Database Info

Stock Android on Epic

I just want to be sure I am not missing anything - there are not any Epic roms out yet right? to put it a different way, every single epic owner on the planet is currently using the Sprint/Samsung factory version of Android 2.1, yes?
Have spent a number of hours on xda and google, but wanted to be sure I was correct on this one.
Just really anxious to get away from Touchwiz, it doesn't even really feel like Android.

dockular said:
I just want to be sure I am not missing anything - there are not any Epic roms out yet right? to put it a different way, every single epic owner on the planet is currently using the Sprint/Samsung factory version of Android 2.1, yes?
Have spent a number of hours on xda and google, but wanted to be sure I was correct on this one.
Just really anxious to get away from Touchwiz, it doesn't even really feel like Android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct, no custom roms yet. In the meantime you could install a different launcher such as launcher pro and adw launcher to give your phone a more aosp look
Sent from the future...

Honestly, after I installed ADW Launcher, Beautiful Widgets, rooted the phone, and uninstalled all the Sprint crap with Root Manager / Titanium Backup, I'm actually happy with what's left of Touch Wiz. The dialer / contacts / integration etc is actually pretty nice. My phone looks like stock 2.2 now, but has a few nice improvements.

legacydevice said:
Honestly, after I installed ADW Launcher, Beautiful Widgets, rooted the phone, and uninstalled all the Sprint crap with Root Manager / Titanium Backup, I'm actually happy with what's left of Touch Wiz. The dialer / contacts / integration etc is actually pretty nice. My phone looks like stock 2.2 now, but has a few nice improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I think touchwiz is like a double edgd sword. One the one hand it has a ton of features and usability improvements, on thbe other hand it looks horrible. Launcher pro gets rid of the ugly and adds even more features.
I wouldn't want stock android even if it were available.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

drizek said:
Agreed. I think touchwiz is like a double edgd sword. One the one hand it has a ton of features and usability improvements, on thbe other hand it looks horrible. Launcher pro gets rid of the ugly and adds even more features.
I wouldn't want stock android even if it were available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is good info, thanks guys. maybe we'll get a chef who knows how to keep the good and eliminate the useless/ugly... and hopefully froyo to boot

I'm pretty happy with the stock ROM. I just use LauncherPro instead of Samsung's launcher and it's fantastic.

drizek said:
I wouldn't want stock android even if it were available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 110%, there are some nice improvements once you remove all the crap

To switch to a stock vanilla launcher -- How To: Disable TouchWiz Epic 4G
Although it only has three screens, I've found it to be really really responsive and reliable. It always works very fast.

dockular said:
This is good info, thanks guys. maybe we'll get a chef who knows how to keep the good and eliminate the useless/ugly... and hopefully froyo to boot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if we get good devs for the epic i may buy one. looks as there isn't as much interest as the evo has.

I can't wait to see some roms start to pop up, gonna be nice to have a working hotspot without paying 30 dollars a month
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Sooty305 said:
I can't wait to see some roms start to pop up, gonna be nice to have a working hotspot without paying 30 dollars a month
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already got wifi tethering.....I'm rooted, so I installed the app. I'm now putting out a hotspot on 3 laptops in my home.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Why should I do CyanogenMod on a Nexus S?

Go gentle on this newbie-droid -
What are the reasons for giving up the warranty on my Nexus S and install CyanogenMod?
Thanks!

Short answer - it's awesome and it has a lot more options and features than stock.
Long answer -
1st, I wouldn't be too concerned about voiding warranty. Depending on how you root, "unrooting" will be easy as pie. If you have a problem with the phone, flash back to stock, lock the bootloader, and no one will know the wiser.
2nd - A lot of people are kinda under the impression that CM on the SNS may not be necessary because their though is that since the SNS is "vanilla" already, there's no point.
On devices that aren't vanilla already the jump to CM is much more dramatic, for sure. On the SNS the differences are more like subtle enhancements that really make the device more customizable.
You can change the lockscreen; you can add widgets to the notification bar to control things like wifi, BT, etc; you have many more options in Browser (remove those zoom controls) and Messaging (dark theme FTW); you have album art and music controls on the lock screen; you can choose a "render effect" to make the display use less battery; you can set up gestures for lockscreen shortcuts and messaging; the list goes on and on.
Once you get used the the features of CM it will be horribly painful to have to go back to stock for any reason. You may not notice them at first, but dig deep and play around with them and you'll see what all the fuss is about. Definately worth it.

CM7 runs faster and smoother and allot snappier than stock.
Pretty much what fchipm said
BTW you wont void your warranty rooting and installing 3rd party ROMS...you can unroot and re-lock the bootloader.

Faster and smoother .. Thats should be great ! Its my first android phone and already find it smokin' slick ;-)

201102 said:
Go gentle on this newbie-droid -
What are the reasons for giving up the warranty on my Nexus S and install CyanogenMod?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it makes bacon...

It makes an island and then transforms your phone into a jet and flys you to that island

simms22 said:
it makes bacon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Well, thanks to the educational replies and also to the well meaning ones who think they are funny.
I'll probably waiting till it's past alpha/beta.

slowz3r said:
It makes an island and then transforms your phone into a jet and flys you to that island
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it have the GB's?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

201102 said:
Well, thanks to the educational replies and also to the well meaning ones who think they are funny.
I'll probably waiting till it's past alpha/beta.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should give it a try. I've never had any issues with core apps throughout all of CM7s nightlies. RC1 extremely stable, IMO enough to be a stable release. There's nothing to lose because you could always return to stock and not void warranty. CM7 is superior to stock in all aspects. Speed, sound, display, battery, themes, Widgets and many other features. For example, one of the reasons I find myself going back to CM7 is for the notification bar toggles. The kernels available should you decide to root are also amazing. Voodoo sound provides superior audio clarity, and voodoo color fixes any maroon grey tint you might experience. Couple this with CM7, and it'll leave you smiling.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

seriouslyjeff said:
Does it have the GB's?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually yes

Google's own blog specifically says they made the Nexus S easy to root and install custom roms on; I sincerely doubt that installing a custom rom would void your warranty in 99% of situations, despite that warning on the fastboot oem unlock command. (Example, if you get a dead pixel, that's nothing to do with a custom rom and your warranty should still be effective.)
Of interest is that the oem unlock is NOT necessary to root the phone, or flash custom roms, and that the oem unlock is the only place you get a "you'll void your warranty" screen. I would argue that if you skip the oem unlock you've not voided your warranty because you didn't see the warning, and you never acknowledged it.

peeturr said:
You should give it a try. I've never had any issues with core apps throughout all of CM7s nightlies. RC1 extremely stable, IMO enough to be a stable release. There's nothing to lose because you could always return to stock and not void warranty. CM7 is superior to stock in all asp..................
............ maroon grey tint you might experience. Couple this with CM7, and it'll leave you smiling.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, newbie here, dont mind me asking wats the diff between Rc1 and alpha etc, saw a few CM threads here
Sent via Picopad

tishfire said:
hi, newbie here, dont mind me asking wats the diff between Rc1 and alpha etc, saw a few CM threads here
Nightlies are built each night by a program called the build not and sometimes incorporate small changes others times not. A RC or release candidate is a when all of the little changes get polished up and put together by a human and put out as a sort of beta.
Sent via Picopad
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my MattedBlue CM7 Google Nexus S!

[Q] anyone know if there is a way to put sense 3 or 3.5 on the samsung roms?

i like everything about this phone but the ui

then you shouldn't have gotten the phone .. and this is a Q and should not be in the dev section

cjindustry said:
i like everything about this phone but the ui
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
seeing as u have 98 posts u should know by know where to post... smh

cjindustry said:
i like everything about this phone but the ui
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you should've gone HTC... Normally we're not like this. Post things in the right section and we're much nicer.

You did try the phone before you bought it, right?

1. Print this out.
2. Acquire scotch tape
3. Tape to phone
4. ?????
5. Profit!

cjindustry said:
i like everything about this phone but the ui
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well do you just want the launcher and widgets or the whole set of menus dialer and more?
you can use 3rd party apps like go contacts and launcher pro and go weather or beautiful widgets or fancy widget and replace the lock screen with a market ap but to port the ui takes work both ui's have some kernel integration and the phones use completely different hardware so it takes a lot of work from experienced developers and none here have any interest in that. best i can tell you is to buy a sensation or it's canadia equivelant if you are not satisfied with market app.
though i do like mikeys suggestion.

I prefer Mikey's suggestion, agree with Dani's and suggest you look at how the proposed Sense port went for the original sgs and then come back......

I used Sense with Cookie's improvments. The GO Launcher and ALL of its addons are actually far superior - then add 2 quicklauncher - and this phone DESTROYS sense. Just a bit more work to get all assembled - but its all there and WAY MORE.

bsw11 said:
I used Sense with Cookie's improvments. The GO Launcher and ALL of its addons are actually far superior - then add 2 quicklauncher - and this phone DESTROYS sense. Just a bit more work to get all assembled - but its all there and WAY MORE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks BSW11 for your feedback I'll try that

MikeyMike01 said:
1. Print this out.
2. Acquire scotch tape
3. Tape to phone
4. ?????
5. Profit!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I LOL'D! HAHA
Sent from my SGH-I997 using xda premium

Getting TRUE sense UI on samsung based rom is (impossible??). Porting them is a lot harder then anyone might think.

sense is very heavy. i remember even 2 years ago on windows mobile phones it consisted of thousands of files. and it seems to only have gotten more bloated. its definitely not impossible, but its so intertwined with the framework, it would take alot of work. htc is not going to make it easy.

Bandit_Kaine said:
Getting TRUE sense UI on samsung based rom is (impossible??). Porting them is a lot harder then anyone might think.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah I didn't know.. I know they port all the time from htc to htc so didnt know how it was from htc to another model or another model to htc.. the sense 3.5 for my inspire was great but the phone button broke, so i got the samsung infuse until the next htc came out.. I do however like some of the feedback i got and with a few free apps from the market ive got it dialed in with the htc looks without the battery cpu and mem hog.. may just get the galaxy 2 and mod it the same way and see if i can hold off on the htc.. but i hear the htc holiday aka raider is going to be amazing

What do you like most (or least) about ICS?

Like the title says, what are the changes that you most favor in ICS?
For me, these are my favorite improvements (in no particular order):
1. Ability to swipe down notification bar while screen locked
2. Improved camera speed and quality
3. Vastly improved gallery
4. ICS Keyboard
5. Voice - to - text
6. Browser
7. General appearance/asthetics
8. Email, Gmail, and calender
Just curious to see what everyone else likes (or dislikes for that matter) about ICS.

mlin said:
Like the title says, what are the changes that you most favor in ICS?
For me, these are my favorite improvements (in no particular order):
1. Ability to swipe down notification bar while screen locked
2. Improved camera speed and quality
3. Vastly improved gallery
4. ICS Keyboard
5. Voice - to - text
6. Browser
7. General appearance/asthetics
8. Email, Gmail, and calender
Just curious to see what everyone else likes (or dislikes for that matter) about ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said it all ;-)
I like specially the calendar (pinch to zoom and unzoom !) and the browser, almost as fast as my computer !
I can't really tell something that I dislike.

I love how "done" it feels. Everything matches the new UI theme perfectly. Also, it's stupidly fast. The one thing I was always jealous of WP7 and iOS users was that their OS's were just a bit smoother and faster. Now I can finally say that ours is perfectly how I want it.

Hakizi said:
I love how "done" it feels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you've hit the nail on the head. Everything is integrated perfectly. Everything is in harmony. Everything just feels 'right'.
I think its a major game changer for Google. ICS wipes ios5 all over the floor and then some.
My next tablet will definitely be the Samsung 10.1 successor (currently using an iPad) running a flavour of Android 4.
I'm smitten

No launcher crashes any more, no lag when exiting applications or generally swiping back and forward, and faster stock browser are the main ones for me.

Hakizi said:
I love how "done" it feels. Everything matches the new UI theme perfectly. Also, it's stupidly fast. The one thing I was always jealous of WP7 and iOS users was that their OS's were just a bit smoother and faster. Now I can finally say that ours is perfectly how I want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree. We finally have a version of Android that feels "polished." It's beautiful and fluid throughout the OS.

For some reason, I can't download anything from the marketplace. Any suggestions?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium

I completely agree with everybody and I feel like when ics miui is polished, my phone will be unstoppable!!

trigger1209 said:
For some reason, I can't download anything from the marketplace. Any suggestions?
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running creamed glacier beta 5.1
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium

trigger1209 said:
I am running creamed glacier beta 5.1
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would ask in the ROM thread. I have seen that issue reported many times on many ROMs but I have no idea what the solution is.

HATE some of the icons... Overall it is very done and feels complete, except the icons look a bit unprofessional imo.
Such as the contacts and messaging icon. I use ICS with custom icons to replace the ones i dont feel fit properly. For example, the messaging icon is an awkward green and WAY too tall.
But over all it deserves a 9/10

Polished is a very good way to put the feel of using ICS. It certainly does feel "complete" and relaxed. Definitely the largest reason to love it.. right behind notifications + power options in notifications bar to do with as i please while it's locked
Keyboard is a solid step forward (and predictive text works better than GB from my use).
The browser is a HUGE step forward, but it's definitely not there yet.
Gallery works much better, far fewer issues than before. HOWEVER, i hate having to click the photo twice to get into the gallery after taking a photo.
Also, IntelSoftApps has really hit the nail on the head.. the contacts, messaging, calendar and gallery just look like they don't belong there. What would be the least intrusive way to change these (editing the apk?)?

What I love about ICS:
-the overall design and how polished it is
-how smooth it is
- all the new gapps

Shouldn't the caller id, when receiving a call, have a transparent background? When someone calls there is a big black box covering lower half of the screen with the little white headphone... Is it a Nexus S bug, or an ICS feature? I think it would be better transparent...

I like lots of features of ICS. I love the new font, the market icon in the app tray, the ability to create app folders, and the ability to swipe away single notifications. Honestly my only real complaint is with the app drawer...I hate having to scroll sideways. Logically when you have a list of something, you expect it to be vertical, not horizontal. But hey, that's how iOS does it so that's how Android should do it too, right? *rolls eyes*
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk

for me is the new UI.
So amazing

I like the new "web-os-like" multitasking. Simply swipe to close an open app. Great.
Much more efficienct than ios.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App. Developer of brickROM, and OP of XDA Thread of The Year 2011.

full power of GPU now makes graphics intensive gaming incredible

I'd let you know if google would pull their heads out of their asses and release an OTA for NS4G, or any other nexus besides the ONE MODEL to get it already!!!
they are really dropping the ball. I understand the holidays really put things behind schedule, but maybe they should have thought about that before they made plans to push a new update just before the holidays.

hp420 said:
I'd let you know if google would pull their heads out of their asses and release an OTA for NS4G, or any other nexus besides the ONE MODEL to get it already!!!
they are really dropping the ball. I understand the holidays really put things behind schedule, but maybe they should have thought about that before they made plans to push a new update just before the holidays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to let you know...no matter how better the ns4g be owner the ns.....the Original nexus s will always be on top
Sent from my Full Android on Crespo using XDA App

Who cares about a locked bootloader any ways.

Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

So far the mods to TW have been quite impressive, Nottach's Framework for example and P-ROM. Still would very much like a true pure Android experience that I can play with and mod myself. Can't do that without the bootloader unlock though but I can definitely live with what we got for quite a while if I had too

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a perfect example of not reading the threads. Do you even know what to do with the fix when you see it? will you know how to apply it? Not bashing you, but sir, I think before you even see a fix, you need to read way more, what is Cyanogen? is it some kind of recovery method? answer to your question is yes, it allows to run other modified TW roms also. This ain't no damn iPhone.

TheAxman said:
This is a perfect example of not reading the threads. Do you even know what to do with the fix when you see it? will you know how to apply it? Not bashing you, but sir, I think before you even see a fix, you need to read way more, what is Cyanogen? is it some kind of recovery method? answer to your question is yes, it allows to run other modified TW roms also. This ain't no damn iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uh, I'd listen to your own advice there, chief.
He didn't even have a question, and from the way it sounds he is plenty aware of the difference between a custom ROM and a recovery. What are you talking about?
And OP, I think I'm having the same dilemma...the mods that have come out for TW have been amazing - and honestly I don't know of any specific features on AOSP ROMs that I DON'T have right now.
And let's be real, I enjoy it when people were are like, "ooh, is that an S4?" And I respond by turning off a random TV in the area, or by scrolling through my gallery just by waving my hand. I'd miss that I think
So yeah I'll definitely unlock once available, but I'll most likely stick with stock-based ROMs too.

CPA Poke said:
Uh, I'd listen to your own advice there, chief.
He didn't even have a question, and from the way it sounds he is plenty aware of the difference between a custom ROM and a recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your right, I was actually commenting on his TW opinion, it is a comment. And I prefer TW roms also. more stable.

Choice is always a good thing, just because you have a unlocked bootloader doesn't mean you have to get rid of tw.
For me I always like to just fix what ever I feel is wrong or missing or locked out from a stock rom.
At the end of the day people have to use what makes then happy.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

TheAxman said:
This is a perfect example of not reading the threads. Do you even know what to do with the fix when you see it? will you know how to apply it? Not bashing you, but sir, I think before you even see a fix, you need to read way more, what is Cyanogen? is it some kind of recovery method? answer to your question is yes, it allows to run other modified TW roms also. This ain't no damn iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're on crack. LMAO. It hurts to ponder what you THOUGHT you read.
And I did forget to mention the IR blaster. But they're is finally an alternative to SmartON. Try SmartRemote made specifically for the S4 but it is $9.99. It does allow you to make custom remotes so you can place buttons from any device all onto just 1 remote. Also allows custom commands through Pronto HEX codes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
I think you're on crack. LMAO. It hurts to ponder what you THOUGHT you read.
And I did forget to mention the IR blaster. But they're is finally an alternative to SmartON. Try SmartRemote made specifically for the S4 but it is $9.99. It does allow you to make custom remotes so you can place buttons from any device all onto just 1 remote. Also allows custom commands through Pronto HEX codes.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I should not have added bourbon to my coffee.

TheAxman said:
Actually, I should not have added bourbon to my coffee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all good. I've woken up a few times still half asleep having that same problem.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am surprised to find I am starting to feel the same way. I've modified, configured and optimized the stock ROM quite a bit now and it is running very nicely. Looking forward to flashing a custom recovery so I can backup and restore and experiment with what's out there, but it's going to be a tough decision to run modified stock versus CM. I have also found battery life to be excellent with the Stock ROM.

Been trying out the new Samsung features for a while. To me they're nothing more than gimmicks. They're great for making a cool looking commercial, but mostly useless in real life. Air gestures? Please....I'm an adult, how often are my fingers too filthy to touch my phone? The eye tracking features worked sporadically, at best. And not at all in a dimly lit room. Can't wait to unlock this bootloader, flash a ROM, and get rid the mountain of Samsung bloat apps...not to mention AT&T's contribution to that mountain...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BlastTyrantKM said:
Been trying out the new Samsung features for a while. To me they're nothing more than gimmicks. They're great for making a cool looking commercial, but mostly useless in real life. Air gestures? Please....I'm an adult, how often are my fingers too filthy to touch my phone? The eye tracking features worked sporadically, at best. And not at all in a dimly lit room. Can't wait to unlock this bootloader, flash a ROM, and get rid the mountain of Samsung bloat apps...not to mention AT&T's contribution to that mountain...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I jump back and forth between these two ends of the opinion spectrum in regards to TW and Samsung's (AT&T's) stock ROM. This is probably the first android phone that I could honestly be okay with never flashing a custom rom on. I will still unlock the bootloader when it becomes available. I will still flash a custom recovery (nandroid backups are a really nice thing to have, and I'm disappointed that carriers don't include this) when it becomes available as well. I *might* flash a custom rom based on the stock rom, but I think I'd rather stick to stock as much as possible, at least for some time.
As for the gimmicky features it comes with, I sort of agree, yet it's fun to show off to friends. I normally keep the gestures and eye scrolling turned off, and I keep the NFC turned off when not in use. I did buy the $9.99 remote app, and I'm surprisingly content with it. I need to offer some feedback about being able to actually drag/drop to change the order of the buttons on the other screen, but otherwise it's so much better than the WatchOn stuff that I have recently frozen using TiBu.
And on to speaking of freezing apps. With root, I'm pretty content. I can use TiBu Pro (to anyone reading this, go buy the Pro version - it's completely worth it!!) to freeze all the bloatware that I don't like. Every few days since I got my phone, I re-evaluate the list in TiBu and check into any blaotware I haven't frozen yet. "Do I need this? Have I used this? Nope! Frozen." I've done this for nearly all of the "Samsung ____" apps, including the Samsung store and all the associated apps (Samsung account, etc.). Did the same for every "AT&T ___" app that it came with - they're all garbage to me. Next on my list to evaluate and possibly freeze is all the printing services - do I really need to print from my phone? Maybe if it were my work phone...
I suppose one good reason I would want to flash a customized stock-based rom would be to free up some space. Having a 16gb version is no different than my S2 was... but I definitely had a few more GB's of room to store all the cool photos. And with larger picture files, and a faster camera, the storage is suddenly a bit more important to me.
And finally, the camera, and its associated apps/modes. I see a lot of people freezing some of the apps that allow some of the cool modes this camera can use. I'm not a professional photographer, but I love taking awesome pictures with this phone. It rival's my wife's Nikon 9300 point-and-shoot, with the exception of the Nikon's zoom lens. But as far as features and quality are concerned, it's possibly better.
This thing has been pretty smooth since day negative-one for me. Even better when we got root and the bloatware was frozen. Even snappier and better on battery once that first OTA dropped. I'm pretty impressed, and it certainly is a huge step up from my S2 running CM10.1.
TL;DR: I really like the stock rom and all the cool things it offers. The performance is great. I do like some of the gimmicky things, even if I rarely use them. With the root ability to freeze things I don't use, I could definitely see keeping this thing "stock" for this device's lifetime.
PS: It's also nice to see the "Official" status, as though I haven't violated the phone too badly...

Couldn't agree more. As you all mentioned, the security of having a custom recovery + Nandroid really opens up a lot of ground for flashing new mods and having the comfort of that fallback instead of only being able to Odin back to stock if I jack something up (which has NEVER happened or anything...lol).

@Aou I too use a Titanium Backup Pro and freeze the bloat. But I kept the Samsung Apps because it had some that you can't find on Google like the Video Editor app.
Let me remind you that the Xposed framework adds new functionality without the need to flash roms. As you can see from the screen shot I was able to mod the screen without touching the framework. Easy and reversible.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

I don't unlock and root my devices to get rid of the stock interface (Touchwiz, Sense etc) i simply do it for a better rom with tweaks that makes it faster and battery life better..
and when i finally get sick of my stock interface ill flash a AOSP rom
i know some people disagree but i think the stock rom on this phone is laggy.. even after disabling S Voice and Smart stay/Air view

Wierd I couldn't add the image.

There we go lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium

ZPaul2Fresh8 said:
Yes I love Cyanogen and it would be nice to have a recovery but what about all the great things from TouchWiz.
If Dan does have an unlock and does release it then yes I probably will unlock but I don't think I can part from TouchWiz. Yet...
Since I bought my wife an S4 also we use S-Beam for sharing pictures of the kids a LOT! That brings me to my next point, the camera is ridiculously good. I don't need to mention how handy the multi-window is...
Will probably run modified stock Roms. Comments?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
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dunno if anyone else pointed this out to you yet, but even without s beam, non touchwiz phones still all have Android Beam (you know.. the concept S Beam was based off of?)
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BlastTyrantKM said:
Air gestures? Please....I'm an adult, how often are my fingers too filthy to touch my phone?
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O you must be working in an extra clean environment. I know I don't. My hands get dirty often and these air gestures work for me.
Aside from that, what I am looking forward to is being able to have a pattern unlock And lock screen widgets at the same time. Unless Samsung releases an update for that.

Already a thread on this a few threads away