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[Q] IceCream Sandwich and Xoom

I'm just curious but since ICS is coming, what does that mean for us? All I've heard is another UI overhaul for phones to give them more honeycomb, but what do we get? If Hardware Acceleration is in then I would be happy, but there doesn't seem to be anything in it for us tablet users.
Unless I'm missing something.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393797,00.asp#fbid=eHhpmAndRdICant really say kinda early..heres something I found but still unsure

I hope it means an update and AOSP!!

Not sure what the link was for...... Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Sorry. But I'm just not sure if I would be excited about ics on my Xoom.

Imma say that it will be on the original Xoom's without a doubt. I read in an article that ICS will be able to run on older devices, thus it's almost a guarantee the Xoom will see it officially. Annnnd for some reason it does not... have no fear, as the devs will be here to solve that problem! The OG Droid was left out of the update loop awhile back because newer models replaced it, but we still have the most current updates on it thanks to the brilliant devs. Just gotta have some faith in your XDA community, and they will figure something out.

But again, I think the OP wants to know (...like I also do) what's the big improvement gonna be?
As I stated on another recent post, the big deal for me as I see it is that (presumably) the SC for HC will be released and then the ROM goodness will follow. But if it's anything like what happened with Froyo, etc, the Honeycomb custom ROMs will kick the stock Icecream Sandwichs' ass.
-No?

Psychokitty said:
But again, I think the OP wants to know (...like I also do) what's the big improvement gonna be?
As I stated on another recent post, the big deal for me as I see it is that (presumably) the SC for HC will be released and then the ROM goodness will follow. But if it's anything like what happened with Froyo, etc, the Honeycomb custom ROMs will kick the stock Icecream Sandwichs' ass.
-No?
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Thanks for being the only reply actually related to my post, but Google had stated a long time ago that the SC for hc will never be released as the SC for ics will be released instead. But since phones will get more hc goodness, what do we get?(which is the main question in the topic)

I think at this point, it's a wait-and-see kind of thing.
But I think finally having the source code is the biggest news here. I think it will be the dawning of a golden age for the XOOM, so to speak.
Also, one advantage to the phone side getting lumped in to the same OS is that we will see a boost in apps that are tablet optimized since the devs will be able to work all of it into one .apk instead of focusing on two separate projects.
These are the two things I'm personally looking forward to the most as far as the tablet side goes.
Of course, it would be nice to be surprised, too.

kenfly said:
Thanks for being the only reply actually related to my post, but Google had stated a long time ago that the SC for hc will never be released as the SC for ics will be released instead. But since phones will get more hc goodness, what do we get?(which is the main question in the topic)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I think, since ICS will be open source, we will get additional development for the Xoom, beyond the wonderful feature additions and enhancements we have gotten with the limited HC.
Don't you think so?

From my understanding, Ice Cream Sandwich is an over haul for phones to bring out an honeycomb interface while allowing for tablet support as well and it will be more controlled by the king them self, Google.
What this means? All android devices will now be updated at the same time as it'll be more tightly integrated which means developers will need to start just making widgets for there own devices instead of a completely different interfaces like they do today. In a way, it'll be exactly what Honeycomb tablets are today (if you look at all the honeycomb tablets that's out, the interface is the same, only differences is that others will have widgets and/or wallpapers designed just for there tablets (i.e., samsung has the touchwiz) but can be upgraded all the same).
This is supposed to be more more uniform support and faster updates.
Will this go into effect right away? Probably not since the manufacturers will still need to make to update go through but we should also expect to see faster updates as well (there's still a lot of users out there still waiting on Gingerbread releases for there devices so with this making it more uniformed should allow for faster releases).
This is only from what I've heard, though.

This is from a PC World article this morning:
Although Google has kept its cards close to its vest about ICS, a number of things have been reported about it.
Widgets will be richer and resizable, as they are in the tablet version of Android.
More multitasking will be added to the system and the OS will be open source.
The system will be tailored to take advantage of devices that use the Texas Instrument's OMAP chip.
As with any Android upgrade, what Android devices will be eligible for the new system will remain with the manufacturers, but two good bets for the upgraded OS are the Samsung Nexus S and the Motorola Xoom.
---

I think it is important to understand one thing about ICS. It is intended to reunify the OS on all device types (like iOS). What this means for tablet (and conversely smartphone) users is that app development will improve and we will get better apps. These apps will make it easier to share functions between your tablet and your smartphone.
We would have found out more next Tuesday, but the announcements for ICS have been postponed. The postponement was for a good reason though. We still don't know what the reschedule date will be, other than sometime this month.

Use Xoom 4.0 blobs?

So, I have very little coding experience, and have quite obviously never ported Android to my phone, but with that said, I have an idea that maybe could work with a little of luck.
We all know that the Motorola Xoom, which is nearly identical to the Atrix - as far as specifications go - is going to officially receive Android 4.0. What we do not know is whether or not the Atrix will be receiving it. There's no doubt that it is capable of running 4.0, but we know how companies and their oh-so-fast updates are. There has been no official statement to my knowledge that the Atrix will be receiving Android 4.0, meaning that the proprietary blobs required to make the 3.0 kernel would not be released.
My maybe possible solution to this would be to use the Motorola Xoom's proprietary blobs when they are released. Is this ridiculous? Possible? Attempted before? Just wondering, as it may be a solution to Android 4.0 for the Atrix.
//Please do not tear me a new one if this is absurd.

When will we get our first ICS based ROM

I really want some ICS love! Anyone know any thing about any ROMs based off of ICS or.... even better.... CM9? I am new to this rooting thing so...

Wow. Just search through all the topics in the skyrocket forum and you'll find your answer
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

This is like some kind of Platonic Ideal of a post here.
But, I'm pretty sure they're going to release ICS at the big Samsung/AT&T/Google event tomorrow.

Savitt said:
I really want some ICS love! Anyone know any thing about any ROMs based off of ICS or.... even better.... CM9? I am new to this rooting thing so...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Before you ask a question, please search the forum first, therefore other members will not give you harsh answers.
If you are looking for answers to rooting your device, please go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1383464
If you are searching for rom developments, please go here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1383
If you are searching for information on Ice Cream Sandwich, best luck is to search google or in the general section. There is NO certain release date of when ICS will be available, but there are rumors and some information that states it will be in Q1 of 2012.
Good luck to you.
Please press "Thanks" if I have helped you in anyway.

What event? Do you have a link. ?

I think he's referring to the CES 2012 event on January 9th.

Oh thats not tomarrow lol tomarrow is the 5th . Darn i was hoping there was some att/sammy event tomarrow.

Phoneguy589 said:
I think he's referring to the CES 2012 event on January 9th.
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Click to collapse
Indeed. That is the only upcoming event that I am aware of.

I wasn't...LOL. I can't afford to buy another phone. I just pre-ordered the Transformer Prime so I'm out of money...so my wife says.

silver03wrx said:
Oh thats not tomarrow lol tomarrow is the 5th . Darn i was hoping there was some att/sammy event tomarrow.
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Click to collapse
Haha me too my friend l lol the hope jumped up through my body!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

No, I was being mean. There's not event tomorrow and ICS is but a distant dream. Enjoy your device now and don't sweat the OS version number. ICS is not going to give much more over what you have now.

I'm sort of with the OP in wanting to know about any rom based on ICS. I've searched the forums and google to no avail. I'm seeing other devices getting a version of CM9, but nothing for the Skyrocket yet.
So, my question is this: Is anyone working on an ICS rom for the Skyrocket such as CM9? If I had the know-how I'd be all over that since we have such a great and powerful phone. I know AT&T and Samsung will eventually release ICS, but it'll never compare to the likes of CyanogenMod.

No no ones working on it. Why make a hacked up version. Thats not very functional. When our update is just around the corner. We will see ics, and mabye cm9 but.not until theres a leak for the skyrocket or the actuall update.

silver03wrx said:
No no ones working on it. Why make a hacked up version. Thats not very functional. When our update is just around the corner. We will see ics, and mabye cm9 but.not until theres a leak for the skyrocket or the actuall update.
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Click to collapse
Thanks. Like some others I'm an impatient type...especially after using ICS on my HTC Incredible. Can hardly wait to have it on my Skyrocket, but will sit quietly (maybe) and wait.

Not saying this to start a flamewar or anything but why are so many people with talent focusing on old roms and tweaks and not ICS? IMO this is what is hurting Android with better development etc, it seems like iOS hacking and tweeking seems to be more tight-knit and innovative, where Android seems to just have (almost) the same thing over and over again.
Now, I am not saying it is the same, there are obviously very difficult functions and programming that needs to be done, but I don't get why all efforts by everyone wouldn't be focused on ICS since it is what Android needs, a fresh new OS that could change the game.

Turbojugend said:
Not saying this to start a flamewar or anything but why are so many people with talent focusing on old roms and tweaks and not ICS? IMO this is what is hurting Android with better development etc, it seems like iOS hacking and tweeking seems to be more tight-knit and innovative, where Android seems to just have (almost) the same thing over and over again.
Now, I am not saying it is the same, there are obviously very difficult functions and programming that needs to be done, but I don't get why all efforts by everyone wouldn't be focused on ICS since it is what Android needs, a fresh new OS that could change the game.
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Click to collapse
so you want us to randomly pull kernel source for ICS (linux kernel 3.0+) out of our ass?
samsung has not provided us with enough driver libraries/binary blobs that work properly with AOSP GB, let alone ICS.
the problem here is the manufacturers. they control the proprietary hardware/drivers we need to focus attention on something. we could hack something together, but it wouldnt be worth a crap, and by the time we got something working half decent, Official would be dropped on us with source and we would have to basically start fresh....
tl;dr: it is not worth the time it takes to try to hack something together until we have 'something' from samsung.

Pirateghost said:
so you want us to randomly pull kernel source for ICS (linux kernel 3.0+) out of our ass?
samsung has not provided us with enough driver libraries/binary blobs that work properly with AOSP GB, let alone ICS.
the problem here is the manufacturers. they control the proprietary hardware/drivers we need to focus attention on something. we could hack something together, but it wouldnt be worth a crap, and by the time we got something working half decent, Official would be dropped on us with source and we would have to basically start fresh....
tl;dr: it is not worth the time it takes to try to hack something together until we have 'something' from samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly its not as simple as ics source code being out, you also need proper drivers for the hardware

Pirateghost said:
so you want us to randomly pull kernel source for ICS (linux kernel 3.0+) out of our ass?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That answers a lot for me, like I said I am not too familiar coming from Iphone (day one, I just got a Samsung Galaxy S II LTE (Skyrocket))
So obviously you need the kernel to work with the OS, I didn't know they were not released.
draztikrhymez said:
....you also need proper drivers for the hardware
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Click to collapse
Is it harder for phone hardware? Seems to be a lot of open source, or scene made drivers for, say video cards.

Turbojugend said:
That answers a lot for me, like I said I am not too familiar coming from Iphone (day one, I just got a Samsung Galaxy S II LTE (Skyrocket))
So obviously you need the kernel to work with the OS, I didn't know they were not released.
So what exactly is open about Android then? If you are at the mercy of the manufacture's to release the kernel, how is that open?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android itself is OPEN. you can go and build your very own version of 4.0 ICS right now from source code. there are very few phones you can STABLY and RELIABLY run it on though.
The NEXUS line of phones exists for a reason. they are untouched by carriers (verizon teabagged the Galaxy Nexus a little), and do not have some stupid overlay on them. they are developer devices in that it is the first phone to get android updates straight from google (no manufacturer interference required).
every other phone is tainted with a manufacturer's UI. Touchwiz on Samsung phones (galaxy nexus is a samsung but they provided the hardware not the software), Sense on HTC, 'non-blur' on Motorola, whatever Sony calls theirs...lol, LG, etc
on top of that tainted Android interface is a carrier branding or lockdown (doesnt apply to the entire world, but im only referring to US here)
so google releases new version of Android
manufacturers build phone, and customize android to fit their model (this is where android almost stops being OPEN)
carriers get a hold of the manufacturers build of android and tweak and modify it themselves (more than likely they just tell the manufacturers what they want), as you know they love to include bloat and lock it down from the user
you receive your android phone after it has gone through all those steps....long process huh? we dont get updates to newer versions as quickly because of that long process...and they would rather us buy new phones instead of improving perfectly good hardware.
Android is open in the sense that manufacturers can use it however they wish, within reason. it is not necessarily meant to be 'open' to the average end user, and manufacturers dont want you messing with the phone they built. its the reason XDA is what it is today, albeit with roots deep in WinMo hacking.

Hey Pirateghost Really great in-depth info with your permission I would like to add this info for noobs here.
Pirateghost said:
Android itself is OPEN. you can go and build your very own version of 4.0 ICS right now from source code. there are very few phones you can STABLY and RELIABLY run it on though.
The NEXUS line of phones exists for a reason. they are untouched by carriers (verizon teabagged the Galaxy Nexus a little), and do not have some stupid overlay on them. they are developer devices in that it is the first phone to get android updates straight from google (no manufacturer interference required).
every other phone is tainted with a manufacturer's UI. Touchwiz on Samsung phones (galaxy nexus is a samsung but they provided the hardware not the software), Sense on HTC, 'non-blur' on Motorola, whatever Sony calls theirs...lol, LG, etc
on top of that tainted Android interface is a carrier branding or lockdown (doesnt apply to the entire world, but im only referring to US here)
so google releases new version of Android
manufacturers build phone, and customize android to fit their model (this is where android almost stops being OPEN)
carriers get a hold of the manufacturers build of android and tweak and modify it themselves (more than likely they just tell the manufacturers what they want), as you know they love to include bloat and lock it down from the user
you receive your android phone after it has gone through all those steps....long process huh? we dont get updates to newer versions as quickly because of that long process...and they would rather us buy new phones instead of improving perfectly good hardware.
Android is open in the sense that manufacturers can use it however they wish, within reason. it is not necessarily meant to be 'open' to the average end user, and manufacturers dont want you messing with the phone they built. its the reason XDA is what it is today, albeit with roots deep in WinMo hacking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Moto G Custom ROMS?

Hi, I'm on a Galaxy Nexus but planning to move to the Moto G. I already asked here some time ago if it was worth changing and I was convinced. Now, after a couple months since it was released I'm wondering why isn't there any custom rom yet for this awesome device. Is it just a matter of time? Locked bootloader/kernel/lack of AOSP sources or something like that (I've got very little knowledge of this xD) that prevents developers from creating new ROMS?. Lack of developers? Lack of CM/PA/other teams support? Am I just an idiot that doesn't know how to look for stuff in the forum? :silly:
I really want to move to this device but I love all the extra features my Gnex has. I don't expect to have all features right away when the phone is released, I know things take time. But I just want to be sure that there isn't any problem for developers to do their job and in a (near) future custom ROMs will come out.

hello and welcome to this forum first of all .
the sources for kitkat were realesed yesterday so dont expect anything at the moment just wait there are enough developers to do somthing but they need time.
at the time there are two costum roms: fusion and kitkat+ you should try one of those
:victory:

tomemon said:
hello and welcome to this forum first of all .
the sources for kitkat were realesed yesterday so dont expect anything at the moment just wait there are enough developers to do somthing but they need time.
at the time there are two costum roms: fusion and kitkat+ you should try one of those
:victory:
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Click to collapse
Oh thanks, that's what I wanted to know, that sources were released yesterday. I don't mind waiting (especially now I don't even have the phone), I just wanted to know that there were no problem regarding sources or stuff like that. My brother has a Motorola RAZR maxx and there were some problems so I wanted to make sure Motorola has changed in this field after Google purchase.

Has lack of 3rd party "official roms" changed much?

So generally speaking I've always stuck to sister phones of nexus devices. My Samsung Captivate was sorta the "nexus with an SD card" in terms of being identical to the Nexus S, the LG Optimus G was "4g + SD Card Nexus" and I never really had any problems running roms with the latest version of Android. Running nightlys and experimental software wasn't such a big deal because it allowed me to keep my phone up to date long after it would have been updated otherwise.
The general lack of desire to stand behind the stability of a particular version coupled with a general lack of "stable" releases kinda has me jaded when I can just keep rolling with the newest version of Android officially.
It has made me wonder if there are any "stable rolling release" versions of roms? Like "here is the stable rolling release, once a week we push the latest stable versions and features from our nightles over the last month!" Letting those who want to try the newest upgrades immediately have nightly and letting people who want the latest version of android with more tweaks get the version that suits them the most?
Edit: I'm not really asking for specific ROM recommendations so much as ROM trends in general.

Many AOSP roms do this.. We can't recommend Roma to you because those comparisons are against the rules but the ROM I use (slim) has weekly builds and then a monthly stable.
The stable has a code freeze a while before release to extend testing to ensure it is stable but the weeklies are stable too.
The devs also post personal test builds in between the weeklies for those who want to test particular new functions.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

rootSU said:
Many AOSP roms do this.. We can't recommend Roma to you because those comparisons are against the rules but the ROM I use (slim) has weekly builds and then a monthly stable.
The stable has a code freeze a while before release to extend testing to ensure it is stable but the weeklies are stable too.
The devs also post personal test builds in between the weeklies for those who want to test particular new functions.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My mistake I should have phrased the original thread more carefully and I'll edit it after this.
I was more looking at general ROM trends as opposed to looking for a specific ROM.

Many AOSP roms do this
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Snow_fox said:
So generally speaking I've always stuck to sister phones of nexus devices. My Samsung Captivate was sorta the "nexus with an SD card" in terms of being identical to the Nexus S, the LG Optimus G was "4g + SD Card Nexus" and I never really had any problems running roms with the latest version of Android. Running nightlys and experimental software wasn't such a big deal because it allowed me to keep my phone up to date long after it would have been updated otherwise.
The general lack of desire to stand behind the stability of a particular version coupled with a general lack of "stable" releases kinda has me jaded when I can just keep rolling with the newest version of Android officially.
It has made me wonder if there are any "stable rolling release" versions of roms? Like "here is the stable rolling release, once a week we push the latest stable versions and features from our nightles over the last month!" Letting those who want to try the newest upgrades immediately have nightly and letting people who want the latest version of android with more tweaks get the version that suits them the most?
Edit: I'm not really asking for specific ROM recommendations so much as ROM trends in general.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your "sister" phones in reality have nothing to do with the nexus, and are not similar. the only similarities they have is using the same kind of cpu, but tweaked completely differently. maybe the same screens as well. all the other internals are completely different. completely different as in your "sister" phones are nothing like their nexus counterparts. so unlike nexus, that i would never call them a "sister" phone.
and there are many completely stable aosp roms out there for the n5.

I really don't see a point in releasing "Stable Releases" with a nexus device. With a Nexus device, the whole source is there for developers and the device is fully unlocked. So most likely, if a dev knows what they are doing, there shouldn't be very many bugs, if any at all. It would be mainly feature additions and whatever else the dev wants to add.
Now with Non Nexus devices, it's a little harder to get EVERYTHING working since the devices are usually locked down and all. So "Stable releases" are kind of a bigger deal.
That's my view on it anyway.

the thing about android is that someone somewhere is finding something new everyday, and waiting around for the release of monthly releases of roms kinda puts the users off("ohh active notifications!" "wow heads up notification" "can i get the <insert fancy OEM specific feature here> in my device?"). I for one, coming from an XMP which had rom's being updated once every two week found it hard in the N5 community where the nightlies where more common.
The thing is you have to keep changing fast and there is always room for improvement so there can never be a "stable" version just short term triumphs.

The thing is, there isn't much need for "stable" builds anymore, the nightlies for most ROMs are really stable and daily driver capable (of course sometimes something doesn't work right here and there, but generally). Some have Delta updates too so you don't need to flash the entire ROM over each nightly, kind of like daily OTAs.

jsgraphicart said:
I really don't see a point in releasing "Stable Releases" with a nexus device. With a Nexus device, the whole source is there for developers and the device is fully unlocked. So most likely, if a dev knows what they are doing, there shouldn't be very many bugs, if any at all. It would be mainly feature additions and whatever else the dev wants to add.
Now with Non Nexus devices, it's a little harder to get EVERYTHING working since the devices are usually locked down and all. So "Stable releases" are kind of a bigger deal.
That's my view on it anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of curiosity is the same true for the Play edition devices? With that said I was thinking about ROMs in general not ROMs specific to devices. I'd also argue (having worked QA professionally) the need to check new features added ranges drastically depending on what you want to add to the device.
gamer.11 said:
the thing about android is that someone somewhere is finding something new everyday, and waiting around for the release of monthly releases of roms kinda puts the users off("ohh active notifications!" "wow heads up notification" "can i get the <insert fancy OEM specific feature here> in my device?"). I for one, coming from an XMP which had rom's being updated once every two week found it hard in the N5 community where the nightlies where more common.
The thing is you have to keep changing fast and there is always room for improvement so there can never be a "stable" version just short term triumphs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As someone who loves new features I find the "additives" as great. I've also found just having the latest version of Android with a working stable feature set is pretty cool too.
Lethargy said:
The thing is, there isn't much need for "stable" builds anymore, the nightlies for most ROMs are really stable and daily driver capable (of course sometimes something doesn't work right here and there, but generally). Some have Delta updates too so you don't need to flash the entire ROM over each nightly, kind of like daily OTAs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I might look into the Delta Updates. There are a few things I do miss about ROMs such as being able to close all active windows and stuff. I just don't miss how some ROMs basically were just a conglomeration of shoving as much stuff into one ROM as possible regardless of how it ended up.

Snow_fox said:
Out of curiosity is the same true for the Play edition devices? With that said I was thinking about ROMs in general not ROMs specific to devices. I'd also argue (having worked QA professionally) the need to check new features added ranges drastically depending on what you want to add to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Play Edition devices aren't the same as Nexus devices, they just use a more "AOSP-like" ROM that doesn't have the respective OEM skin on top of it. Not sure if bootloader unlocking process is different (Nexus devices have fastboot oem unlock) but the stock ROM on them still has some parts of the OEM framework underneath (like double tap to wake and duo camera editing on HTC One M8). The Nexus 5 is more popular then Google Play Edition devices and which is why it subsequently has more developer support.

Lethargy said:
Google Play Edition devices aren't the same as Nexus devices, they just use a more "AOSP-like" ROM that doesn't have the respective OEM skin on top of it. Not sure if bootloader unlocking process is different (Nexus devices have fastboot oem unlock) but the stock ROM on them still has some parts of the OEM framework underneath (like double tap to wake and duo camera editing on HTC One M8). The Nexus 5 is more popular then Google Play Edition devices and which is why it subsequently has more developer support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This makes sense. I didn't know if the Play Edition devices still had OEM fragments or if they were as free as the Nexus series.

Heavy oem frameworks
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

To be fair, there was a pretty significant gap between 4.2 releasing on the Nexus 4 and Cyanogenmod releasing 10.2 stable. As mentioned though, many of the ROMs have released stable versions and those that haven't are still fairly stable despite not having an "official" stable release.
I will say that I'm less likely to stick with a ROM despite bugs on Nexus devices than on other devices for two main reasons. With other devices, you're often getting rid of a manufacturer skin (so it's a completely different interface, instead of just having some tweaks) or you're moving up an Android version early.

Its worth pointing out that some devs only call their last ever release "stable" when they absolutely won't add or change anything again.
I think it's too easy to get wrapped up in the terminology and not appreciate the development we have
What a stable release means to 1 dev, means something else to another.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

nearly every single ROM that I've ever used that has been titled "stable", has been less stable then the regular builds. especially with cm. a real ROM is neither called " stable" nor "experimental", its just called by its name and released. people add the word "stable" to them just to trick a few into a few more downloads.

There number of quotation marks in here is too damn high.

For good reason...
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk