At one point, I was contemplating the possibility of buying a new phone as my DInc2 with AOKP was not smooth enough, leading me to believe that it must be the poor hardware. Well, with Nit's Sense4a ROM, I am happy to note that that is simply NOT the case. Well, for once I am pleased with the outcome of a skin made by a manufacturer. It means a lot when a not-so-average Android phone user, like me, says "Well, HTC, your skin is *not* the worst!"
HTC also did a pretty good job with the lockscreen. The missed calls, messages, calendar events, etc. appear prominently on screen. I like the alarm and timer events too. And then to activate any app or action icon, you need to drop it into the ring. Neato! A constant issue I had with AOKP and I believe CM9 was that after locking the device with the power button, when I turn on the screen with the power button, the phone momentarily displays the app/homescreen I was viewing before realizing that the phone is actually "locked" and then showing the lockscreen. No matter what setting I changed, this issue didn't go. Thankfully, however, this is not a problem on the Sense4's lockscreen which does what it should and not reveal my secrets unauthorized, even for a moment!
The widgets are nice as well. I've been dying to find a Calendar widget that works as well as the one on Sense, and now I have it. The email, music and weather widgets are great too. However, I am a bit disappointed that the homescreen is a 4x4 grid. That is a waste of screen real estate, but unfortunately I was unable to use HTC widgets on a third party launcher (bummer). I also do not like Google's decision OR HTC's to make the app drawer have horizontal pagination. That is a major PITA and slow. A vertical scroll is so much faster to make you reach the last app... On the plus side, it has tabs for frequent and downloaded and you can sort apps alphabetically or date used or installed (I didn't figure that out).
The annoying:
However, it is not all rosy, even for rosie. My main gripe is with the design decisions that HTC made with their apps. Many of those decisions seem to add to the time needed to use the app and makes it cumbersome.
Let's start with Music. To go from Now Playing to the music on the phone, I need to press the back arrow (on the top) and choose "My phone". And then to flip through songs/albums/artists etc., I have to use a drop down menu. Meanwhile, Google Music lets you swipe the lists horizontally to change them. And it always seems to take a moment to load the song list or album list etc.
Next offender, the Email app. Its faults include needing to use a drop-down menu to choose folders that in turn brings up a list of folders to choose from. Google's email app does it better. Also, I need two button presses to go from an email to the next or previous compared to one button on Google's email app, though the AOSP Email app should have been made consistent with the Gmail app where you can swipe to the next or previous email . Nevertheless, it has the ability to show emails in threads, good support for Exchange email.
The phone app also hits a nerve. I believe Google's implementation is pretty much perfect and HTC's doesn't add anything new, excepting annoyances. All you get when you open the app is a dial pad and a list of names. I need to go to a menu to see call history and my phone book. Well, why not just add tabs like Google? The "People" app is basically what I am talking about. If you simply added a 4th tab in that app with the dial pad, that would be a perfect phone app. :disapprove:
Now the camera app is good except for one teeny problem (and I am nitpicking here) which is I need to go to settings to change the camera from back to front. But otherwise, that is well laid out. In fact it is better than Google's in terms of looks (I was always of the opinion that Google's ICS Camera app was made by someone who couldn't make small graphics and so chose plain colors to make the UI. Something I would've done) and also because you can either take a photo or video by just changing the button you press unlike in AOSP where you need to go through some button presses before that happens.
At this juncture, I'd like to note that I <3 the Camera on TSM ROM! It works! 720p video and panorama mode and the many other modes (except slow motion capture, which recorded at normal pace)! And no tearing in Camera360 or other apps! There are still some glitches with the app and the framerate of the 720p doesn't seem smooth, but that is understandable given that we are working with leaks only! So you heard me folks! If you want a proper camera on ICS, this Sense4 ROM should do the trick...​
Back to taking a swing at Sense4!
Now comes the notification panel. There are way too many icons on the top bar, especially when I listen to music. There are a total of 3 icons telling me I am listening to music: The headphone icon (thanks, but I jolly well know there are headphones attached to the phone, mainly because I put it there!), the beats audio icon (I believe this is a product placement decision. It is obvious that HTC is making a ton of money simply due to that software redundancy...) and of course the "play" icon of the music player. I also don't like that there are no notification toggles that can be hidden/shown as one pleases like on CM9 or AOKP (activating it in the tweaks causes it to show ONLY the toggles and no other notification when I have no notifications that can be cleared, even if I have notifications that CAN'T be cleared... )
Frankly I don't care for the "Beats audio". It may work better with some beats audio hardware in the phone and may be the actual earphones themselves, which I can't be bothered to buy. But I liked Google's MusicFX app... It gave me a nicer sound. At times I feel the beats audio sounds richer and more even, but the volume is low to appreciate the whole dynamic range... I heard louder sound at the same volume on AOKP.
So there you have it. My impressions on Sense4. The central theme behind the shortcomings of the HTC apps seems to be the usage of the drop down menu rather than using the more accessible tabs available on most default google apps.
But still, I must admit I like how the whole interface feels. I find myself unlocking my phone, swiping through screens and then simply relocking it as I have nothing to do! I can't take my eyes off of that gorgeous interface... As and when more tweaks become available, rectifying the shortcomings of Sense4, I'll be deeper in love with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This rom really is awesome. Nits has given a gift to the dinc2 community and I still can't help but feel satisfied with this rom (havent switched roms after I used ukb 3.5!!!
But you have an error. The droid incredible 2 has an MSM8655 chip (same as the HTC Thunderbolt)
Also, my only gripe with the rom is the music when you're using headphones, earphones, etc. The volume goes to its max when you raise or lower the volume once. Raise and lower it again and the volume becomes either lower or a little quieter. That's pretty much it. Doesn't bother me too much, but it can get tiring at times. Doesn't change how much I enjoy using this rom as my DD. I'd give this rom a 10/10 for its awesomeness.
AJGO23 said:
I figured I'd ask here instead of the dev thread, but does the hot reboot option not work for anybody else on UKB 3.5?
Sent from my vivow using XDA
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Hot reboot doesn't work in the rom. Hope this helped.
Sent from my Galaxified ICS phone!!! Don't be hating bro!!!

david_hume said:
This rom really is awesome. Nits has given a gift to the dinc2 community and I still can't help but feel satisfied with this rom (havent switched roms after I used ukb 3.5!!!
But you have an error. The droid incredible 2 has an MSM8655 chip (same as the HTC Thunderbolt)
Also, my only gripe with the rom is the music when you're using headphones, earphones, etc. The volume goes to its max when you raise or lower the volume once. Raise and lower it again and the volume becomes either lower or a little quieter. That's pretty much it. Doesn't bother me too much, but it can get tiring at times. Doesn't change how much I enjoy using this rom as my DD. I'd give this rom a 10/10 for its awesomeness.
Hot reboot doesn't work in the rom. Hope this helped.
Sent from my Galaxified ICS phone!!! Don't be hating bro!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh, I thought that Droid Incredible S and 2 had same processors... Whoops!

litetaker said:
Huh, I thought that Droid Incredible S and 2 had same processors... Whoops!
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Click to collapse
Nah, the s has a different processor cuz it's GSM only.
Sent from my KangBang'd out vivow