ParanoidAndroid 4.4 try out - T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989

Long time lurker, first time poster. I am not a die hard flasher. I like to flash because it is a cheap way to get a virtually new phone.
I have had the S2 for a year now and in the beginning I was running MIUI which I really liked. It did all I wanted plus it allowed me to change the appearance occaisionally when I got bored with the status quo. Later they quit supporting the S2 and I found Avatar rom. This has been a great rom and I have been using it for most of the last year. Recently they had an upgrade which was giving me a "phone.android.com" error and rendered the phone useless which was totally unacceptable so I restored my earlier version. There is talk on that thread that they will be moving to KitKat. I'll wait for that.
In the meantime I decided to try something else, so yesterday I flashed ParanoidAndroid 4.4. Initially it seemed like a great rom and I spent the better part of the day playing around with it. I decided to run it for awhile and was setting it up for my style of use when I discovered a couple of things.
The first thing I discovered was that I could not find a way to customize the quick settings panel. I was able to rearrange it so that I could get the tiles where I wanted but I couldn't add any other tiles, like sleep. I like to try and avoid using my hardware buttons as much as possible to preclude wear and tear. I have read of bad or broken power switches on these devices. I am sure other devices have similar issues. I decided that I could maybe live without the sleep tile and just let the thing put itself to sleep most of the time and deal with any missing tiles in other ways.
The next thing I disovered was that my folders and icons were dissapearing. I like to group my apps in folders so that similar apps are all in one place. I am sure I am not the only one that does this. Anyway, dissappearing folders was something I could not live with. I'm sure we all spend time getting our phones set up just the way we like them and then use them as daily drivers. When I set things up I like them to stay until I change them. At any rate, it was at that point I decided to restore my Avatar rom and wait for the Kit Kat version to come out.
In conclusion, ParanoidAndroid looks like a great rom so I will be keeping an eye on it, but I have high hopes for a Kit Kat version of Avatar in the near future so I'll be watching that as well.

true dat
the power button on mine is about as useless as ever. i use carbon rom at 4.4.2 and allow the volume buttons to turn on my phone's screen. i can't deal with the trouble of using the power button when it'll instantly turn off the screen once i turn it on.

I'm using PA 4.0 (4.4.2) beta 6 as well. I would just like to report that I am successfully using folders to sort my apps. My app folders do not disappear.
I tend to agree with you about the Quick Settings panel. Some of the changes that I'd like to make are available.
There are a few other things with PA 4.0 (4.4.2) beta 6 that are strange (bugs/performance issues). I think that after a few more beta releases, those things will be ironed out.

Today I'm going to be switching to PA 4.2 beta-1.
I've anxious to see:
- How boot times have changed
- How the PIE controls are
- How buggy it is
- How performance has changed

Related

Anyone try Pointui?

http://gizmodo.com/339835/pointui-skins-windows-mobile-almost-fixes-the-os-best-wm-skin-app-ever
If you have, any comments? It looks promising, is it compatable with the Hermes?
You might want to check here.
I have used it, very promising UI for WM6 but I don't think its ready for everyday use yet.. By far the smoothest interface I've used, however.
Nice UI
I am using it for 72 Hrs now.
had some problems with the calandar view - fixed in version 1.0b.
in general very nice UI.
love the online update feature.
It's buggy, but has good potential.
I had it on my Hermes for a few hours, but ulitmately uninstalled it. It is a cool program, but definately has it's flaws.
Pros:
- Slick, fast UI
- Easy to use/understand
- Quite useful
- Update is very simple
- A very welcome change to HTC Home
Cons:
- In-Call volume adjustment is not possible as of yet (on Hermes at least)
- No easy way to close it
- Upon wake/power-on, it is 'minimized' to the top bar
- Scrolling is backwards, ie. you don't scroll as if flipping pages like an iPhone, you scroll towards the direction you want to go
I only used it for a few hours, but over all i was very impressed. Knowing that this is essentially the first release, I look forward to future, bug-fixed versions.
Hope this was helpful to everybody
So so
I've had it running for two days now. Keep switching back and forth. Certainly the smoothest/easiest touch interface that I have used. Can't wait to see where it goes.
excellent bit of kit
a wee bit to go on trials before i do a complete switch to it
but
i am sure in a few months it will be a blinder
ive tried and really like it! before this i was using the whoneedsaniphone interface, which I recommend checking out. but, that was simply a quick launch program. im keeping the pointui program as i have not had any problems except the in call volume which i just make sure i adjust after my daily soft reset. no biggie. great job on the program and now they just need a way to change the background!
They just released an update for it, fixed a few glitches, and also posted instructions on how to customize (customise as they put it... Aussies) some of the short cuts; like Media Player or Email account.
i installed and quickly uninstalled. it's just not flexible enough for me yet. i'll certainly keep an eye on development though and give it a try again in the future.
I installed and used it for some hours. It's a very nice interface but lacks of some things:
No customization of colors or Background
Cannot select the default screen (clock, calendar, tasks,) it always starts with the ugly clock
The call list don't work with international numbers (eg. +541234567). it omitts the +
to update the weather inforation expects an mobile data connection (eg- GPRS), with WLAN enabled, I cannot update the weather
Cannot really close running apps, like with X-Button
this will be a great UI. needs some improvement for everyday use.
Been using it for a few days now, works very well.
Theres obviously a way to go with it, but im happy to use it for everyday right now. Coreplayer is set for the music icon.
Aslong as the UI continues to be a quick responsive beast as it is now i see nothing but great things for it. Next MAJOR update should be a goody!
it's sick...
lets examine this statement:
A. It's smooth as F*** and makes the iphone interface kinda scared.
B. It's sick... as in, *cough*cough* "I should stay home from school today, and maybe tomorrow or the next update, it will be ready to take some lunch money.
Did I mention it's smooth, lectric smooth...
Keeps connecting to update automatically and not on demand which is a turn off for me
i have to say i like it, i think they released a working version on the 1st of january for the publicity side of it.
And no one can really moan since these guys are giving it to us for free.
It will only get better as theyve stated when they have the version for wm5 & 6 ironed out, they will be looking for improve and then relase a version for wm2003, an outdated system.
Things will only get better as they are actively listening to what the user wants, so give them your feedback!
it's absolutely worth a try.
It's a brilliant piece of software.
i installed the first version, and the updates.
I actually installed in when i flashed a new ROm, and built my UI around it.
The interfaces is smooth and fast.
BUT- it definitely has small bugs to be worked out. I'm not presently running it anymore (but didn't uninstall it...) but actively watching to see how it goes, because it's the first really new idea along these lines that is more than just a Today screen.
installed and uninstalled on 2 devices, there are bugs in it that they will address, its not configurable which is a big turn off and you have a choice of background and colour, as long as you choose BLUE.
Another thing about these wonderful interfaces is they need to you smear your screen with greasy fingerprints to use them (unless you use your stylus then of course it makes them sort of pointless) this also goes for the touchflow craze thats going on.. why add extra wear and tear on the screen when its not needed...?? oh and of course when this specific screen was not built and tested for repetative finger use. MTBF reduced, New Screens on order I hope
its all about ease of use, if your screen gets dirty, get a cloth out and wipe accordingly.
it s some kind of funny toy to play with, surely worth a try
worth to keep on every day use? not really, imo
especially because the tytn/hermes was not meant for finger use. i think the only real finger use supporting device is the iphone (or the ipod touch)
has anyone who has used this also tried the cube? Is this any different than that? Is it smoother? Can you do everything in the Pointui as you would without it?

[Q] Paranoid Android 2.99 Beta

I just went from BAMF to Paranoid Android 4.2 and for the life of me I can't figure out why so many people are talking up this ROM, could someone please explain it to me because I need to be missing something.
The only thing that looked interesting was the UI features which do not work correctly. The Opaque Statusbar and Taskbar do not work. Randomly they will go back to solid black then never goes back to Opaque. The Tablet UI seems awesome but the Taskbar buttons are way to small. So I figured I would change the DPI but it makes the Statusbar clock huge and the notifications area pop-up moves half-way off the screen rendering it unusable.
So after those features are taking away there really is no custom / developer settings on the ROM so it's pretty much pointless.
A lot of people like a tablet UI but don't like the smaller DPI or visa/versa et cetera.
Jubakuba said:
A lot of people like a tablet UI but don't like the smaller DPI or visa/versa et cetera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Tablet UI is awesome but very poorly implemented it seems.
Shuino said:
So after those features are taking away there really is no custom / developer settings on the ROM so it's pretty much pointless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from AOKP milestone 1 to PA 2.99.5 and while I like the 4.2 I'm thinking it might be time to go back to AOKP. I thought the Phablet UI was interesting but when I tried it... it didn't work correctly. I do like the per-app customization but I'd rather customize other areas of the phone with my time. Add I miss my integrated weather on the lockscreen.
illegalsmile said:
I came from AOKP milestone 1 to PA 2.99.5 and while I like the 4.2 I'm thinking it might be time to go back to AOKP. I thought the Phablet UI was interesting but when I tried it... it didn't work correctly. I do like the per-app customization but I'd rather customize other areas of the phone with my time. Add I miss my integrated weather on the lockscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are pretty much in the same boat am I. I was just hoping something happened during my install of Paranoid and that's why it wasn't working or features were missing or something. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this ROM is defiantly lacking.
I am staying hopeful though. Once they get this ROM out of beta maybe Tablet UI will be working, and they will include some basic customization.
I do not see any problems with PA 2.99.5 whatsoever.. It works perfectly fine..smooth, good battery life, no lags, everything works as it should.. Once again, it is a matter of preference.. You putting up this thread was a matter of preference.. But once again, it is advisable that you do not complain by making a new thread.. Just post in the PA thread.. Molesarecoming is always open to constructive criticism..Once again, the word is "constructive criticism" the diversity of ROMs in the Galaxy Nexus community is what makes many stick with the nexus. so before bashing other ROMs, please just remember you not liking it, doesnt mean it's the same for others. If you hate it so much twitter it or fb it or something. >.<
Leemur89 said:
I do not see any problems with PA 2.99.5 whatsoever.. It works perfectly fine..smooth, good battery life, no lags, everything works as it should.. Once again, it is a matter of preference.. You putting up this thread was a matter of preference.. But once again, it is advisable that you do not complain by making a new thread.. Just post in the PA thread.. Molesarecoming is always open to constructive criticism..Once again, the word is "constructive criticism" the diversity of ROMs in the Galaxy Nexus community is what makes many stick with the nexus. so before bashing other ROMs, please just remember you not liking it, doesnt mean it's the same for others. If you hate it so much twitter it or fb it or something. >.<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not bashing anyone work at all, honestly I just wanted to know if I was missing something from the ROM since so many seem to use it. I have used it for 2 days now and none of the UI tweaks are functional, or do not work properly or are just way to small with no functional way to increase size. But the ROM is smooth and quick with insane boot speed.
Here is info on PA 2.99+ in a nutshell. First and foremost, you all downtalking tabletui need to realize that it does not actually exist in android 4.2, the paranoidandroid team found it deactivated by google in the code for 4.2 and they spent their time making it available again, it is in no way a finished product, if you want to see it work good then download a version of PA with an android 4.1x base ( i.e. PA 2.54 or before). Now onto people that cannot see the big deal, well anyone that tried the pre 4.2 PA knows that there is more customization available in PA than any other rom put together. Now PA 2.99+ are all AOSP based instead of CM based so they basically are building this rom from scratch to improve speed, performance and battery life for everyone, this means that a lot is not even integrated back into the rom yet. Simply trying out the newest PA will not give you a feel for why it is hands down the best rom out there. As for transparency, that only works on the homescreen and in order to properly utilize it you must A. be using a compatible launcher which has the homescreen backgrounds drawn correctly ( i.e. Apex, Stock or Holo etc, NOVA does not work) B. Choose a correct transparent hexcode or slide the transparency bar to where you would like it for that said Launcher in the "apps" section of paranoid preferences. I am on 2.99 Beta 5 and have full transparency with no issues that you speak of (Photo included as proof), in fact, Beta 5 has added almost everything I want back into the rom and fully functional, I can hardly wait for v3.0, seriously, I cannot see ever using another rom after using paranoidandroid, it just has the edge on everything else out there. AOKP and CM have nothing on it especially when it's at 100% again, which will be in the next couple weeks at the rate it's awesome devs work at!
tabUI is not existant in 4.2, what you see right now is raw honeycomb. if you want to see how good it was install 2.54, thats still based on 4.1. but right now i got to make my hands dirty with this. i know that on xda most people do not understand the difference between developing and kanging, and they wonder "why's this rom slower than others" but someones gotta do the dirty work and im okay if crackflashers avoid ours. they avoid cm for the same reason.
as for hybrid engine, i dont think you have understood it yet. it works flawless and it gives you more customization than all roms on xda combined, IF you can handle it. yes, you are able to make a button pink in this and that rom, but hybrid can transform thousands of apps and components to the better, with practical implications that are unheard of. the apps that are running on your huge 720p screen were not optimized for it, they're in the same layout that applies to pocketwatches or stone age miniature phones like the htc wildfire.
as for opacity, no app, obviously, draws underneath the bars - why would it. the launcher can do it, but again - not all do. nova has even a bug that offsets the wallpapers which leaves a black gap. our launcher works, apex works, holo works and perhaps a bunch of others. no rom does it differently, simply because its impossible.
the real difference is that we are producing features that push androids boundaries, we are sick of a homogen rom culture that hasnt really moved one inch for a couple of years now. all these roms are the same, do you realize that? kanging has produced one grey mass and nothing stands out. when we are done with our beta we will of course bring in all the essential features aswell, but new features have greater priority. and these blow everthing related to it clean out of the water.
compare build.prop hacks with hybrid engine, its like night and day. this is quite possibly the biggest rom scene improvement android has ever had.
compare rom scene color tweaks with per-app-color, its like night and day. normal roms are static, they give you one color and thats that. our colors shift from app to app.
compare extended desktop (which also came from us) with per-app-fullscreen
compare our recents with clearall implementations,
we had the most versatile toggles on android in 4.1 (right now we're implementing a new panel which will come in beta6)
etc.
but you got to understand that this stuff takes alot of time. i know i could just rename an open source rom, call myself "founder," post in 30 device forums and make craploads of money here on xda, but i chose not to and im happy i found a few guys that think in the same way. im content with the few people that use PA and the support i get from those, i dont see myself competing with any other rom for that matter. i dont feel like i have to stop all my work now just because this and that rom has a minor option that we dont have at the moment.
molesarecoming said:
tabUI is not existant in 4.2, what you see right now is raw honeycomb. if you want to see how good it was install 2.54, thats still based on 4.1. but right now i got to make my hands dirty with this. i know that on xda most people do not understand the difference between developing and kanging, and they wonder "why's this rom slower than others" but someones gotta do the dirty work and im okay if crackflashers avoid ours. they avoid cm for the same reason.
as for hybrid engine, i dont think you have understood it yet. it works flawless and it gives you more customization than all roms on xda combined, IF you can handle it. yes, you are able to make a button pink in this and that rom, but hybrid can transform thousands of apps and components to the better, with practical implications that are unheard of. the apps that are running on your huge 720p screen were not optimized for it, they're in the same layout that applies to pocketwatches or stone age miniature phones like the htc wildfire.
as for opacity, no app, obviously, draws underneath the bars - why would it. the launcher can do it, but again - not all do. nova has even a bug that offsets the wallpapers which leaves a black gap. our launcher works, apex works, holo works and perhaps a bunch of others. no rom does it differently, simply because its impossible.
the real difference is that we are producing features that push androids boundaries, we are sick of a homogen rom culture that hasnt really moved one inch for a couple of years now. all these roms are the same, do you realize that? kanging has produced one grey mass and nothing stands out. when we are done with our beta we will of course bring in all the essential features aswell, but new features have greater priority. and these blow everthing related to it clean out of the water.
compare build.prop hacks with hybrid engine, its like night and day. this is quite possibly the biggest rom scene improvement android has ever had.
compare rom scene color tweaks with per-app-color, its like night and day. normal roms are static, they give you one color and thats that. our colors shift from app to app.
compare extended desktop (which also came from us) with per-app-fullscreen
compare our recents with clearall implementations,
we had the most versatile toggles on android in 4.1 (right now we're implementing a new panel which will come in beta6)
etc.
but you got to understand that this stuff takes alot of time. i know i could just rename an open source rom, call myself "founder," post in 30 device forums and make craploads of money here on xda, but i chose not to and im happy i found a few guys that think in the same way. im content with the few people that use PA and the support i get from those, i dont see myself competing with any other rom for that matter. i dont feel like i have to stop all my work now just because this and that rom has a minor option that we dont have at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonderfully said.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
PA 2.54 on epic 4g touch
I just flashed to this rom yesterday and really like it so far. I am interested in flashing to the newest 2.99 version. Where I can get the correct download for my phone, and do I need to update my recovery and if so, where do I get the link for that?
Thanks
btvolta said:
I just flashed to this rom yesterday and really like it so far. I am interested in flashing to the newest 2.99 version. Where I can get the correct download for my phone, and do I need to update my recovery and if so, where do I get the link for that?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the new 4.2 based PA roms might only be available for the Nexus series phones and tablets currently since the developers have started over building it from the ground up using AOSP source instead of CyanogenMod. I am not certain if the code is out there for other devs to build on their particular devices yet though.

[Q] Rootbox 4.2.1 2/12/13 Release Issues/Help

I cannot post in the development section, so here is my issues with the latest release 2/12/13.
Voice search crashes...maybe related to the newest GApps? Though I used the most recent release with the 1/24/13 release and voice search worked great. But I use it with this release, I get a white screen, then usually back to home screen...but intermittently my phone will restart itself.
Next issue is still the camera...it's mostly okay, but sometimes still freezes/crashes. Though it's stability has improved so far...though I'm not quite 24hrs in.
Then there is scrabble...it crashed the hell outta my phone, like to the point I had to hold the power button for about 30 seconds because the phone hardlocked and the graphics went blocky (never had that happen on the last release, even tried reinstalling)...the gf and I play back and forth, and I actually re-installed this release after not only wiping the caches like I did the first time, but wiped all data as well.
The Android Keyboard still crashes...but I am used to a different keyboard now anyways so not too big of a deal..would be nice to not have to install something else to do that job though. But fwir it seems to be a rom wide situation.
My last issue isn't necessarily related to this ROM...but to SDSwap_4.2.1. How do you install it? I try installing the zip through Team Win Install and it fails every time. I see no instructions for that version, but I did find a thread from July that has some instructions using a file manager that I may try. I have a 16gb sd card I would like to use for apps and what-not. Can I get any pointers? I am continuing my search but I would like some experienced help as well please.
Aside from that it seems to operate a little faster, but also seems to consume batteries a little faster, but I have the Hyperion 3500mAh batteries so not a huge deal. I like it, but I think I am going to go back to the last release as it seems far less buggy in my experience. Thanks to those behind these roms, I haven't tried anything else aside from Rootbox. I am looking forward to future releases and enjoying this phone for a long time.
Kursah said:
I cannot post in the development section, so here is my issues with the latest release 2/12/13.
Voice search crashes...maybe related to the newest GApps? Though I used the most recent release with the 1/24/13 release and voice search worked great. But I use it with this release, I get a white screen, then usually back to home screen...but intermittently my phone will restart itself.
Next issue is still the camera...it's mostly okay, but sometimes still freezes/crashes. Though it's stability has improved so far...though I'm not quite 24hrs in.
Then there is scrabble...it crashed the hell outta my phone, like to the point I had to hold the power button for about 30 seconds because the phone hardlocked and the graphics went blocky (never had that happen on the last release, even tried reinstalling)...the gf and I play back and forth, and I actually re-installed this release after not only wiping the caches like I did the first time, but wiped all data as well.
The Android Keyboard still crashes...but I am used to a different keyboard now anyways so not too big of a deal..would be nice to not have to install something else to do that job though. But fwir it seems to be a rom wide situation.
My last issue isn't necessarily related to this ROM...but to SDSwap_4.2.1. How do you install it? I try installing the zip through Team Win Install and it fails every time. I see no instructions for that version, but I did find a thread from July that has some instructions using a file manager that I may try. I have a 16gb sd card I would like to use for apps and what-not. Can I get any pointers? I am continuing my search but I would like some experienced help as well please.
Aside from that it seems to operate a little faster, but also seems to consume batteries a little faster, but I have the Hyperion 3500mAh batteries so not a huge deal. I like it, but I think I am going to go back to the last release as it seems far less buggy in my experience. Thanks to those behind these roms, I haven't tried anything else aside from Rootbox. I am looking forward to future releases and enjoying this phone for a long time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need to use my gapps ...1/20/2013 ... battery issues come from kernel .... use the swapsd zip in the aosp patches section ...
:good:
Well I flashed your gApps, now things are working much much better! Also used teh SwapSD zip from the AOSP section and that worked like a charm as well. Mind if I ask what the one on your Rootbox page is for then? Any way to add a note to that page to not use that one or a link to the one on the AOSP Mods page?
Thanks again for your hard work on Rootbox...it is so nice and smooth and now much more stable. I appreciate your efforts and will be donating when my next paycheck comes around. Cheers!
EDIT: Also I forgot to add, a problem that I have had since I started using Rootbox...the damn phone vibrating when you use the touchscreen keyboard of any kind. Turning this feature off in settings does not change a thing...I have tried different versions of rootbox and gapps between two Glides to no avail. More of an annoyance than anything. Not worth giving up Rootbox for though!

Wipe -> Flash -> Test... Wipe -> Flash -> Test ... The Neverending Story!!!

Wipe -> Flash -> Test... Wipe -> Flash -> Test ... The Neverending Story!!!
I took some time to return back to pure stock Android to see what I was missing from the great custom roms. From the minute your first boot completes, two things happen: You feel comforted as you know that everything works as expected. You feel the stability and safety as your phone probably won't play any weird tricks to you. But as you go through your settings, pulling down your notification panel or pressing the power menu (and probably a million other things!) you see that all the extra things you were used to are not there. Confusion is the next thing to occur as you may indeed like the polished look and safe playing - ahhh, the original firmware on your device -, but you would definately like your phone to do more things.
Most of us, like to make the most of our devices. So we try custom roms, kernels, radios, themes...the list is endless...to find the golden rule in order for our phone to look and perform the best possible. Developers come up with new and innovative ideas most of the time and testers try their mods in order to provide feedback for things to get better. This is a nice thing and I guess this is called evolution or progress, name it what you like. It's an addictive process for both ends, especially for devs as the joy of making something work the way they pictured it to be, is the most rewarding thing in the world and for the end user the joy of helping devs out and by having the latest and the greatest is a reason to make their day.
But let's get focused on the end user. Wiping and flashing...wiping and flashing...it's a vicious circle man! Everybody's searching for the holy grail, the ultimate rom for their device. But guess what...YOU'LL NEVER GONNA GET IT! Why? Concerning custom roms and as the updates are very frequent, even if you have flashed a version with the minimum bugs possible, the next one will probably have an annoying or critical bug. So either you wait for an update or you start searching for a rom similar to the one you use in order to avoid a certain issue. So as you guess, this is a neverending road trip! And the truth is that after a year or two flashing a million of things on your phone, your device gets old and you probably thinking of upgrading to a newer model. Which of course you need to try it's true potentials, so you will start testing things again... What you realise is you as the end user, you never trully enjoy your phone as it has become a "lab rat", constantly under testing.
So what's the "cure" for you? You can spend some time flashing all different kinds of roms and kernels. When it comes to roms, look for the features that you think suits your needs the most and will be used on a daily basis more or less. I know that a million other features might seem cool to you but if you are not gonna use them they are useless to you. The truth is that we are living in a world were more is better but you need to focus on what is really useful to you. Do not forget that the more the features on a rom, probably the more the possibility of issues to occur or the more the battery consumption. So look for something that is not extremely overloaded with all mods available outhere. Look more for stabiltiy and a little less for performance.
To end this...by doing the above, you already provided feedback on devs the time you were trying things, so you helped them improve their work, and by settling down to a specific rom, you will start enjoying your phone and you'll have a device that suits your daily needs. In the end, even if you still haven't got that, you will need to settle down on something. Otherwise you are doomed to play a role in the "Neverending Story" movie!!!
I got my GN on Oct 16th, played with it on stock ROM for a couple of weeks, then 4.1.2 came out so decided to root it and install Paranoid Android 2.54 on Nov 8th...
Running/loving it since.
No theme, just tablet mode.
Of course I've also customized things more to my likings:
Flash player
4.2 swipe keyboard
S4 gallery/camera
Nova launcher
Pie pro
Easy eyes
Llama
Lag fix
For me it's just Flash -> Test -> Flash -> Test, haven't done any wiping since the last few months and I can run a multitude of different ROMs (MIUI excluded) fine. If there are something that FCs constantly, I just clear its data.
I only test out different ROMs when I'm in the mood. When it's just the usual daily routine I use CM 10.1 nightlies since, in my opinion, they are one of the more reliable ROMs. CyanDelta also makes the whole process a lot easier. If I'm going somewhere without internet access for more than a few days, I slap CM 10.1.2 on my GNex and it's ready to go.
Running CM hasn't caused me any issues so far (like not being able to make a call, or GPS suddenly fails to work). I prefer the constant flashing rather than staying on the same firmware for weeks.
True. Personally I've settled with stock Google image since 4.1.1 came out and I use my spare time elsewhere then OCD'ing over "omg new nightly". Using the phone can be more fun.
Just wanted to say, thanks for getting The Neverending Story theme song in my head. lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FM-ZkTTLMA

Hype, Forget, Stay...

...when it should be something like Hype, Compare, Choose.
I'm just posting this because it's crazy how we become kind of addicts to the cutting edge versions of Android, no matter how it really works on our device, it is just awesome because it works, on our beloved 3 years old nexus.
I'm the kind of guy who really search for smoothness, all around the system. I just can't stand a frame drop. It's kind of creepy. No, seriously, I look for details, and there's some things in KitKat I don't like. But all that said, and as I once read, if your eyes see at 15 fps it's not my fault lol. So, here they are:
- Notifications panel / Quick settings animation. Yes, guess what, the frame drop here is aweful. It stutters like hell. Just do it, expand the status bar and hit the tile many times, that's not smooth at all.
- RAM usage. They can say KK is optimized and bla bla, but real thing is that there's less free RAM than JB. It's a fact. You can go all the way of how Android manage memory and stuff, well, I rather more free RAM.
- Home button responsiveness. It just lags. Test it, open an app, something heavy e.g. Facebook app, and press home button. Now do the same but use back button. Give it a few tries if you didn't notice the difference at the first time.
- High battery drain.
There are some other things but you get the point. I felt less responsiveness in general, when multitasking, etc. So I decided to go back to Android 4.3.1 JB, CM 10.2.1 in my particular case. Oh yes, this feels awesome. Notifications panel / Quick settings animation is fully smooth, I've more free ram, Home button reaction is fast again, multitasking is great. I also realized that I missed the Vanilla ui. This is definitely where I'm staying.
So my conclusion is, you can follow the hype but don't stay just with the new things, make your own judgement, compare and choose what's your most suitable rom/android version out there
NOTES:
- I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos looking for this issues I've mentioned, so I discard problems with my Maguro in particular.
- I'm comparing both Android versions with the same apps (around 140 total apps), so there's no factory reset placebo effect.
- They're all present on different roms i.e CM, PA, and some others, so its KK related I guess.
- A particular thing about CM 10.2.1 is that it cames with a modified phase beam live wallpaper that slows down the launcher/system, don't get wrong this first bad impression , try another live wallpaper and you'll see how smooth is it. It runs great, using live or static wallpapers. What I did was delete the phasebeam.apk and push the stock 4.3 phasebeam.apk, that works good :good:.
- Hey! There's some good KK themes for old Theme Chooser if you want the KK look.
Anyway, here's another reason to not to ask what's the best rom for my GN.
This is just my personal opinion.
Hope you've enjoyed the post, and go try yourself!
Kustaa said:
...when it should be something like Hype, Compare, Choose.
I'm just posting this because it's crazy how we become kind of addicts to the cutting edge versions of Android, no matter how it really works on our device, it is just awesome because it works, on our beloved 3 years old nexus.
I'm the kind of guy who really search for smoothness, all around the system. I just can't stand a frame drop. It's kind of creepy. No, seriously, I look for details, and there's some things in KitKat I don't like. But all that said, and as I once read, if your eyes see at 15 fps it's not my fault lol. So, here they are:
- Notifications panel / Quick settings animation. Yes, guess what, the frame drop here is aweful. It stutters like hell. Just do it, expand the status bar and hit the tile many times, that's not smooth at all.
- RAM usage. They can say KK is optimized and bla bla, but real thing is that there's less free RAM than JB. It's a fact. You can go all the way of how Android manage memory and stuff, well, I rather more free RAM.
- Home button responsiveness. It just lags. Test it, open an app, something heavy e.g. Facebook app, and press home button. Now do the same but use back button. Give it a few tries if you didn't notice the difference at the first time.
- High battery drain.
There are some other things but you get the point. I felt less responsiveness in general, when multitasking, etc. So I decided to go back to Android 4.3.1 JB, CM 10.2.1 in my particular case. Oh yes, this feels awesome. Notifications panel / Quick settings animation is fully smooth, I've more free ram, Home button reaction is fast again, multitasking is great. I also realized that I missed the Vanilla ui. This is definitely where I'm staying.
So my conclusion is, you can follow the hype but don't stay just with the new things, make your own judgement, compare and choose what's your most suitable rom/android version out there
NOTES:
- I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos looking for this issues I've mentioned, so I discard problems with my Maguro in particular.
- I'm comparing both Android versions with the same apps (around 140 total apps), so there's no factory reset placebo effect.
- They're all present on different roms i.e CM, PA, and some others, so its KK related I guess.
- A particular thing about CM 10.2.1 is that it cames with a modified phase beam live wallpaper that slows down the launcher/system, don't get wrong this first bad impression , try another live wallpaper and you'll see how smooth is it. It runs great, using live or static wallpapers. What I did was delete the phasebeam.apk and push the stock 4.3 phasebeam.apk, that works good :good:.
- Hey! There's some good KK themes for old Theme Chooser if you want the KK look.
Anyway, here's another reason to not to ask what's the best rom for my GN.
This is just my personal opinion.
Hope you've enjoyed the post, and go try yourself!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the problems you mentioned and i do want speed, stability and smoothness.
I noticed those things when i first upgraded to KK.
To overcome those challenges, i tried all the roms (CM Remix, Cm11, PA, Omni, Omni FML, geyers, AOKP, etc..) with stock kernels and then with DIRTY V and Fancy.
More ram is available with dirty v, fancy and stock PA kernel.
Afterall, i choose my personal set up which is smooth and stable for my device. i am satisfied with it now.
With Android you always have a choice of tweaking, upgrading or downgrading from JB > KK. so choose whats best for you :good:
Even I've been thinking of try CM 10 for a while but I just can't leave KitKat. For me, latest Android version is important but this lag makes me feel bad. So I try to manage the performance using better kernel and not using apps like Facebook but it isn't enough. There is still lag in some or the other screen.
I bought Galaxy Nexus in last 9 months only so I couldn't use Android 4.3 roms much and thus I don't have much info about them. What do you think, should I give it a try? Also, which rom would you recommend?
Thanks.
hemantv said:
Even I've been thinking of try CM 10 for a while but I just can't leave KitKat. For me, latest Android version is important but this lag makes me feel bad. So I try to manage the performance using better kernel and not using apps like Facebook but it isn't enough. There is still lag in some or the other screen.
I bought Galaxy Nexus in last 9 months only so I couldn't use Android 4.3 roms much and thus I don't have much info about them. What do you think, should I give it a try? Also, which rom would you recommend?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, you'll have to try my friend
If you want my opinion, CM 10.2.1 Stable is awesome. Rock solid. You should make a nandroid backup of your current rom and go try some 4.3 stuff! In worst scenario you'll be restoring the nandroid and that's it!
hemantv said:
Even I've been thinking of try CM 10 for a while but I just can't leave KitKat. For me, latest Android version is important but this lag makes me feel bad. So I try to manage the performance using better kernel and not using apps like Facebook but it isn't enough. There is still lag in some or the other screen.
I bought Galaxy Nexus in last 9 months only so I couldn't use Android 4.3 roms much and thus I don't have much info about them. What do you think, should I give it a try? Also, which rom would you recommend?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try the paranoid 3.99 based on 4.3
I remember it was really smooth
Kustaa said:
As I said, you'll have to try my friend
If you want my opinion, CM 10.2.1 Stable is awesome. Rock solid. You should make a nandroid backup of your current rom and go try some 4.3 stuff! In worst scenario you'll be restoring the nandroid and that's it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you on everything you said. I think I even went back to CM 10.X (not sure the exact one), but it was much better than anything I had before. I am on PA 4.44 and my data loses connection often and not sure why. The version of CM though, I would put it on airplane mode and my battery would still be drained the next day when other versions I didn't have that issue. That's one reason I went to another ROM, but it appears I am just going through ROMS like crazy trying to find the one I like most. To me...battery life is the most important.
decisions.
when i stopped using google framework with all those apps you dont have to use...
i found my battery lasting much longer
setting my kernel to lazy...while turning up voltage and over hertz. gives it enough speed...with enough "crash"
to stay up for 3 to 4 days, just sitting there
and 1 to 2 while in normal use.
and using up my data....well no one is going to get much up time like that

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