Database Info

[Q] Are you satisfied with your Android 4.2 experience?

Hi guys, there's a lot of 4.2 ROMs floating around the forum at the moment and I've tried them all. Unfortunately, I feel like I can never get the same level of buttery smoothness as I have in 4.1.2. Even the AOSP 4.2 ROM in the forum doesn't give me the same level of user experience as in the vanilla 4.1.2 AOSP ROM I'm using now. And I'm not talking about features or bugs, I'm talking about the overall experience of using it, like browsing, scrolling through lists like in Instagram or xda, dropped frames, etc.
Just to be clear, I'm not trolling. I just wanted to know if I'm really the only one who feels that unlike in previous versions, 4.2.1 is truly not made for the Nexus S. Let me know what you think below.
Cheers!
Sent using the xda mobile app

Somewhat I do agree BUT we can bring all that smoothness back pretty much easily

DJBhardwaj said:
Somewhat I do agree BUT we can bring all that smoothness back pretty much easily
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you site an example on how we can do that? I've tried all of the currently available 4.2 ROMs and they just feel clunky compared to 4.1.2. Even the recent apps list appear faster and with less stutter in 4.1.2.
Sent using the xda mobile app

Once we are done with solving all the bugs, we can work on patches to remove lags.

Probably because 4.2 is just a port.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda app-developers app

apatal said:
Hi guys, there's a lot of 4.2 ROMs floating around the forum at the moment and I've tried them all. Unfortunately, I feel like I can never get the same level of buttery smoothness as I have in 4.1.2. Even the AOSP 4.2 ROM in the forum doesn't give me the same level of user experience as in the vanilla 4.1.2 AOSP ROM I'm using now. And I'm not talking about features or bugs, I'm talking about the overall experience of using it, like browsing, scrolling through lists like in Instagram or xda, dropped frames, etc.
Just to be clear, I'm not trolling. I just wanted to know if I'm really the only one who feels that unlike in previous versions, 4.2.1 is truly not made for the Nexus S. Let me know what you think below.
Cheers!
Sent using the xda mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4.2 is a port and way more than what Nexus S was designed to handle. Still, I found it really snappy and only sipping battery compared to 4.1 and even CM10. Only multitasking chokes it, but that can't be helped.

sumeshpremraj said:
4.2 is a port and way more than what Nexus S was designed to handle. Still, I found it really snappy and only sipping battery compared to 4.1 and even CM10. Only multitasking chokes it, but that can't be helped.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are really unaware of what NS can handle.
My 2 years old LG Optimus One P500; an MDPI ARMv6 arch device which comes with froyo and can only be updated to GB runs on smooth JB.
NS is way far more capable than that and in the coming future we will prove that too. :victory:

apatal said:
Hi guys, there's a lot of 4.2 ROMs floating around the forum at the moment and I've tried them all. Unfortunately, I feel like I can never get the same level of buttery smoothness as I have in 4.1.2. Even the AOSP 4.2 ROM in the forum doesn't give me the same level of user experience as in the vanilla 4.1.2 AOSP ROM I'm using now. And I'm not talking about features or bugs, I'm talking about the overall experience of using it, like browsing, scrolling through lists like in Instagram or xda, dropped frames, etc.
Just to be clear, I'm not trolling. I just wanted to know if I'm really the only one who feels that unlike in previous versions, 4.2.1 is truly not made for the Nexus S. Let me know what you think below.
Cheers!
Sent using the xda mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was happy with JellyShot 0.8 for couple days then with Vanilla 4.1.2 which I used since release, used the same kernel. I tried couple 4.2 for the NS, but everyone felt clunky until JellyShot, I also loved the quick toggles and MMS features.
But I feel you, since 4.1.1 Google images behaved very well and smoother then AOSP compiled stuff.

apatal said:
Unfortunately, I feel like I can never get the same level of buttery smoothness as I have in 4.1.2. Even the AOSP 4.2 ROM in the forum doesn't give me the same level of user experience as in the vanilla 4.1.2 AOSP ROM I'm using now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I tried greenblue's AOSP 4.2.1 and like the "new features", but I always return back to the stock 4.1.2 ROM. It feels more robust somehow, even with the same kernel.

I´m running on Rasbeanjelly 4.2.1 since it comes out and i´m very satisified with it. I expected nothing more of the Nexus S but i love to hear that there will possibly be improvements in future.

For the last couple of days I've been flashing my device with various roms. 4.2.1. mostly. Everytime I flashed a new rom which was supposed to be smooth fast and super nice it turned out it was slow, sluggish, choppy and not working as a smartphone should. Crt animation is ****ty among every 4.2. Rom i tried. It's delayed, slow and not in the right pace. Lockscreen does not work properly. Scrolling through the lockscreen is laggy. Quick settings are sometimes laggy. I just hate to say it but I think 4.2.1. is really not meant for the nexus s. I just returned to vanilla rom with minimum modifications (flohimself rom) and I love what I see. Everything is fast, fluent and working properly
Sent from my Nexus S

Yeah. Same experience here. I guess you can't just beat the experience in using actual AOSP ROMs with all sources and proprietary binaries available. Still, appreciate the efforts of all the devs who have been trying to keep our humble device in the cutting edge... even if said edge is a bit dull at the moment.
Still I want to remain optimistic that things will only get better in the future in terms of the 4.2 ROMs.
What do you guys think? Could we achieve the same level of user experience of a 100% AOSP ROM even without Google's support?
Sent using the xda mobile app

apatal said:
Yeah. Same experience here. I guess you can't just beat the experience in using actual AOSP ROMs with all sources and proprietary binaries available. Still, appreciate the efforts of all the devs who have been trying to keep our humble device in the cutting edge... even if said edge is a bit dull at the moment.
Still I want to remain optimistic that things will only get better in the future in terms of the 4.2 ROMs.
What do you guys think? Could we achieve the same level of user experience of a 100% AOSP ROM even without Google's support?
Sent using the xda mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think we can :victory:

I thought that everything is possible. But the more i use my phone the more I think that the stock firmware is simply the best for it. The more new features the faster your phone will become sluggish and unbearably slow. I've been on cm10 for a while and I thought it was fast. I was wrong. I'm now typing from a vanilla rom and that's the way it should be. I just wonder how long will my phone be so fast and snappy. Maybe after couple of days it will become as slow as the other roms leaving me with the opininion that android is simply crap? what do you think?

thanks to all dev for 4.2.1 rom !!!

You all should use a HTC Hero for a week and you'd realize that your phone runs great. If your phone runs so poorly on 4.0+ it's probably you because I see enough people say their phone flies. 4.2 is a bit clunky, but it's also a port. A port takes time to get the kinks out. I thought 4.2 actually ran fine. But I also had a click and wait hero and Windows Mobile phones before this. The lock screen is the main fail on it for a variety of reasons. Some apps are definitely not optimized for 4.2 as well. Beyond that it seems fine. It will get better. I've already had to suffer through this on so many phones, just be patient.
~Nexus S 4G~AOKP JB~Matrix Kernel~

apatal said:
Yeah. Same experience here. I guess you can't just beat the experience in using actual AOSP ROMs with all sources and proprietary binaries available. Still, appreciate the efforts of all the devs who have been trying to keep our humble device in the cutting edge... even if said edge is a bit dull at the moment.
Still I want to remain optimistic that things will only get better in the future in terms of the 4.2 ROMs.
What do you guys think? Could we achieve the same level of user experience of a 100% AOSP ROM even without Google's support?
Sent using the xda mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately using actual AOSP ROMs will always be better, so everything based on 4.2 will always be less than 4.1.2. I am using the great 4.2.1 ROMs here and enjoying them but they are less than using actual AOSP ROMs.
A reality we have to accept since our beloved NS has been dropped by Google...

dpeeps74 said:
You all should use a HTC Hero for a week and you'd realize that your phone runs great. If your phone runs so poorly on 4.0+ it's probably you because I see enough people say their phone flies. 4.2 is a bit clunky, but it's also a port. A port takes time to get the kinks out. I thought 4.2 actually ran fine. But I also had a click and wait hero and Windows Mobile phones before this. The lock screen is the main fail on it for a variety of reasons. Some apps are definitely not optimized for 4.2 as well. Beyond that it seems fine. It will get better. I've already had to suffer through this on so many phones, just be patient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh don't get me wrong, I think my phone runs great, especially with the vanilla 4.1.2 AOSP ROM I'm running right now. This is also the reason why I believe my complaints with 4.2 ROMs are not because of "me", as you say. Because if I do cause the poor performance on my phone, I would experience the same issues regardless of what ROM I am using, which, as I mentioned before, is not the case. < via xda app>

nexususer1 said:
I thought that everything is possible. But the more i use my phone the more I think that the stock firmware is simply the best for it. The more new features the faster your phone will become sluggish and unbearably slow. I've been on cm10 for a while and I thought it was fast. I was wrong. I'm now typing from a vanilla rom and that's the way it should be. I just wonder how long will my phone be so fast and snappy. Maybe after couple of days it will become as slow as the other roms leaving me with the opininion that android is simply crap? what do you think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that's why we're on a nexus device, to get the pure Google experience. The only thing the nexus s needs that's not stock it's backlight notifications, and the gnex solved it with the notification led. Let's just admit that this is an old phone, and the nexus 4 is probably where we should head towards. Probably won't find anything for such a great deal for a while. It'll last us as few years for sure.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda app-developers app

apatal said:
Oh don't get me wrong, I think my phone runs great, especially with the vanilla 4.1.2 AOSP ROM I'm running right now. This is also the reason why I believe my complaints with 4.2 ROMs are not because of "me", as you say. Because if I do cause the poor performance on my phone, I would experience the same issues regardless of what ROM I am using, which, as I mentioned before, is not the case. < via xda app>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wasn't intended as a dig. There are several people though that report 4.2 running fine. This would tend to indicate that there would be something specific to what a user does that would cause the phone to run in a way that made it unbearable. Typically that will be related to some specific application(s) causing an issue due to not being updated. Most problems I saw with 4.2 were very similar to what I saw when we got ics before many apps ever updated and some never did and I'd imagine there are still people using apps that haven't been updated since gb. Definitely 4.2 is nowhere near perfect on our phones though and is running very much like a port and they clearly lagged some stuff up.
~Nexus $ 4G~AOKP JB~Matrix Kernel~

Rom search, head hurts

So I've spent over half a day looking at all the custom rom options and now my head hurts.
Wayyyyy too many options. I even tried one (lunareclipse) out which is working great but not quite what I'm looking for.
All I need is a SIMPLE, STABLE and CLEAN rom devoid of pretty much everything but the necessary functions.
No google stuff, no battery gizmos, no fancy themes... just a completely cleaned out, stable rom.
I almost went for CM7 but I couldn't confirm its viability with an Atrix 2.
Anyone who can point me in the right direction will be owed a thousand thanks and over 900000000000 internets. :good:

You wanna stick with ics and below ?
Try the jb ROMs like PA 3.15, CM10.1. They are wayy better than ICS. They have some bugs though. ( look at their respective threads for more info)
And if you're sticking with ICS, try numa or scv7.
And btw, more details about your phone would be better like the region, Android version etc ( As some of the ROMs aren't made for ATT phones)
NOTE : YOU HAVE TO BE ON ICS FIRST TO TRY ANY OF THE ICS OR JB ROMs

Lifehacker7 said:
You wanna stick with ics and below ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer 2.3.6 simply because I don't have ics and I'm not sure I want to add one more step unless there are huge gains in performance and stability to be had.
And I'm in NZ so it's obviously a non AT&T phone. And I've checked for ota updates, but the phone doesn't show any so I'm not sure how to go about upgrading to ics even if I wanted to.

nobrixkthxbai said:
I prefer 2.3.6 simply because I don't have ics and I'm not sure I want to add one more step unless there are huge gains in performance and stability to be had.
And I'm in NZ so it's obviously a non AT&T phone. And I've checked for ota updates, but the phone doesn't show any so I'm not sure how to go about upgrading to ics even if I wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't spend much of time with GB, so I don't remember how it used to be. 4.2 is much better than ICS in my experience.
You get cool features like quick settings, expandable notifications and stuff.
See if any of the files from this thread suits your device region. Don't flash any other files other than the right one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934874

Trust me, ICS+ is a huge leap. looks WAY nicer, and runs smoother. Stock ICS is pretty clean compared to stock GB, but CM10.1 is probably the simplest of the custom roms. It keeps the stock android look, and adds a few nice little features. Feels pretty much like stock JB though, and trust me, JB is completely worth it. Project butter took the last step for a solid OS that ICS nearly brought.
CM10.1 is quite stable as long as you are not plagued with the black screen bug, which you will know right away. Other than that, the stock battery stats don't work (use Gsam, its really clean and simple), but it runs great otherwise.
I am not a fan of PA and I doubt you would be, as it has a ton of settings and features that you may not need.
PACman combines CM PA and AOKP, so it is full of features, but can be pretty clean.
AOKP is not out for us yet, but when I have time I am trying to get it working, as it is my favorite. Basically it is CM10.1 with a few great features added.
EDIT: just remembered, CM7 was never released for our phone, as it was too hard to get working at the time, so that is not an option, though in the days of GB it was great.

nobrixkthxbai said:
I prefer 2.3.6 simply because I don't have ics and I'm not sure I want to add one more step unless there are huge gains in performance and stability to be had.
And I'm in NZ so it's obviously a non AT&T phone. And I've checked for ota updates, but the phone doesn't show any so I'm not sure how to go about upgrading to ics even if I wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate, on my NZ Telecom A2 I have observed the following:
Stock 2.3.6: great stability, a little laggy, good battery
NZ Telecom ICS: great stability, ok performance (better than 2.3.6), good battery
JB leak: great stability, good performance, good battery, no device encryption
cm 10.1: : medium stability (occacional camera and sound hiccups that require restarts), great performance, good battery
these are the roms I have tested so far. If I could live w/o encryption, I'd go for the JB leak.

lkrasner said:
I am not a fan of PA and I doubt you would be, as it has a ton of settings and features that you may not need.
PACman combines CM PA and AOKP, so it is full of features, but can be pretty clean.
AOKP is not out for us yet, but when I have time I am trying to get it working, as it is my favorite. Basically it is CM10.1 with a few great features added.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PA actually has a lot less features and settings when compared to CM.. And it is a lot closer to "stock" AOSP jellybean than CM is.
PA's main and signature feature is the per-app size and color settings (and the PIE controls - until CM recently decided to merge those into their source code).
I am not getting defensive, but c'mon.. He won't be a fan of it because you are not a fan? Sounds like you never tried it yourself, so best let people form their own impressions.
Also, if you looked at the AOKP manifest, it is not basically CM10.1. It is AOKP - using a lot from Google's AOSP sources, and mostly just the hardware from CyanogenMod and a few other things.
Sent from my MB865 using xda app-developers app

lkrasner said:
CM10.1 is quite stable as long as you are not plagued with the black screen bug, which you will know right away. Other than that, the stock battery stats don't work (use Gsam, its really clean and simple), but it runs great otherwise.
I am not a fan of PA and I doubt you would be, as it has a ton of settings and features that you may not need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
alteredlikeness said:
PA actually has a lot less features and settings when compared to CM.. And it is a lot closer to "stock" AOSP jellybean than CM is.
PA's main and signature feature is the per-app size and color settings (and the PIE controls - until CM recently decided to merge those into their source code).
He won't be a fan of it because you are not a fan? Sounds like you never tried it yourself, so best let people form their own impressions.
Sent from my MB865 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol CM10.1 vs PA(just kidding)...
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

deveshmanish said:
Lol CM10.1 vs PA(just kidding)...
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry.. it seems like that, ey? That wasn't my intention.. There are plenty of ROMs to go around and plenty more on the way!
And.. "To each their own"

alteredlikeness said:
Sorry.. it seems like that, ey? That wasn't my intention.. There are plenty of ROMs to go around and plenty more on the way!
And.. "To each their own"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
P.A user from its start build till now..double tumbs up to alteredlikeness
Sent from my MB865 using xda app-developers app

alteredlikeness said:
PA actually has a lot less features and settings when compared to CM.. And it is a lot closer to "stock" AOSP jellybean than CM is.
PA's main and signature feature is the per-app size and color settings (and the PIE controls - until CM recently decided to merge those into their source code).
I am not getting defensive, but c'mon.. He won't be a fan of it because you are not a fan? Sounds like you never tried it yourself, so best let people form their own impressions.
Also, if you looked at the AOKP manifest, it is not basically CM10.1. It is AOKP - using a lot from Google's AOSP sources, and mostly just the hardware from CyanogenMod and a few other things.
Sent from my MB865 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I understand, but I really feel that CM is generally more straight forward and solid, I tried out PA for a change the other day, and while I understand the concept, it is just not really my thing, and judging by the description in the OP he seems to like things pretty plain. Maybe code wise it is closer to stock, but I have always felt that CM felt very clean and professional compared to many other ROMs. Not that they are bad, I have just liked the feel of CM better.
I admit to having some bias in my writing, but I feel that I and the OP have very similar tastes in what we are looking for.
Not trying to smash it or anything, I respect your work, and that of the developers of the ROM itself, but I just think it would not be best based on the given description.
I understand that AOKP is more AOSP, but I was trying to simplify here. In general, I feel that in the versions I have used it is very similar to CM, with a few more features, though it may not be directly from CM source.
Sorry to have disagreed with you, and of course everyone is welcome to their own opinions, I was just trying to give mine.

Sorry.. I was a little grumpy this morning
It's all good.
Sent from my MB865 using xda app-developers app
EDIT: And, I agree, CM is the king of after-market firmware. And for good reason - it's good quality.. It helps that they have been around so long, and have enlisted an army of coders/programmers and average joe's contributing to the source by the minute.. But, yea, basically all of the other major custom ROMs use a lot of CM code.. Heck, I'm sure even Google merges CM changes back into AOSP at times.

alteredlikeness said:
Sorry.. I was a little grumpy this morning
It's all good.
Sent from my MB865 using xda app-developers app
EDIT: And, I agree, CM is the king of after-market firmware. And for good reason - it's good quality.. It helps that they have been around so long, and have enlisted an army of coders/programmers and average joe's contributing to the source by the minute.. But, yea, basically all of the other major custom ROMs use a lot of CM code.. Heck, I'm sure even Google merges CM changes back into AOSP at times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, so true, whether they take direct code or not, thy have taken features multiple times!

Modded for girlfriend?

I recently convinced my girlfriend to switch to android from iOS, but I'm sorta torn; I want her to have the best experience (which I strongly believe is not stock software) but there's the question of stability, which could be problematic since I won't always be able to fix it, what do you guys think? Feedback would be super great

Androideka5 said:
I recently convinced my girlfriend to switch to android from iOS, but I'm sorta torn; I want her to have the best experience (which I strongly believe is not stock software) but there's the question of stability, which could be problematic since I won't always be able to fix it, what do you guys think? Feedback would be super great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best performance with roms I've had: Luna - I've had the best performance with this rom, Jelly 'Beans' - AOSP themed but 100% touchwiz, performance is perfect as well besides launcher redraw lag (fix by taking the services.jar in system/framework from Luna and replace it in system/framework on Jelly 'Beans'), Super Stock+ - exactly like stock except with basic changes that everyone loves such as no ongoing wifi notification, 4 in 1 reboot menu, and lidroid toggles, and CleanROM - similar to Super Stock+, with probably just a few more features. Also with CleanROM you can flash cool Wasabi themes. You can flash Wasabi themes on other roms too but it doesn't work with all. So always make a backup in recovery before flashing the theme in case it doesn't work or in case you don't like how the theme looks and want to try a different one. Also the stability on all these roms are perfect except I think Jelly Beans has a couple minor bugs. You can check by opening the thread and find the "Not Working" section. Jelly Beans also has a link to a google doc in its thread with a list of bugs and feature requests, and you can add to it. Luna I'm pretty sure is bug free at the moment but I'm not entirely sure, the rom is pretty new. and CleanROM and SuperStock I know for sure are bug free.
And for the kernel, I recommend Zeus Kernel on any rom. I have used every kernel I could find and Zeus definitely has the best performance. I like to overclock to 1.6 GHz with it. It's very safe as that is barely higher than stock.
My preference is Jelly 'Beans' and Luna. If I feel like having an AOSP theme I use Jelly Beans and if I want to use a stock look I use Luna. Like I said before if I use Jelly Beans I will use the services.jar from Luna in system/framework for no launcher lag. And I always use Zeus Kernel. Also you will get the best performance by not using widgets on the home screen. That's how it is for stock anyways, not sure if the same applies to custom roms. Good luck hopefully your girlfriend isn't disappointed let us know how she likes it. I like to hear feedback from people who switch from iOS to Android and vice versa

I would stick with stock. She'll already be overwhelmed by the customization it offers. Did she have her iphone jailbroken? If not, the freedom to change every aspect of the phone was not that important before why should that have changed. I would only recommend roms to people who like to tinker themselves, and are willing to spend the time to do research and learn how to do it correctly.
If you're going to do it for her, she obviously does not want to learn that aspect of using the phone, which means she also won't want to learn how to fix the problems that will definitely pop up. I actually think it would ruin her experience of android, especially since she's coming from ios which has far fewer issues. I think 3rd party launchers would be enough for her. It would be better to have her get used to android first, then introduce her to flashing roms if she find stock android to limited.
Currently on my S3 I'm on stock, and am perfectly fine with it. I am using Nova Prime Launcher, but Touchwiz was not terrible. There are some roms out there that interest me, but the issues far out weight the benefits.

joshua5683 said:
The best performance with roms I've had: Luna - I've had the best performance with this rom, Jelly 'Beans' - AOSP themed but 100% touchwiz, performance is perfect as well besides launcher redraw lag (fix by taking the services.jar in system/framework from Luna and replace it in system/framework on Jelly 'Beans'), Super Stock+ - exactly like stock except with basic changes that everyone loves such as no ongoing wifi notification, 4 in 1 reboot menu, and lidroid toggles, and CleanROM - similar to Super Stock+, with probably just a few more features. Also with CleanROM you can flash cool Wasabi themes. You can flash Wasabi themes on other roms too but it doesn't work with all. So always make a backup in recovery before flashing the theme in case it doesn't work or in case you don't like how the theme looks and want to try a different one. Also the stability on all these roms are perfect except I think Jelly Beans has a couple minor bugs. You can check by opening the thread and find the "Not Working" section. Jelly Beans also has a link to a google doc in its thread with a list of bugs and feature requests, and you can add to it. Luna I'm pretty sure is bug free at the moment but I'm not entirely sure, the rom is pretty new. and CleanROM and SuperStock I know for sure are bug free.
And for the kernel, I recommend Zeus Kernel on any rom. I have used every kernel I could find and Zeus definitely has the best performance. I like to overclock to 1.6 GHz with it. It's very safe as that is barely higher than stock.
My preference is Jelly 'Beans' and Luna. If I feel like having an AOSP theme I use Jelly Beans and if I want to use a stock look I use Luna. Like I said before if I use Jelly Beans I will use the services.jar from Luna in system/framework for no launcher lag. And I always use Zeus Kernel. Also you will get the best performance by not using widgets on the home screen. That's how it is for stock anyways, not sure if the same applies to custom roms. Good luck hopefully your girlfriend isn't disappointed let us know how she likes it. I like to hear feedback from people who switch from iOS to Android and vice versa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the fantastic response I'll mix yours and other posts though, because you both have great points
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

rtan73 said:
I would stick with stock. She'll already be overwhelmed by the customization it offers. Did she have her iphone jailbroken? If not, the freedom to change every aspect of the phone was not that important before why should that have changed. I would only recommend roms to people who like to tinker themselves, and are willing to spend the time to do research and learn how to do it correctly.
If you're going to do it for her, she obviously does not want to learn that aspect of using the phone, which means she also won't want to learn how to fix the problems that will definitely pop up. I actually think it would ruin her experience of android, especially since she's coming from ios which has far fewer issues. I think 3rd party launchers would be enough for her. It would be better to have her get used to android first, then introduce her to flashing roms if she find stock android to limited.
Currently on my S3 I'm on stock, and am perfectly fine with it. I am using Nova Prime Launcher, but Touchwiz was not terrible. There are some roms out there that interest me, but the issues far out weight the benefits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input she's actually pretty tech savvy, she just kinda got stuck with an iPhone. But I'll definitely take your advice and start her off slow, because she saw my phone (running AOKP) and I had to tell her that the phone out of the box won't be as cutting edge and such so I figure she'll work her way up there eventually, thanks again though
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

A pretty simple and easy rom is the jedi mind trick I run it on my s2 its stable eaay to use loads of customizations and nice to look at great first timers rom
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app

CountryBoy4435 said:
A pretty simple and easy rom is the jedi mind trick I run it on my s2 its stable eaay to use loads of customizations and nice to look at great first timers rom
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're a longs way from home.
This is a Verizon s3 i535 thread.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

joshua5683 said:
The best performance with roms I've had: Luna - I've had the best performance with this rom, Jelly 'Beans' - AOSP themed but 100% touchwiz, performance is perfect as well besides launcher redraw lag (fix by taking the services.jar in system/framework from Luna and replace it in system/framework on Jelly 'Beans'), Super Stock+ - exactly like stock except with basic changes that everyone loves such as no ongoing wifi notification, 4 in 1 reboot menu, and lidroid toggles, and CleanROM - similar to Super Stock+, with probably just a few more features. Also with CleanROM you can flash cool Wasabi themes. You can flash Wasabi themes on other roms too but it doesn't work with all. So always make a backup in recovery before flashing the theme in case it doesn't work or in case you don't like how the theme looks and want to try a different one. Also the stability on all these roms are perfect except I think Jelly Beans has a couple minor bugs. You can check by opening the thread and find the "Not Working" section. Jelly Beans also has a link to a google doc in its thread with a list of bugs and feature requests, and you can add to it. Luna I'm pretty sure is bug free at the moment but I'm not entirely sure, the rom is pretty new. and CleanROM and SuperStock I know for sure are bug free.
And for the kernel, I recommend Zeus Kernel on any rom. I have used every kernel I could find and Zeus definitely has the best performance. I like to overclock to 1.6 GHz with it. It's very safe as that is barely higher than stock.
My preference is Jelly 'Beans' and Luna. If I feel like having an AOSP theme I use Jelly Beans and if I want to use a stock look I use Luna. Like I said before if I use Jelly Beans I will use the services.jar from Luna in system/framework for no launcher lag. And I always use Zeus Kernel. Also you will get the best performance by not using widgets on the home screen. That's how it is for stock anyways, not sure if the same applies to custom roms. Good luck hopefully your girlfriend isn't disappointed let us know how she likes it. I like to hear feedback from people who switch from iOS to Android and vice versa
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't mean to hijack his thread but is Zeus compatible with any ROM? I'm running SlimBean and I've been wanting to flash it.
Sent from my SCH-I535

tyleras3 said:
don't mean to hijack his thread but is Zeus compatible with any ROM? I'm running SlimBean and I've been wanting to flash it.
Sent from my SCH-I535
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is only compatible with Touchwiz roms. Not sure though I would ask in the Zeus kernel thread if I were you

joshua5683 said:
I think it is only compatible with Touchwiz roms. Not sure though I would ask in the Zeus kernel thread if I were you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'll do that. Thanks anyway man
Sent from my SCH-I535

Androideka5 said:
I recently convinced my girlfriend to switch to android from iOS, but I'm sorta torn; I want her to have the best experience (which I strongly believe is not stock software) but there's the question of stability, which could be problematic since I won't always be able to fix it, what do you guys think? Feedback would be super great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should throw miui v4 on it since she would be used to the no app drawer and then miuis major customization
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

evo4gnoob said:
Should throw miui v4 on it since she would be used to the no app drawer and then miuis major customization
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this, it was hard for me when I first made the switch, miui was something I was semi familiar with!!
Sent from my KFJWI using xda app-developers apex

Google Experience S4

Hello there. Like many of you I love my S4 but want a more Google experience to my phone. A while so I posted a topic about how to improve your S4 without root to make it feel more like a stock android phone on the original Samsung rom. I loved the original Stock Samsung ROM but I wanted something different. Here is what I did to my phone to make it stock android.
I rooted my phone with motochopper following videos from wwjoshdew on YouTube. (Great channel with awesome helpful videos)
With root I improved some of the things that Samsung has going with the phone. Although Google makes the best... So I flashed a ROM.
I installed goo manager from the play store and then installed TWRP from goo. After this I created a backup if the Stock Samsung ROM and wiped the necessary files. I then flushed CyanogenMod 10.1 which is amazing.
Now to make the most of this ROM make sure to do a couple of things.
- install Nova launcher
- Reset the CPU and under clock
- optimize battery life
This will make the phone buttery smooth in everything that it does. I am running CM10.1 at 1.45ghz and getting battery for DAYS!!! I'm also using LMT launcher for Pie control which just adds to the phones new ROM. Play with the phone and add screenshots of the phone.
CyanogenMod 10.1 is a great alternative to the stock Samsung ROM that allows for the user to have a more Google experience. Its truly amazing and with its additions to the stock Android OS it is amazing!
Enjoy the ROM and enjoy using it!
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

I have similar setup, the only difference is that I used a PAC-ROM instead of just Cyanogenmod. I can confirm that the performance is also buttery smooth. I haven't tried throttling down CPU clocks yet, but I'll give it a try and report back what I find on PAC-ROM

This is hardly "the Google experience" Its cyanogenmod... Granted its built from AOSP source, but its definitely far from stock android.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using XDA Premium HD app

Reynaldinho111 said:
This is hardly "the Google experience" Its cyanogenmod... Granted its built from AOSP source, but its definitely far from stock android.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a stock "GE" ROM out there - I've been hunting through the forums for some time - for a relative newbie the alphabet soup posts are tough to decrypt but I don't see any straight up GE roms?

Yes there's a couple. Pretty stable also. I'm running task aokp and its by far my favorite ROM. Dude knows his stuff.
Sent from my SGH-I337 using xda premium

I think once CM 10.2 comes out with the new camera I'll be happy (assuming it lives up to they hype). The current CM camera is not especially good and a little unstable to boot. HDR doesn't work correctly either.
I greatly prefer the CM experience (and AOSP) to the stock TouchWiz one, mostly for reasons of aesthetics, but the AOSP and CM cameras are both way behind.

cdnchris said:
Is there a stock "GE" ROM out there - I've been hunting through the forums for some time - for a relative newbie the alphabet soup posts are tough to decrypt but I don't see any straight up GE roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh really? Youve been hunting for quite some time? Just opening up the dev section and just scrolling through (didnt even need to use search function) I find these:
4.2.2 GE:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2356276
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2357603
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2341376
4.3 leak of GE:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2349077
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2370205
Now normally I would say to search before creating a thread...but this thread wasnt really asking for anything...so ill just leave it at this
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
---------- Post added at 08:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:17 AM ----------
Frogacuda said:
I think once CM 10.2 comes out with the new camera I'll be happy (assuming it lives up to they hype). The current CM camera is not especially good and a little unstable to boot. HDR doesn't work correctly either.
I greatly prefer the CM experience (and AOSP) to the stock TouchWiz one, mostly for reasons of aesthetics, but the AOSP and CM cameras are both way behind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My theory:
The new cm will only live up to the hype on nexus devices, why? We are still working with the same camera drivers/libs...all it really is, is just a new app fir the camera...but we still need good source ti work with from samsung
I could be wrong about the aboce but thats what I believe
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

mg2195 said:
Oh really? Youve been hunting for quite some time? Just opening up the dev section and just scrolling through (didnt even need to use search function) I find these:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen those, and even installed a few. They're all modified versions of the stock GE in some way shape or form. I suppose the question should be, are there any unmodified Google Edition ROMs available for the S4?

cdnchris said:
I've seen those, and even installed a few. They're all modified versions of the stock GE in some way shape or form. I suppose the question should be, are there any unmodified Google Edition ROMs available for the S4?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first link is pretty much unmodified...just debloated and deaodexed/zipaligned which is common for any rom as it enables easier use of mods if wanted...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4

I'm rooted on stock with minor tweaks ie greenify,uninstall master to remove bloatware etc and I can average 5-5.5hrs of screen time on moderatetto heavy usage. What are you getting with your set up?

Help choosing a ROM.

There's so many Roms here it's hard to choose a place to start. Can I get some suggestions of a good stable ROM that brings improvements over stock as well as everything working like cellular stuff.I just feel like a lot of the Roms seem like they are very similar and I'm not sure what to try. Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

It's all a matter of personal preference.
But, personally, I would suggest BeerGang. It's still technically in the Alpha stage, but I've been running it for the past day and have been completely satisfied. No random reboots, no random FCs, and it has a good deal of features without having too many -- I'm not a fan of ROMs like BeanStalk, CM, etc because there are so many different options to tinker with, and many of them affect the stability and speed of the ROM. The dev (benjamin.j.goodwin) is consistently providing support for it, and I only seeing it getting better.
After BeerGang I'd recommend Purity. I was a long time fan of Purity for all of the same reasons I like BeerGang. Purity is also past the Alpha stage, and offers a little more in features than BeerGang does as of now. It comes built with BusyBox installed (if you're into script optimization,) and is a solid experience for me during my short time using it.

soltheman said:
It's all a matter of personal preference.
But, personally, I would suggest BeerGang. It's still technically in the Alpha stage, but I've been running it for the past day and have been completely satisfied. No random reboots, no random FCs, and it has a good deal of features without having too many -- I'm not a fan of ROMs like BeanStalk, CM, etc because there are so many different options to tinker with, and many of them affect the stability and speed of the ROM. The dev (benjamin.j.goodwin) is consistently providing support for it, and I only seeing it getting better.
After BeerGang I'd recommend Purity. I was a long time fan of Purity for all of the same reasons I like BeerGang. Purity is also past the Alpha stage, and offers a little more in features than BeerGang does as of now. It comes built with BusyBox installed (if you're into script optimization,) and is a solid experience for me during my short time using it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK thanks a lot I'll check those out. I know everyone says it's up to preference and I agree but with the nexus 5 there are way too many roms to just try them all out lol so it'd be nice to have somewhere to start. So do either of those have the themer app like from cm? Either way I'm gonna try it but just curious. I think I'll try purity first and see if I like it.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46344624

this will be closed in 3-2-1

I do like the looks of beergang it is on my list to try. If you want aosp style the big one is CM. There are a lot of ROMs that use cm as a base. I like paranoid personally or pacman. If you want something newer try omni it is well written runs almost flawless and has a write up here on xda. It has some unique features as well like double window.
Also in before close.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Cataclysm with Franco Kernel runs great.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Cataclysm with Bricked kernel and stock kernel ran well.
Currently I'm running Beanstalk and bricked.

Thanks guys I know threads asking for the best ROM aren't allowed but I was just asking for suggestions so I can know what to start trying because there are too many similar ones. I didn't mean to make an unallowed thread. Sorry about that.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app

Stability along with WiFi Direct & OTG Support?
abdel12345 said:
There's so many Roms here it's hard to choose a place to start. Can I get some suggestions of a good stable ROM that brings improvements over stock as well as everything working like cellular stuff.I just feel like a lot of the Roms seem like they are very similar and I'm not sure what to try. Thanks.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a Samsung Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile and running Wicked ROM to the Nexus 5. Overall, it's a nice phone, but a few little things I miss are:
WiFi Direct - it's in there on KitKat, but no way to share anything unless you use/purchase separate apps that are incompatible with each other? What gives?
OTG support - I know they want to push "the cloud" on everybody and I knew going in that this phone didn't have microSD support, but planned on using an OTG cable to swap out pics/videos, etc but again this is not usable unless you purchase another app?
I was hoping that for once with a Nexus phone, that I'd be able to avoid the root/Custom ROM/update/repeat cycle, but these missing features are a big disappointment for me.
Anyone know which Custom ROM(s) include the features I mention above, along with good support and stability? Or is this the curse of living on "the bleeding edge?"
I look forward to your suggestions!
DownloadBob

P.Mobile said:
this will be closed in 3-2-1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
zero
Thread closed