I've been looking at the pictures of some home screens which look spectacular, I just want your opinion. I've just sold my iPhone 5 for Galaxy S3 i9305 LTE and I'm already amazed at being able to do so much. One thing that annoyed me with iPhone was the need to jailbreak if you wanted to do anything, so android is perfect and I think my phone set up with Nova Launcher Prime looks terrific.
Do I really need to go any further as I'd hate having to go back in the jailbreak business.
You and try it out no one is stopping you and I suggest that there is better performance for the phone so it is good
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Pie8er said:
I've been looking at the pictures of some home screens which look spectacular, I just want your opinion. I've just sold my iPhone 5 for Galaxy S3 i9305 LTE and I'm already amazed at being able to do so much. One thing that annoyed me with iPhone was the need to jailbreak if you wanted to do anything, so android is perfect and I think my phone set up with Nova Launcher Prime looks terrific.
Do I really need to go any further as I'd hate having to go back in the jailbreak business.
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You do what you want if you find you want xxx and it requires root then its your choice .
Point to note no root then no XDA Developers exists .
jje
I believe it is a matter of personal preference. This phone is one of the best, so no, there is no need for a custom Rom if it covers all of your needs as if. Just have in mind that some custom roms will give you a performance gain but will break some other stuff. I am not against custom, I've used them since I bought my Spica but this is the first one I do not see the need to go the custom Rom way
Enviado desde mi GT-I9300 usando Tapatalk 2
Personally, I rooted my previous phones (and my Galaxy Tab) to increase their performance. However, he S3's performance - and come on, dude, you have the LTE version - is worlds apart to that of my previous phones. I still don't see the need to customize it.
However, this is coming from someone who doesn't really mind the TouchWIZ interface that Samsung made. If you really want a stock Android experience, then root, and then install a custom rom.
To be totally honest, don't think a custom rom is needed. That said, some mods DO make it better by a fair bit. For a phone that boasts 1Gb of ram it falls really short on multitasking. It just seems to close any app that stays in the background for a while even if it's memory wasn't needed. Rarely though, it will work properly for some reason. Haven't tried better memory managment mods (will do at some point) but this is the only really important one i'd like stock to do better.
There's also another grey area. Not really a custom rom but the latest samsung leak for the international version make it worlds apart from stock ICS, performance and functions wise. You'd need to get it from unofficial channels since it's a leak and hasn't been officially released yet AND in some countries may never be or just be really delayed for some reason. To install it, of course, you'd have to dable into "jailbreaking" (man i hate this term) business since it isn't official.
Also, in this latest leak, i'm also looking forward to that mod that adds all apps to multiview (haven't installed it yet). Everything else i'd use to want from a custom rom (mainly on my SGS), samsung has just about delivered: configurable toggle buttons, long press toggle to quickly access settings, smart stay/rotate, really smooth UI with touchwiz (even if it redraws often albeit less in this latest ROM), LOADS of ways to ease up your how you interact with your phone (gestures, motions, etc), loads of convenient menus everywhere, etc. Even if something is not to your liking there's a very high chance you can customize it or just get a free app from the market to make it to your liking, most of the time not requiring a rooted phone.
TL: DR: Nop, don't think so. I'd change minor stuff though
Simply necessary to set 240 DPI...320 is for my grandma.
NO...period. ..
sent frm 3rd rock...
Interesting subject..
In reality no, there no need for a custom rom.. its simply an avenue to save time. Eg. If you find yourself installing a multitude of different mods/tweaks everytime you update your phone then a custom rom would suite you because they come installed by default.
If you like as close to the stock experience as possible then by all means no a custom rom is not needed.
In reality a custom rom is simply a collection of mods cooked together by the dev.. roms share very similar mods/tweaks with perhaps some cosmetic differences.
The phrase "jailbreak" originated because of the stock iOS experience being so restricted.. in the Android world the stock experience is the complete opposite, it allows you to do a large range of things although the only thing you may have to do to completely take advantage of your device is root it.
Perhaps this thread should of went into the Q/A area.. but nether the less good subject.
Pie8er said:
I've just sold my iPhone 5 for Galaxy S3 i9305 LTE
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We need more people like you in this world! Come join us in the Galaxy S3 general discussion thread!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1889453
Also, in my opinion, there is no need to root the S3. Samsung have done an amazing job with it! It has great features and you can do so much without having to root. If you like the flavour of custom ROMs, though, you'll need to root. Just check them out and see what suits your everyday needs!
Enjoy!
kaynpayn said:
To be totally honest, don't think a custom rom is needed. That said, some mods DO make it better by a fair bit. For a phone that boasts 1Gb of ram it falls really short on multitasking.
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If you see the OP he actually bought the I9305 which is 2GB ram.. So its good with multitasking. And to the OP you are in the wrong Forum there is a I9305 q/a forum now if you read the forum headings. And about the custom rom, Just go about your way and use your phone normally now if you come to a roadblock or hiccup or want to try tweak it in anyway thats when you start looking into customizing or getting another rom and see if it runs smoother
Related
I bought my GSII used, already rooted, with a custom ROM already loaded on it.
I have to ask - since I never used one with a 100% pure stock ROM - is it really THAT MUCH faster with a custom?
I am currently running Juggs 5.0 - but if I went back to 100% stock would I feel that much difference?
JWhipple said:
I bought my GSII used, already rooted, with a custom ROM already loaded on it.
I have to ask - since I never used one with a 100% pure stock ROM - is it really THAT MUCH faster with a custom?
I am currently running Juggs 5.0 - but if I went back to 100% stock would I feel that much difference?
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Click to collapse
It's not really about speed. But with a custom ROM you definitely have more customizations possible. You can change the look of the interface, the notification toggles, colors etc. I have the i9100, which is another variant of the SGS2 and I've had ICS for a couple of months now, but it's not getting officially released until this month some time. So, it's not really about speed but rather about the freedom to do other things with it. Some people might cite benchmark tests, and scream that I'm wrong, but the hardware is what makes your phone fast...the software's not at all going to choke that out (whether stock or custom). As far as speed goes, you're probably not going to notice the difference.
Also, though you've got root access which enables you to install apps and do things you just can't do otherwise.
All that said, there are certain advantages to stock. It's often times more stable than something custom. There are ups and downs. If you feel the need to experiment, you can always flash back. Just read a lot before you get your feet wet (it is very possible to brick your device if you muck it up) and you'll be fine.
I don't think so. I'm going to get flamed plenty I'm sure but I don't see much improvement over how my phone performed out of the box. I think the battery life may even have been better before I started flashing stuff.
I should have stated in my original post - I am definitely not a n00b to Android or to flashing/rooting. I can understand the customization aspect, but honestly other than flashing, I have never had a real use for Root access.
I can flash something with a new custom interface or colors and always end up coming back to something that has the stock look about it... In this case, I've tried almost every available custom ROM and keep coming back to Juggs .
I ask about speed though because all the ROM cooks seem to try to use that as a selling point... "FAST!" "Butter smooth!" blah blah blah ...
JWhipple said:
I should have stated in my original post - I am definitely not a n00b to Android or to flashing/rooting. I can understand the customization aspect, but honestly other than flashing, I have never had a real use for Root access.
I can flash something with a new custom interface or colors and always end up coming back to something that has the stock look about it... In this case, I've tried almost every available custom ROM and keep coming back to Juggs .
I ask about speed though because all the ROM cooks seem to try to use that as a selling point... "FAST!" "Butter smooth!" blah blah blah ...
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After I posted, I looked at your tag, and assumed as much with 700+ posts, you've been around the XDA block.
Really? No need for root?! I'm a flashing junkie (well, okay, that's exaggerated. it comes and goes in spurts) TitaniumBackup is my friend. Also CWM is a gift.
Agreed, stock ICS is love. But I do also like certain tweaks, i.e. the %-battery indicator (and while we're on the subject, I've got a little Android logo with a % indicator for my battery...I wonder why Android devs don't include little things like that).
Yeah, your best bet is to try some out. But IMHO devs talk too much in that regard. I'll probably get flamed if any read this, but devs are kinda like used car salesmen in that regard. They've got a product that they want you to use, so they try to sell it. Can't say I blame 'em, really. But again IMO, most of it's hype.
I didn't think you were new to Android since your account is almost 4 years old so I'd assumed you were familiar with all the "benefits" of rooting. The phone is so nice out of the box I don't think any of the roms are any smoother or better on battery. I think Warfare is probably the best on battery and for me CM7 was easliy the worst. I didn't notice a change in data speed, 2d smoothness, 3d smoothness, battery cover smoothness... Nothing. The device is so nice out of the box and I don't use it for anything other than a phone, text messaging, web browsing, e-mail, Skype, the occasional slicing of fruit or a word or two with friends so I can't comment on all the added functionality all the "super-duper heavy users" of this device probably use on custom roms. The only reason mine is rooted is for an ad host file and the occasional tether.
---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 PM ----------
sean is here. said:
After I posted, I looked at your tag, and assumed as much with 700+ posts, you've been around the XDA block.
Really? No need for root?! I'm a flashing junkie (well, okay, that's exaggerated. it comes and goes in spurts) TitaniumBackup is my friend. Also CWM is a gift.
Agreed, stock ICS is love. But I do also like certain tweaks, i.e. the %-battery indicator (and while we're on the subject, I've got a little Android logo with a % indicator for my battery...I wonder why Android devs don't include little things like that).
Yeah, your best bet is to try some out. But IMHO devs talk too much in that regard. I'll probably get flamed if any read this, but devs are kinda like used car salesmen in that regard. They've got a product that they want you to use, so they try to sell it. Can't say I blame 'em, really. But again IMO, most of it's hype.
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When I had a Fascinate... I was a huge fan of overclocking and undervolting. The same when I had a Thunderbolt. It made everything smoother and the Thunderbolt especially needed help in the battery area. This device just works. No need for anything other than what it came with for me. Obviously that didn't stop me from flashing the development section... But hey, I have a problem.
Warfare is very good.but,no advantage so far.
For me,im back on stock.just works better for me (doesnt mean I wont have a flash attack).
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
JWhipple said:
I bought my GSII used, already rooted, with a custom ROM already loaded on it.
I have to ask - since I never used one with a 100% pure stock ROM - is it really THAT MUCH faster with a custom?
I am currently running Juggs 5.0 - but if I went back to 100% stock would I feel that much difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the thing with our device is that it came sooo sick straight out of the box that you don't really need to improve it that much. However, custom ROMs/kernels generally make the ROMs smoother, but not many people notice the difference.
I actually notice that because of the kernels implemented with certain ROMs, our phone is able to RUN just as smooth at a lower clockspeed which saves us battery. Other than that, I don't think Custom ROMs are actually "SMOOTHER" or faster than the stock ROM because Samsung really did well on this phone.
sunlaw2 said:
Warfare is very good.but,no advantage so far.
For me,im back on stock.just works better for me (doesnt mean I wont have a flash attack).
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I'm going to look for a ROM that is close to stock as possible but rooted... try it for a week and if I can.live with the speed I'm going back to stock via Odin.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
JWhipple said:
I'm going to look for a ROM that is close to stock as possible but rooted... try it for a week and if I can.live with the speed I'm going back to stock via Odin.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main difference is the bloatware which really does make an impact on speed, memory consumption and overall smoothness.
Some rom cook faster, you should choose the rom cook by team have many vote on forum.
---------------
sr for my E
Don't want to root. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DTgvLPOYLg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
I was just going to start a similar thread actually. I have watched videos of the different ROM's that we can install on the T989 variant to get an idea of what's available and what I like. Currently SlickMOD ROM looks the smoothest with the best battery life.
Having said that, in the video that I saw, when quadrant was run on SlickMOD, while it was overclocked, the score was approx 2690. When I ran Quadrant on my Stock ROM (rooted Stock ROM without being overclocked either) I got a score of 3199. Also, after 16 hours of use I still usually have more than 50% battery life.
Other than the options for different themes and customizations and ROM control, are custom ROMs going to provide better performance and battery life than what I am already receiving with my Stock? I mean I really want to give the other ROM's a try, but the reason would be for speed and battery life and right now both are pretty good for me on Stock. Thoughts/Suggestions?
Karakoram2 said:
Don't want to root. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DTgvLPOYLg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
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What the hell does this have to do with the discussion?
Chochiwpg said:
I was just going to start a similar thread actually. I have watched videos of the different ROM's that we can install on the T989 variant to get an idea of what's available and what I like. Currently SlickMOD ROM looks the smoothest with the best battery life.
Having said that, in the video that I saw, when quadrant was run on SlickMOD, while it was overclocked, the score was approx 2690. When I ran Quadrant on my Stock ROM (rooted Stock ROM without being overclocked either) I got a score of 3199. Also, after 16 hours of use I still usually have more than 50% battery life.
Other than the options for different themes and customizations and ROM control, are custom ROMs going to provide better performance and battery life than what I am already receiving with my Stock? I mean I really want to give the other ROM's a try, but the reason would be for speed and battery life and right now both are pretty good for me on Stock. Thoughts/Suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Generally speaking (I don't own this device) stock ROMs will normally get better battery life. Custom ROMs can approach stock, in this regard, but I'd be way beyond surprised if a cook made a ROM that had better battery life than Google's team of Android developers.
Problem with SlickMOD is that the dev's T989 broke and he isn't getting another one - so - development has HALTED.
sean is here. said:
Generally speaking (I don't own this device) stock ROMs will normally get better battery life. Custom ROMs can approach stock, in this regard, but I'd be way beyond surprised if a cook made a ROM that had better battery life than Google's team of Android developers.
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Makes sense, just for fun I ran Quadrant again on my Stock Rooted ROM and got a 3358. Maybe I should reconsider switching to a different ROM for now. Stock is very stable with no real issues/concerns. thanks for the response.
Chochiwpg said:
Makes sense, just for fun I ran Quadrant again on my Stock Rooted ROM and got a 3358. Maybe I should reconsider switching to a different ROM for now. Stock is very stable with no real issues/concerns. thanks for the response.
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Which stock-rooted ROM are you running? Mr. X's ?
JWhipple said:
Which stock-rooted ROM are you running? Mr. X's ?
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Click to collapse
It's the Stock ROM that came with my phone. I rooted the phone but haven't flashed any custom kernel's or custom ROMs on my phone. I also use Zeam Launcher as opposed to the TW Launcher by default. I have turned off animations, limited my homescreens to 3. I don't use too many widgets and I use an all black background. Also running Juice Defender to help with battery but I don't think that affects performance/speed.
Model Number = SGH-T898D
Android Version = 2.3.5
Baseband Version = T989DTLKJ3
Kernel Version = 2.6.35.11
Build Number = GINGERBREAD.TLKJ3
I don't know if that helps or answers your question. Hope that helps.
I'm willing to bet that the performance gains that are being seen on the Stock ROMs is due to the fact that they are ODEXed. By DeODEXing the ROMs can be customized to the cook's heart's content, but there is a mild performance hit taken.
Thoughts?
hi guys
i am a new android owner here, and i wish to ask for some assistance and maybe your opinion as well. i am currently a samsung galaxy S3 owner. and i am currently using the official firmware of this model. what is the main point of re-flashing your unit and installing a custom rom (oh and by the way which custom firmware is the best for samsung galaxy s3?). and if you are only looking for personalization, would it be installing launchers and some lock screen apps will do the job?
oh and lastly which is the best launcher available in the market place? Apex or nova?
thanks guys
bossrobo said:
hi guys
i am a new android owner here, and i wish to ask for some assistance and maybe your opinion as well. i am currently a samsung galaxy S3 owner. and i am currently using the official firmware of this model. what is the main point of re-flashing your unit and installing a custom rom (oh and by the way which custom firmware is the best for samsung galaxy s3?). and if you are only looking for personalization, would it be installing launchers and some lock screen apps will do the job?
oh and lastly which is the best launcher available in the market place? Apex or nova?
thanks guys
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Click to collapse
If you are ONLY looking for customization, then I'd say launchers/lockscreen apps would do the trick.
The custom roms based off of stock are very similar to the stock rom. A lot of them make some improvements/tweaks/mods that make it more appealing/faster/efficient, etc. but if anyone tells you there is a HUGE difference between stock/custom I really believe that is not true. Especially on this phone. The roms NOT based off of stock (located in ORIGINAL development) are actually A LOT different. If you like the idea of natural Android you may want to check them out because it is close to the Nexus devices.
I personally like Nova, but I think Apex gets the job done too. Both have free versions so play around.
Widgetlocker is a good lock screen replacement app.
Also, if your new, and feel you do want to check out the custom offerings plenty of people will be here to help you out.
gpgorbosjr said:
If you are ONLY looking for customization, then I'd say launchers/lockscreen apps would do the trick.
The custom roms based off of stock are very similar to the stock rom. A lot of them make some improvements/tweaks/mods that make it more appealing/faster/efficient, etc. but if anyone tells you there is a HUGE difference between stock/custom I really believe that is not true. Especially on this phone. The roms NOT based off of stock (located in ORIGINAL development) are actually A LOT different. If you like the idea of natural Android you may want to check them out because it is close to the Nexus devices.
I personally like Nova, but I think Apex gets the job done too. Both have free versions so play around.
Widgetlocker is a good lock screen replacement app.
Also, if your new, and feel you do want to check out the custom offerings plenty of people will be here to help you out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey thanks man, if you say efficient. does it mean it can improve the phones battery life?
bossrobo said:
hey thanks man, if you say efficient. does it mean it can improve the phones battery life?
Click to expand...
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yes, and a lot of times they are a bit smoother and faster than the stock firmware.
bossrobo said:
hey thanks man, if you say efficient. does it mean it can improve the phones battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes...a lot of roms claim (and some) do improve battery life. Also, some are smoother/faster than stock roms.
HOWEVER, in my experience using many roms on many phones on many carriers I would point out:
1. You WILL run into unexpected bugs using custom roms.
2. A lot of the improvements are placebo. I don't care what people say, your phone does not magically become THAT much better. An S3 running a custom rom will not blow an S3 running stock out of the water. That said, when you have a good rom dev there will be improvements. Just watch out for people who take roms and really only theme the rom and not make improvements.
I've used the AT&T and Sprint versions of the S3 for about a week each on stock roms, and I did not notice a big difference in battery life or speed when switching to custom ones. Maybe a little smoother, maybe, but my battery life has been about the same.
EDIT: What I would say is expectations need to be reasonable. Your phone will get better with a (good) custom rom, but custom roms aren't going to make a S2 as powerful as an S3, or an S3 have the battery life of a RazrMaxx. The phones performance are still primarily based on the hardware and not the small tweaks made via the roms.
I'm not a PRO in Android but still, why do some people say "Stock is the way to go"? Because of stability? Less bugs?
it just works.
Because a group of coders have decided what you can or cannot do; took away your freedom. As such, we are human beings and like being confined within boundaries.
So some people like going back to stock.
If you have chosen android, root and go custom and just muck about and explore and learn; the possibilities are endless
Mike556 said:
I'm not a PRO in Android but still, why do some people say "Stock is the way to go"? Because of stability? Less bugs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me personally, it isn't worth trading speed and stability for a few extra buttons. but this is all opinions. maybe you should try a few things and form your own opinion of it and not worry about it.
Mike556 said:
I'm not a PRO in Android but still, why do some people say "Stock is the way to go"? Because of stability? Less bugs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because no feature in a custom ROM is worth the time it will take constantly set it up, troubleshoot, endless flashing, and OCD like symptoms.
Stock JB is just too good to mess with it. I unlock and root my devices once I stop getting official updates. I have tried many ROMs, kernels on my GNEX and Nexus 7 and I always go back to stock.
Locked bootloader, no root, encrypted. It just feels good. Plus, if you purchase a new device, all you would have to do is login to your Google account and voila!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Stock ROMs are great, when JB first came out and before there were AOSP builds I rocked a rooted + BB stock image for a few weeks and thought it was great. I was able to fill in a lot of the missing ROM customization with apps (quiet hours, battery %, toggles, etc...). Smooth, fast, and reliable.
At the end of the day however a ROM built from AOSP source with some tweaks on top is the way to go for me.
Because stock is actually a really good stable feature-rich software package.
Stable, fast, no weird scripts nor heavily themed just pure android experience
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
for me, it just worked. Nothing had to be fiddled with and no headaches about small details. Being able to enjoy your device for what it is, is such a great feeling compared to constantly flashing updates and whatnot.
I run TSF shell launcher so no need for UI tweeks and stock is fine although I do mix it up with a Franco kernel.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I love stock ROMs. I wish more devs would simply tweak and compile straight aosp ROMs instead of cramming them full of features. Variety is a nice novelty but it wears off quickly reboot after reboot and fc after fc.
And on the same note I know its personal preference, but stock android looks so sleek and clean now that all themes seem just plain ugly. And it seems like most devs either include the theme engine or do some theming of the ROM itself. Just too much going on and affects performance/stability in my opinion.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
LAst time i pointed out this fact, that i like stock more than custom rom (on GNEX), i was told to get iCab and to buy Iphone....
I like stock... Rooted, so i can remove search bar (only that). I can customize in perfect way, without obligation to flash constant updates, without getting fc-s, without taking care which kernel fits best etc...
I'm really stuck between I'm being short sighted and naive, and XDA is just full of people who do things simply because they can. I know my latter argument will sound aggressive, but it's not intended to wound.
I see the CM threads. I see lots and lots of excitement over CM. But I couldn't care less. I come from a phone that HAD to have CM (note 1 / i717). Touchwiz was outdated and horrendous on it. But with the Note 3 + wanam, I really can't come up with any reason to flash CM. The few cases I've seen are being able to do things w/o xposed, but if I already have xposed set up.. what problem am I solving? And beside, with things like Tinted Bar module, I'd be running the framework regardless.
Also, with my i717, touchwiz was (post 4.0) extremely slow. I could see if our touchwiz was slow, but having debloated it myself, I can't imagine things being faster. Again, sorry about the perceived tone, but I completely dismiss all the "wow this is fast!!!!" posts as placebo (as the recent exposure to build.prop fakeness so eloquently demonstrated). We have, arguably, the fastest phone that can be purchased. With the most RAM. What's CM going to do for me switching between Gmail and Chrome? Shave off 50ms? As if my eyes can notice that.
And since I hate, hate, hate on /r/Android when someone posts some "convince me to.." threads, let me be clear, I'm genuinely curious if people have legitimate reasons to be excited about CM. Things I'm simply not aware of or grasping. I get the -- I'm bored and I'll flash because I flash because flash because TWRP because Android -- but beyond that, why? Why are we so bonerific for CM?
Yes we do do things simply because we can and that is a benefit of a open system instead of a closed system like ios. But that is not the sole reason why people get excites for cm. For me now that we got cm that means we will have more Roms and development for our device. Also the reason why I prefer aosp over touchwiz the feel of the device after I customize it. For example I turn off my hardware keys and replace then with softkeys in a setup of phone, back/kill app, home, recent/menu and chrome. Now add halo on top of that and for me I have a much more fluid experience.
i hate touchwiz,i hate the look,the feel,the flow of it. I love the nexus line of phones,but i was a large screen,i have to have an sd card slot,so for me, getting a note, and installing cm on it is my perfect phone. Im not worried about it being faster, this phone is stupid fast. i dont use any touchwiz feature, and i dont want them taking up space. I hate the stock touchwiz pull down,so i love not having to use it. Its just a personal preference to me. I also love the faster updates from having a stock android experience.
I'm kind of in the same camp as OP when it comes to CM. I do get excited about it just cause it means that development is growing for our phones and its always neat when new rom comes out, but every time I flash a CM rom I always end up back on TW because I take a ton of pictures and CM's camera suuuuuuuucks. I also always end up missing S-note. Some phones run way better on CM but like you said, ours are robust enough to run anything.
I have the i717 as well and used CM on it since I got it plus used CM on my TouchPad before that. I like the consistency that using CM on all my devices provides. I don't like TW either, the color scheme is ugly and the stock apps aren't my favorites either. I love the holo theme of AOSP. So why did I bother with the Note 3 when the Nexus 5 has pure AOSP already? I don't see a phone with anemic, limited, non-replaceable storage or battery as a good power user device. I also love the stylus but not for writing as much as using it as a precision cursor for remote desktop. The Note 3 hardware is awesome and I loved my Note 1 with CM so I wanted a Note 3 with CM. I'm also a strong believer in transparency and open source = higher quality code and AOSP ROMs usually reflect that apart from some hacks to interface with proprietary blobs. I like the customization as well and while you can get by with stock firmware and lots of mods it ends up being very hackish and not all free or open source like a proper source built ROM.
Sent from my SM-N900T using xda app-developers app
The joy of the hole thing is you can try anything you want, however, being critical of materials here is really not what XDA is for. Either use the stuff here, contribute to the cause, and learn about development along the way.
and then, there is this thread here too...http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2532873
Hey folks!
Been a long user of Xperia Arc S (2011, official updates never got past crappy 4.0.4), now it is time to upgrade. I was looking at something in medium price range, Note 2 caught my eye. The Development section appears to have great activity as well, so guess this phone does sure have some after-market worthness. Still I thought to ask you, how happy are you with your devices.
First, if I am actually going to buy this phone, is there any difference between the colors? Do the materials differ? Is the grey one also more fingerprint and dirt prone than the white one?
How powerful are the CPU and GPU on the phone? Can these take some stress or are they under continuous pressure by the firmware? By that I mean, how well is the firmware optimized? How many user apps can the phone run in addition to system apps before I should start rooting and throwing out some unnecessary crap? Or should I directly move to a custom ROM (might want to explain regarding the counters and official firmware issues)?
Looking in the General section, I see the Android 4.3 update has brought many negative emotions to the forum due to missing features and worse user experience. As I checked from my operator, the phone is sold with 4.1.2 on it. Is it worth to upgrade to 4.3 (I wonder if the update has any major positive sides as well)?
I have played around a lot with ROMs and kernels and basebands and stuff on Xperia models, but I am completely new to the Samsung world of smartphones, thereby any kind of feedback (I won't mind critism either ) is certainly welcome.
That's it for now, I will shoot more questions once I get some!
Hi and welcome,
I love my Note II and had it since Feb 13. It is still fast and does everything. I even love the 4.3 update ,though I'm not on stock, bu on Criskelo ROM, it is much more fluid than 4.1.2 and I consider 4.3 a great update. If you look at the forums you will find a lot of poeple have problems with 4.3, but IMHO, much more don't have any problems. There is a topic on "report bugs" for 4.3 and voting and more people say it's stable than that they have problems. From my experience, since Criskelo is almost stock with Note 3 pack and couple of tweaks that you really should have on any rom (and can install manualy) - the battery is the same as on 4.1.2 and the ROM feels more fluid. I don't see why STOCK one wouldn't feel faster too.
There is some bloat, but that is easily removed, by freezing in Titanium backup, but most of the apps Samsung packs in TW ROMs are useful, IMHO. All sw for S-Pen, multiwindow, Find my phone service (really useful!!), etc. If you have Samsung TV - even more useful software So I froze just a couple of apps that I really don't need.
So I'd suggest you flash EITHER pre-rooted de-KNOXed stock, or some custom ROM. I read that DM and Phoenix are great too, but I am so much satisfied with Criskelo that I have doubts I'll be moving anywhere (well, maybe just for a test spin, but after a BACKUP)
So - 1) root, 2) flash custom recovery 3) backup whole ROM to SD card 4) erase+factory reset, 5) flash MJ5 bootloader (KNOX free), and then pick a ROM to flash. They mostly have AROMA installer so are flashed from recovery (custom ROMs, that is). I dunno about stock.
Just stay away from official 4.3 because it has KNOX which can void your warranty or prevent you from changing bootloader etc. Just use MJ5 bootloader, it is a bootloader for 4.3 which doesn't have KNOX.
Also, custom have 1 big adavtage for me - Note 3 software (It is stable!!).
Cheers,
D.
All right, thanks for the answer. Any more feedback?
Also, any recommendations regarding the color of the phone?
Awsome Note II
Note II seems to be one of the most interesting and customizable devices on the market now and thanks to the devs of custom roms you will be surprised how powerful and changeable this phablet is. Even after more than a year it can compete with many new devices.
Touchwiz and its S-Pen-features are unique :good:
Just take a short glimpse around on other devices here on XDA and you will see that there are only a handfull which have similar amount of custom roms and mods.