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hey everyone,
I'm fairly new to this forum since i just got my first android device. i've been an iPhone user since 2007 and I'm absolutely loving android so far. One problem i'm having is theming the device is awful there are plenty of theme types , themes for launchers , themes for odexed roms and themes for deodexed roms. it just makes life so much harder specially if you're a new user.
for those who don't know what winterboard does, according to google "previously known as SummerBoard, you will use it in order to apply different themes and visual tweaks to your iPhone or iPod Touch.."
now the way winterboard works is simple, the iOS device has images stored in system/UIimages .. what winterboard does is basically backup the system images and applies new images stored in var/mobile/themes. If the image is there it reads it from var/mobile/themes if not it reads it from system/UIimages that way you'll never mess with the system files even if you decide to delete winterboard from you're device.
Now before you start hating on me , i know JKAY v11 mod is available but it is very limited in the amount of customization you can do. I mean this forum is full of brilliant developers , why can't you come up with a universal way of theming devices?
sorry to bore you with all this info but i really hope to see something like winterboard for android devices soon
I agree tho.
Bump
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
I agree but these things just take time. I am very satisfied with CM7 And the themes I downloaded. The developers here are concentrating on making Roms more stable and fixing bugs. In CM7 If you download themes yourself there is an in built theme Chooser which makes it simple to choose themes. If you would rather customize your own Themes use the UOT KITCHEN.
Hope you enjoy Android
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Until there is a universal theme app, I suggest using miui rom
They took themeing to a new level
mshfar said:
Until there is a universal theme app, I suggest using miui rom
They took themeing to a new level
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 totally agree.
There's always ninja/metamorph/villainthemes. But even those three do nothing to simplify the single most frustrating element of android theming: 9.pngs.
Until somebody whips up an easy editing tool for the 9s, especially on device, theming will be hard.
I kinda get what the OP is talking about though, but unlike winterboard (which, however people like to deny it, saps resources like nobody's business), android theming so far is just patching up system files with practically zero resource overhead in actual use.
eiraku said:
There's always ninja/metamorph/villainthemes. But even those three do nothing to simplify the single most frustrating element of android theming: 9.pngs.
Until somebody whips up an easy editing tool for the 9s, especially on device, theming will be hard.
I kinda get what the OP is talking about though, but unlike winterboard (which, however people like to deny it, saps resources like nobody's business), android theming so far is just patching up system files with practically zero resource overhead in actual use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thing about winterboard is layers , you can select multiple themes to apply and depending on which order you put them in, they theme different stuff. And really , if you are using an i4 or above you won't notice any slowdown at all. Even with several different themes applied. Just my experience. Its really great I wish theme chooser would be ported to tw roms ! Or universal even better.
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I agree MUIU roms are brilliant but i personally never tried them, i'm just waiting for the official release for S II. It should be out in a month.
I know dev's are too busy trying to make roms stable but the question is how many stable roms do we need ? instead of having all sorts of roms each containing their own customization package , why not make your life easier and develop a 3rd party application that does the job for you.
I just don't get it , the dev's are spending so much time coming up with rom compatible mods and themes which needs a lot of testing and time. I personally use the revolution rom and i love it, one problem i faced twice is bootloop after flashing a theme because the themes were not compatible with the rom take in to consideration i flashed them from the revolution kitchen. I dont blame leomar for that in fact big props for him for the amazing work , the guy just doesn't have time to check the compatibility of each theme on the forum.
Besides theming, there's still no simple way of renaming apps on Android. Wasn't Android supposed to be an open platform unlike iOS?
dubart said:
Besides theming, there's still no simple way of renaming apps on Android. Wasn't Android supposed to be an open platform unlike iOS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know you can rename apps if you're using go launcher ex, i don't think there's a way to rename using TW.
I use MIUI rather than waiting... lol
T-Mobile theme engine...
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium
there is finally Winterboard and mobile substrate for android!!
saurik just released it today!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.saurik.substrate
Cydia substrate and winterboard for android
http://www.xda-developers.com/android/cydia-substrate-released-by-saurik-for-android/
the guy who made it foe iOS has also released it for Android just today .
there is xtheme engine, you can change themes, and there are different launchers
there is also the Xposed Framework
try "buzz launcher" . it gives you many, many different desktops !
Good news
aka12345 said:
hey everyone,
I'm fairly new to this forum since i just got my first android device. i've been an iPhone user since 2007 and I'm absolutely loving android so far. One problem i'm having is theming the device is awful there are plenty of theme types , themes for launchers , themes for odexed roms and themes for deodexed roms. it just makes life so much harder specially if you're a new user.
for those who don't know what winterboard does, according to google "previously known as SummerBoard, you will use it in order to apply different themes and visual tweaks to your iPhone or iPod Touch.."
now the way winterboard works is simple, the iOS device has images stored in system/UIimages .. what winterboard does is basically backup the system images and applies new images stored in var/mobile/themes. If the image is there it reads it from var/mobile/themes if not it reads it from system/UIimages that way you'll never mess with the system files even if you decide to delete winterboard from you're device.
Now before you start hating on me , i know JKAY v11 mod is available but it is very limited in the amount of customization you can do. I mean this forum is full of brilliant developers , why can't you come up with a universal way of theming devices?
sorry to bore you with all this info but i really hope to see something like winterboard for android devices soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gud news guys.... now winterboard itself is available for android.... just search it in the play store....
I have downloaded cydia substrete but when i click on install it says something like frawy pants. What is that?
GT-I9100 cihazımdan Tapatalk 2 ile gönderildi
Besides it being new what are you really gaining. Tons of apps don't work on it. Besides folders and multitasking I don't even know what I'm really gaining. And if I have to lose one feature my phone has now ill pass. Phone works too good right now and ics theme will hold me over for a long time.
I understand everybody wants what is new but think about everything your really gaining. To me its like IOS 4.3 to 5. I upgraded my Ipad 2 lost jailbreak for what I see as a minor upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
You can stay on gingerbread then, it wont bother me really
I think you need to read up on what actually ICS changes besides icons and themes....
raqball said:
I think you need to read up on what actually ICS changes besides icons and themes....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the leaks, we are not getting the new ui because of twiz
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
kingsway8605 said:
From the leaks, we are not getting the new ui because of twiz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once it starts hitting custom roms, I'm sure we will be getting all sorts of interesting things.
Fataldesain said:
Besides it being new what are you really gaining. Tons of apps don't work on it. Besides folders and multitasking I don't even know what I'm really gaining. And if I have to lose one feature my phone has now ill pass. Phone works too good right now and ics theme will hold me over for a long time.
I understand everybody wants what is new but think about everything your really gaining. To me its like IOS 4.3 to 5. I upgraded my Ipad 2 lost jailbreak for what I see as a minor upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound like a old man in his old ways lol jk. I can't speak for everyone else but I bought my phone because it was at the time of purchase ahead of every curve (with the exception of nfc) so now that something is out that can make the phone better why the would I not want it. I'm patient in waiting but would love to have it yesterday
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
How about true dual core support? or gpu acceleration through the whole phone?
List goes on.
Gingerbread has "true dual core support"
I'm not greedy. Because it's the New thing is the best answer I got. Newer is better right? J/k
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
...bad joke.
Fataldesain said:
Besides it being new what are you really gaining. Tons of apps don't work on it. Besides folders and multitasking I don't even know what I'm really gaining. And if I have to lose one feature my phone has now ill pass. Phone works too good right now and ics theme will hold me over for a long time.
I understand everybody wants what is new but think about everything your really gaining. To me its like IOS 4.3 to 5. I upgraded my Ipad 2 lost jailbreak for what I see as a minor upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks to the informative Android blogs and tons of videos, most people know why they want ICS besides having a new look. As for your Ipad and losing jailbreak, you probably should have read in advance to see what features iOS 5 had before taking the plunge. I remember reading multiple times that people with jailbreak should hold up on iOS 5 until an untethered jailbreak is done. But hey, this is about Android
What I'm really waiting for is a nice AOSP ICS with everything working. I am less enthusiastic about TW ICS.
One of the videos showed better app controlled , limit or block apps from background data
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Hmm... OP you should consider the fact that ICS source was only recently released and I think the Nexus Prime launched just today. Of course not all apps are going to work you have to give app developers time to update the apps to be compatible. It's not all going to happen overnight that's why these things take time for the transition. Although I'm a little disappointed that TW covers up some features, I am looking forward to:
*Scrollable widgets
*The swipe gesture to remove notifications
*New notification bar Info slots (i.e. when you get a text you see the contact pic)
*Face Unlock (even though it can be bypassed it's cool nonetheless)
*Camera Speed
*New widget placement UI
*New Cool Blue Look
*The drag and drop feature to make folders
*How the app market stays in the app drawer on the top right
*The minimalist layout of all the Google Apps
*A few other things I'm sure everybody knows by now...
Not to say that you have poor judgment, I do advise reading up a little more on the updates before you jump in and discredit them for changing anything. I think Google is actually just trying to make Android more accessible to more than just Devs, if anything at least give them credit for that.
If you want an entire list of things that are new and how they work, read this review (Personally I think it's the best review that covers everything) it's 7 Pages!
LINK
Guys all I'm saying is it seems like alot of people want ics just because and are foaming at the mouth for it. Isn't alot of your apps not working kinda a big deal. People should just calm down enjoy gingerbread for a few more months.
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Improved multitasking is enough for me....a better looking OS.....speed.....better hardware acceleration...more efficient......data monitoring.......ability to block certain apps from accessing data and last but not least.............camera app (that thing needed updating)
ICS is what Android needs to be to fully compete with IOS the only real threat(since Isheep see differently). I am not too anxious to see TW and Sense on ICS
I remember when iphone first came out my buddies back in college were saying look at what I can do.....I pulled out my cingular blue razr v3 and said check this out....made a call lol
Just gotta wait till the apps are updated thats all
I have to agree with OP,to a certain extent. A lot of the new features are incremental, and I think you can duplicate most of them with already available apps/mods. Not to say I'm not going to flash ICS as soon as a good rom comes out, but I am pretty satisfied with how my phone runs now. ICS is the first step to integrate the Android phone /tablet os, like ios ,and will be much better as it evolves.
Sent from my Samsung Epic Touch using tapatalk
Only if your hiding something?
Sure, you may be able to replicate some of those features with other apps, but thats the point... it brings these features to stock android.
newalker91 said:
*Scrollable widgets - Already offered in custom launchers
*The swipe gesture to remove notifications - Just extra glamour
*New notification bar Info slots (i.e. when you get a text you see the contact pic) - More extra glamour
*Face Unlock (even though it can be bypassed it's cool nonetheless) - There are apps that already offer this
*Camera Speed - Is a hardware feature of Galaxy Nexus, not ICS
*New widget placement UI - Very similar to TouchWiz
*New Cool Blue Look - Already have themes for this
*The drag and drop feature to make folders - Already offered in custom launchers
*How the app market stays in the app drawer on the top right - Already offered in custom launchers
*The minimalist layout of all the Google Apps - Will be available based on app, not Android version
*A few other things I'm sure everybody knows by now...
Many of the things that you've listed can already be achieved or are part of the Galaxy Nexus and not ICS. Just kind of goes to reinforce the idea that most people really don't know why they want ICS. I personally find ICS to be a bit too intrusive into my privacy, especially seeing as in the recently used app overlay it shows you the last picture you took. Definitely not appealing to people in relationships.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Although I do see your point, the OP asks why I want ICS. I'm entitled to my opinion right? and I noticed the majority of the things you quoted and responded to have to do with modding the system in some way. How about having it all in one package and not having to download a bunch of apps to imitate what should come stock in the OS.
And what's wrong with a little "extra glamour" ?
I just want stock Gingerbread with better battery life and no CarrierIQ. I don't know how much faster people need these little computers to be but the E4GT is fast enough.
I think if it deffenetely comes out this way would make alot of people happy having a dual boot letting you choose touchwiz/ or stock ics i know this is gs2 section but im sure most of us will be picking up the gs3 upon release
The information supplied over at Reddit reveals that the Galaxy S III may come with a unique dual-launch facility
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which will enable owners to choose between a TouchWiz interface, or wait for it a completely stock version of Ice Cream Sandwich. Again, this is just a rumor at this point, but if it turns out to be true then Samsung will surely win over everyone who previously had a few gripes about TouchWiz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.product-reviews.net/2012...ii-stock-ics-feature-could-fend-off-iphone-5/
I'm telling ya, android phones would be a lot more damn popular if these idiots would stop shoving their stupid ios copycat attempy customizations on their phones and stick with stock android...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
zander21510 said:
I'm telling ya, android phones would be a lot more damn popular if these idiots would stop shoving their stupid ios copycat attempy customizations on their phones and stick with stock android...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100% first is the manufacture then we gotta deal with the carrier adding a bunch of bloat.....
zander21510 said:
I'm telling ya, android phones would be a lot more damn popular if these idiots would stop shoving their stupid ios copycat attempy customizations on their phones and stick with stock android...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. Touchwiz is arse. I despise it.
I personally don't care if the carrier or manufacturer wants to make a custom launcher or apps or whatever, but it SHOULD be up to the end user to decide if they want it. Say for example an added step in the initial setup of the phone.
This might give them some good stats as to who is actually using the apps vs who isn't which would in turn tell them if its worth the $$ to pay their developers for the extra crap. If not, save the money and use it for better things....like say expanding/improving coverage.... ya know
gwingzero said:
I personally don't care if the carrier or manufacturer wants to make a custom launcher or apps or whatever, but it SHOULD be up to the end user to decide if they want it. Say for example an added step in the initial setup of the phone.
This might give them some good stats as to who is actually using the apps vs who isn't which would in turn tell them if its worth the $$ to pay their developers for the extra crap. If not, save the money and use it for better things....like say expanding/improving coverage.... ya know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree with this like the article says a dual boot.... which would let you choose to have touchwiz or just stock droid aka ics..... Who knows we might get shocked and them actually come out with this and make alot of people happy
zander21510 said:
I'm telling ya, android phones would be a lot more damn popular if these idiots would stop shoving their stupid ios copycat attempy customizations on their phones and stick with stock android...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. If the manufacturers want a custom UI, I'm all for it. But let them release it in the market as an app and let the users decide! If it were just the launcher, I wouldn't care. I always end up installing a 3rd party launcher anyway, even over AOSP launcher. But the manufacturers screw things up by mucking with the entire OS, like a virus. Trying to make their phone "different". Here's an idea. You want the phone to stand out, release it as AOSP. Have good hardware, stop making varients that you don't support, and deliver timely updates. Or at a minimum, release all driver sources with the release of a phone, so drones can leave their phone stock, and the dev community can customize from day 1.
These things will make your phones stand out, make them "different". And manufacturers, I promise you will be rewarded in sales and customer loyalty.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium
The only thing I like about TW is the pulldown notification settings. Otherwise, this is a really good idea.
Sent from Darth Hercules
I just had a thought...what if PC manufacturers put their own skins over windows...mother of God...
And they wonder what they have to do to make people like their phones...take a lesson from the PC world and for gods ssakes look at apple...uniform OS across it's mobile Devices...using an iPhone is the same as using an ipad...your friends phone works exactly like yours...that's why apple is so successful. They know that they don't have to make a versitile OS if they just make it work uniformly...
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
I always preferred AOSP over TW, but if you think about it, TW isn't too bad because you can just freeze it and run a third party launcher over it. HTC Sense, on the other hand, takes up a lot more resources even when frozen since the ROM is based on Sense
Its not "Dual Boot" it's a simple Dual Launcher, not sure why you consider this big news. You don't need to buy the SGS3 to have "Dual Boot" as you put it, simply go to the market and get another Launcher like ADW or Go Launcher or Launcher Pro, then you will have your "Dual Boot"...
FYI "Dual Boot" means having the option to boot two OS, like Windows & Linux, Android & Windows mobile
GBGamer... Pull down notifications have NOTHING to do with TW or the Launcher
Lakers3408 said:
Its not "Dual Boot" it's a simple Dual Launcher, not sure why you consider this big news. You don't need to buy the SGS3 to have "Dual Boot" as you put it, simply go to the market and get another Launcher like ADW or Go Launcher or Launcher Pro, then you will have your "Dual Boot"...
FYI "Dual Boot" means having the option to boot two OS, like Windows & Linux, Android & Windows mobile
GBGamer... Pull down notifications have NOTHING to do with TW or the Launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But touchwiz isn't just the launcher...change to say ADW and the lockscreen, menus, basic apps, pulldown, icons, keyboard stay the stupid cartoony ios copycat ****
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
zander21510 said:
But touchwiz isn't just the launcher...change to say ADW and the lockscreen, menus, basic apps, pulldown, icons, keyboard stay the stupid cartoony ios copycat ****
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't you heard of themes, that's what makes Android better then iOS, you can change it to whatever you want, all 3rd party launchers support themes, even the icons, imagine that. ... You must be new to Android... I'm running stock ROM and my phone does not have the stock lock screen or icons.... Search, it's your best friend.... I'll give you a hint, Lockbot Pro
the epic 4g touch from sprint does this already.
Sent from my SGH-T989
Lakers3408 said:
Haven't you heard of themes, that's what makes Android better then iOS, you can change it to whatever you want, all 3rd party launchers support themes, even the icons, imagine that. ... You must be new to Android... I'm running stock ROM and my phone does not have the stock lock screen or icons.... Search, it's your best friend.... I'll give you a hint, Lockbot Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm running ics theme it says in my sig...my point was that removing touchwiz isn't as easy as installing a launcher...and hell theming doesnt completely eliminate its annoyances...its launcher + theme + apps + etc.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using XDA
Lakers3408 said:
Its not "Dual Boot" it's a simple Dual Launcher, not sure why you consider this big news. You don't need to buy the SGS3 to have "Dual Boot" as you put it, simply go to the market and get another Launcher like ADW or Go Launcher or Launcher Pro, then you will have your "Dual Boot"...
FYI "Dual Boot" means having the option to boot two OS, like Windows & Linux, Android & Windows mobile
GBGamer... Pull down notifications have NOTHING to do with TW or the Launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the Quick Settings is what I am talking about, like in CM.
Sent from Darth Hercules
Lakers3408 said:
Haven't you heard of themes, that's what makes Android better then iOS, you can change it to whatever you want, all 3rd party launchers support themes, even the icons, imagine that. ... You must be new to Android... I'm running stock ROM and my phone does not have the stock lock screen or icons.... Search, it's your best friend.... I'll give you a hint, Lockbot Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe you are confused homie. TW is the entire framework for the OS, as Sense is with HTC devices. Certain AOSP items cannot be applied no matter how much you tweak and theme. Please read before attempting to look smart.
The article makes no mention of how the dual-launch capabilities will be implemented so how the hell are you people assuming or not assuming that it will be a launcher or dual boot?
Jeez, find something to do rather than talking it like you have the device and know what's going on.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk
Why doesn't Google just add the best features of all these ROMs into native Android?
It's so stupid that people have to root their phones in order to get these features. I understand that maybe Google doesn't want Android to seem overly complex, but have a Customization area all in a submenu that you can unlock buy sliding Customizations to ON.
Things like this (in order of necessary > bloat):
Global volume rocker as cursor movement keys (hope this baby is patented so Apple doesn't steal it!)
% battery icon
Brightness slider toggle + AOKP toggles!!!!
Screenshot on Power Menu
Volume panel
Custom targets on lockscreen ring
Custom notification LED colors >> this would really make the hardware unique from Apple and it's really handy, esp when you're in meetings / theaters / church / or any quiet time; the different color assignments are really useful! Even vibrate is now disruptive in meetings.
Weather on lockscreen
Show notification count
Custom colors for Nav Bar
I don't think that's so much that it would overwhelm the average user. Whenever a family member or friend sees our phones, they want me to root theirs and make it the same.
Maybe someone at Google can get this message and we can see this in 4.2? They could release it as a "Android Power Toys" add-on type marketing the way Microsoft did with Windows?
I'm sure there are a number of reasons. First many of these things can be done with third party apps. Google mainly keeps to things that have to be built into the os, or related to Google services.
They have incorporated some features like additional lock screen targets, some toggles on tablets, resizable widgets, ect. It sounds like themes may be coming in 4.2 too.
Another thing I've noticed is while these features are great, they do slow things down a bit, so they may not be beneficial to everyone.
I'm fine with getting these features from other sources of they can put out things like project butter and Google now.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
A lot of what you listed up there I would term bloat, lots of unnecessary options for features I don't want.
Toggles are the exception, I'd love to see a really nice AOSP toggle implementation. I think most normal users would like that too.
Copywrite violations.
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and themers in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
I wonder if they are not included for the sake of simplifying the OS for the average user. It's a lot easier to get someone to just add a widget to add functionality than to explain to them how to enable weather on the lock screen or how to pick which pull-down toggles they want. A lot of those options are redundant because you can access them with widgets on the launcher.
redwingfaninnc said:
I wonder if they are not included for the sake of simplifying the OS for the average user. It's a lot easier to get someone to just add a widget to add functionality than to explain to them how to enable weather on the lock screen or how to pick which pull-down toggles they want. A lot of those options are redundant because you can access them with widgets on the launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sense, but honestly, how many Nexus owners do you know that fit into the "average user" category? I know 35 people who own a Nexus device, and only 3 of them aren't rooted. In general Android terms, you're probably 100% correct though...most "average users" would not know what to do with some of those changes, and many would consider them bloat. Geez, Google's even removed Maps from Gapps, because people thought it was bloatware, so they are sensitive to that issue.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Remoteconcern said:
A lot of what you listed up there I would term bloat, lots of unnecessary options for features I don't want.
Toggles are the exception, I'd love to see a really nice AOSP toggle implementation. I think most normal users would like that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, what prompted this post was the AOKP toggles, that's what people like the most when they see mine and my gf's phones.
Also, I agree that it's bloat. But, that's why they can release it in the Play Store as a "Power Toys for Android" add-on. It makes it easy for average users to get access to these features and they don't have to root and they don't have to play the milestone game waiting for a stable daily driver.
jjhiza said:
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and Turner's in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The launcher is a great idea too. I forgot to mention that. However, Nova launcher is easy for the average user to install. You don't even need to be rooted.
Neo3D said:
The launcher is a great idea too. I forgot to mention that. However, Nova launcher is easy for the average user to install. You don't even need to be rooted.
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Very true, but most normal Android users simply run the out-of-the-box setup from day one, until the day they upgrade. If Google took the time to build a slightly better launcher, those of us who want extra customization (grid size, icon editing, etc) can have it, while those who run stock from day one, won't even notice the changes, because they'll never use them.
Looks like Google might be one step ahead of us.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/1...oject-roadrunner-updated-google-play-and-now/
"Customization Center"?
That would be sweet if it were true and included some of these awesome ideas that custom ROM devs have come up with.
That's generally how it works, Google borrows from developers and OEMs' UIs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app
jordanishere said:
Copywrite violations.
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What copyright? If i remembered correctly all custom ROMs are open sourced, which means copyright doesn't apply.
Do correct me if i'm wrong.
jimmyco2008 said:
That's generally how it works, Google borrows from developers and OEMs' UIs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app
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This is it right here. Let the devs do the muscle and brain work and Google cherry picks what they think should be the next evolution of android.
The great thing about open source is that sharing is what it is all about. If you don't like sharing, then there are two other clubs to join. Both of which could be more awesome if they didn't take the mine all mine approach.
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@rbiter said:
This is it right here. Let the devs do the muscle and brain work and Google cherry picks what they think should be the next evolution of android.
The great thing about open source is that sharing is what it is all about. If you don't like sharing, then there are two other clubs to join. Both of which could be more awesome if they didn't take the mine all mine approach.
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Yep, all about the cherry picks.
Perfect example is SMS quick reply, I'd say that's a dead cert as the immediate reaction to JB notifications was fantastic but let me do even mooaaar!!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
They can't just slap every option in the world in. You'd have a bloated mess. (That's part of why skins are so bad... feature overload).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Most of those things can be do e from an app, maybe Google let's the door open to the free market and get devs to earn money making these addons.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Besides, if Google took all the best features from our ROMs, nothing would hardly ever need updating in future versions.
I Am Marino said:
Besides, if Google took all the best features from our ROMs, nothing would hardly ever need updating in future versions.
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Well I think its important to note that even if Google wanted to implement some of these features commonly found on custom ROMs that it'd take more than just one version of Android to bring them in.
jjhiza said:
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and Turner's in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
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Ahhh jjhiza. Havent seen one of your essays since the droid3 days aha
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Ever wanted to customize your own rom?
I mean really customize it the way you wanted?
I came across this question as I got my phone, well technically before I even had it my hands, I wanted my phone to be set to a certain expectation. I got it and I was impressed that the Sprint S3 I had was faster than my previous Photon 4g. But did it do what I wanted exactly?
Boot Sounds: how can I restart my phone and try a new rom with such nonsense?
Boot Animation: pathetic
Touch Sounds: Ploink sounded like a stall at a restroom
Touch unlock: An Okay button seriously get over it Android
The list can go on forever. The point is there are many things you can do. I mean have you seen the amazing developers here. I was inspired to try it myself after watching these guys just chug along and keep making their roms better and better. To be honest, we wouldnt be here if we were curious and wanted to contribute(without expecting anything). I find the general forums to have so much information and so many questions that could be answered by making a tutorial of the basics for the Sprint S3. I mention this phone specific because well as you start diving into it, some of the code we may enter on this tutorial will in fact not work for other phones or vice versa. I suppose this is a teach a man to fish situation(as opposed to giving fishes)
Lets begin and by all means if this is in the wrong forum please let me know, I will get it over to the correct area asap.
So you want a starting point, a place to start. well you can do article after article forum search and so forth but lets start fresh:
We will need a rom to begin with, grab those from this amazing guy's thread. Freeza is boss, a great contributor, he is very knowlegable and I havent even talked to the guy. But we are for information so I digress no more.
You got the link open do you? The choice now comes what do you download? Odexed, Deodexed, kernel, firmware AHHHH so much info, start slow and break down what in the world you want to do. Do you want to theme your rom and make it look Wicked like our badass team Team Wicked's rom of blue goodness? seriously its sexy. Do you want to just take out bloatware and keep it clean stock without junk and some mods guess what, this is the best place to choose those options.
Odexed rom: Think of it as android caching a program so it can load up faster, its supposed to serve as a time boost during first boot and "supposed" to be faster than DeOdex but I have found they are about the same. Odex is a little trick as the way Android makes the cache file is with, you guessed it, an additional .ODEX file. This file is like a sneak peak into the file so Android can load it "faster". This is also a problem when you want to make major modifications to your phone's color and the sort. This where we get to DeOdex
DeOdexed rom: This is the best choice for working with a rom. It removes the .ODEX file from the rom and keeps your files editable with much more ease. Seriously I tried both and OMG was it easier to use DeOdexed after a while I realized theming any of this SUCKED. I mean here I did all this artwork change and I see this ODEX file. And crash when I loaded. It becomes a simple goal if you need to perform tasks like modifying pictures and themes, any apk in the rom and even the java files.
Kernel: I am not a professor on this topic, I know this much, the kernel is basically a really smart piece of software that tells how your hardware how to act. It is critical to make sure the kernel you select goes with what you need to do. Wrong kernel can tell the hardware to something funky. I have from experience chosen the MD4(4/24/13) Kernel optimized that will be used for the sake of this tutorial but by all means master the easy stuff I am going through before you want to launch Satellites into space to save Black Mesa.
The firmware: A common misconception is that the firmare/modem/baseband should be always modified to the latest one from the manufacturer. This might not necessarily be true. Remember, a new update to this might enhance your signal or ruin it. And with Sprint have spotty network in 99 percent of America (cough cough oops too harsh?) Remember the MD4 is the latest release for official sprint software, the MD4 does represent the date of the release. It is coded ingeniously of course.
So as we modify the software from now on, you must settle on the best option for your needs.
Of course, as I mentioned, I am going to use the DeOdex version of the official software. Of course DeOdexed and then some stuff was added by our awesome Developer Freeza means that it has some good stuff we will need later like rooted automatically with some busybox and Super user installed already.
So you downloaded the zip file. This zip file is just a container for this rom. Like a bucket that holds all the software for your rom.
I would say the best way to get started is to get the tools of the trade.
Notepad++: I mean seriously, who even uses windows notepad anymore( me before I started modifying roms ). This software will make it much easier to work with the various code. I am SHOCKED that it is still free. Mad props to them.
The Android SDK: This lumpy software contains many tools we will need for advanced users. I think the modifications we will need to do here can go without this but remember it is a software development kit that contains critical tools for our android phones. And its free
BakSmali and Smali: I call them the brothers. I also remember that BakSmali will decompile software while Smali will recompile software more on that later. This software is free but very complex, we will have to break it down like a fraction to fully utilize customization and true development.
APKTOOL: sure there is a bunch of "tools" we can get, you dont need that stuff or even a kitchen but you can use this and get a way with it.
7-Zip and WinRar, alright you can use either but I love both, one is free and one is "free", of course use 7-zip for its free of use terms. I got Winrar after the trial kept nagging me to call me a sellout I don't care MOM!
And surprisingly that's all you need to edit the files.
Of course, you will also need things like Photoshop, Sound Forge, Firefox because IE is just wrong,
But these are not necessary to really get the modifications of sounds and pictures and research going: You can use:
Paint.net: This tool is free to use image editing software. It can do wonders on the fly and for free but remember Photoshop is better come on it's not even a debate but for free, I am not arguing.
Audacity: Okay its not Soundforge, Cooledit 2000 for those that remember it, or even Sound recorder for windows but it will get the job done and is free.
Notice the theme here, you can make a rom customize it for free. This is truly amazing for a platform that is Android. While you get this software post some comments below to show me whether or not this is too basic for the majority of help seekers or if I should keep going. After all I learned so much from XDA and the infamous "Google" whatever that is....I am sure we can learn together and make this thread something we can have everyone refer to the basics while letting them be creative.
of course by law, this is education purposes only, dont brick your phone use it as an expensive paperweight and then blame anyone but yourself. Everyone in the threads do them to reduce liability, i guess we are all here to help, but getting sued over shenanagins is not what any of these hard working developers want especially since, like most of the software mentioned here, do it for free. Donate to all you care for and see fit, we have some modding to do team, and I think this will be fun and we can definately burden the forums with more intelligent questions by simply reading through this tutorial and part II
Very good info. Thank you for providing this.
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Sprint Galaxy S3
Need Help? PM
Hit the "Thanks" button if I helped!
Please keep going, Thank you.
Ahhh...Pt1 was too easy..LOL. Just J/K yes! Part2 please:thumbup:
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Great stuff! Let's keep it going!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
I would love to learn how to make roms! Keep it going please!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4
Thanks
Thanks Guys,
As long as this helps/inspires someone than at least I can give the same chance that this place gave me, always a great community. Except for the...the flame wars but those were so 2005.
Great post... I've often wondered where to start on a ROM and just surfing the Web for info can be conflicting and confusing. I like the straight forward how to approach. Now on to part 2, I may actually give this a shot eventually.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
This is a great idea/post. I have been curious where to begin on creating and customizing roms. Having a definitive source will be excellent. Keep it coming!!
Sent from space.