MoDaCo Switch first impressions

[Scott Kenyon]

I've been using Switch for a few hours and wanted to give my first impressions. These thoughts are initial observations and feelings not based on constant use.
Setup was a pain. I must have made a mistake. At one point my phone's storage (internal and external) was 0 and I couldn't turn on wifi. I wound up formatting system and pushing the switch rom zips on with adb, which fixed this. Again, probably my fault.
After setting up the device seems slower. It let's you see all the animations for sure, but pre-flash everything was lightning fast. This makes the device seem slower, though I know it is not.
The camera on vanilla is as expected. The sense camera doesn't seem to have as fine quality as on the oem rom. Further testing required.
Switching is pretty neat. This requires a full reboot, but it's two taps to a different experience.
The speakers seem identical between versions. This is seemingly the same as oem.
The only big problem I have with this photos. If I'm on the GPe rom and my daughter starts doing a bunch of cute stuff, I won't be able to zoe her for a highlight. The time to switch is way too long to be able to duo this effectively.
This probably seems like I'm slamming this quite a bit, but quite the contrary. This is a great experience and very well done. Switching is as easy as a reboot and works without a hitch. All 4.2 features are there and nothing seems broken on either version.
If you are going to flash this, read the directions. Especially the ones about first boot. I've flashed tons of roms and made a mistake today. If I didn't know what to do I would be posting one of those HELP URGENT threads. Please make sure you do the proper reading. I'm here to help if you need it.
Also, if anyone has questions please ask. I'll be running this for at least a week. Drop them in here and I'll get back to you when I am able.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Also, I find myself missing the black bar. Holding home isn't as fast. I'm probably the only one who will think this way.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[scotbotmosh1]

Thanks for the update. I am keeping my eye on Switch for sure. Once it's a bit more baked in I believe I will take the plunge.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

It really feels finished. Today will be a great test. Going to be in "vanilla" mode today.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[benhmadison]

It really feels finished. Today will be a great test. Going to be in "vanilla" mode today.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

I'm mostly with you on the black bar. Yes you lose screen real estate but it's nice to hit anywhere on the bar (not just the three dots) and have your menu pop up. It's roughly the same real estate lost with on screen buttons like I had on the Nexus 4. Overall the Modaco switch is revolutionary in the flashing world and I like it a lot. After initially using the Google Edition rom for a week or so then fully converting my ONE to a GPE device, I really don't like Sense to much. Don't get me wrong it is by far the best manufacturer set up I have ever used and it is lightning fast, but once you get used to pure Android it's hard to go back.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

So here's my thoughts from yesterday - still very early on:
I ran GPe yesterday almost exclusively. Sense was only on in the morning, and only long enough for a reboot into GPe. I realized how much I missed the consistent icons up top. The nice blue from the Nexus devices is really appealing to me. Using Action Launcher, you don't get to see any of the Vanilla home screen or app drawer, so it is what it is.
Using switch has brought me to a realization that I already had, and didn't know I had really. None of us really think about it and we shouldn't have to. An app is just an app. It's not a similar app or a different app, just itself. Normally this is crazy talk, but clearly the picture below disproves my lunacy.
Here's the thing: your dialer is an app. Your camera is an app. Your gallery is also an app. And guess what? Sense has it's own dialer, camera and gallery. GPe has it's own dialer, camera and gallery. They're not the same, though similar. Tapping a shortcut to the Sense version of any of those apps in GPe will give you a flash message like the one below. This is sort of jarring at first, but I'm really glad it happened. We take for granted that all of these things we use which are just preloaded functionality on a device work flawlessly. I never actually really acknowledged that the dialer was an app. I knew it was somewhere in my mind, but was never forced to think about it or face it. They run without a stutter or crash unless you have a fairly serious problem each and every time we call upon them. This made me happier than any feature, most likely.
Since Switch keeps your app settings between versions of the OS, when you create a shortcut to your dialer on your launcher/home screen, the link will be for the dialer that resides on that OS. Upon switching the link is still there for the nonexistant dialer, with the same application path that it had on your former version. The path DOES NOT EXIST on the GPe (in this example) for the sense dialer, thus I could not use the shortcut to make a call to get a tasty sandwich. This can all be overcome by using a folder with shortcuts to both dialers and cameras on my homescreen. If you use a link to gallery or any other segregated program, you'll need a folder too.
A note on perceived battery life:
Seems the same as bone stock Sense so far. I used my device normally all day doing things I normally do. Usually this consists of All Access music while getting ready for work, checking the FAOTD, FSOTD, Social Media, email, forums, heavy web browsing at work and streaming podcasts via bluetooth in my car with Ford Sync. I plugged it in during my rides and as I usually would in the morning and at night. The percentage from settings on GPe was right about where I normally am with Sense.
Going to give it another day of GPe then swap back to Sense. I'm going to try to remember to take some photos while at work and out and about to see what they look like. More to come.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

I'm mostly with you on the black bar. Yes you lose screen real estate but it's nice to hit anywhere on the bar (not just the three dots) and have your menu pop up. It's roughly the same real estate lost with on screen buttons like I had on the Nexus 4. Overall the Modaco switch is revolutionary in the flashing world and I like it a lot. After initially using the Google Edition rom for a week or so then fully converting my ONE to a GPE device, I really don't like Sense to much. Don't get me wrong it is by far the best manufacturer set up I have ever used and it is lightning fast, but once you get used to pure Android it's hard to go back.

Luckily, our thin black friend is ever present in GPe. I don't have to miss it!

Sent from my HTC One with MoDaCo.SWITCH Beta 8 using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Another day in GPe. Photos are pretty washed out and blah. They're passable, but after you have used the Sense camera you can't settle.
Battery life on GPe is again fine and usable. Tomorrow starts two days of Sense. Thank goodness for Action Launcher.

Sent from my HTC One with MoDaCo.SWITCH Beta 8 using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[ne0ne]

I didn't run into any issues installing modaco switch. Make sure you disable fastboot before you switch to the stock android side. It's been very stable for me. I love it. Been using it about two weeks.

AT&T HTC One MoDaCo.Switch Beta 8
Nexus 7 2013 Unlocked Root + TWRP
Chromecast

 

[quietlybrilliant]

Can you say where you use Action Launcher (under GE or Sense?), what you like about it, and whether you have the Pro version for $3.99 (I can't find a free version). Thanks.

Another day in GPe. Photos are pretty washed out and blah. They're passable, but after you have used the Sense camera you can't settle.
Battery life on GPe is again fine and usable. Tomorrow starts two days of Sense. Thank goodness for Action Launcher.

Sent from my HTC One with MoDaCo.SWITCH Beta 8 using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Can you say where you use Action Launcher (under GE or Sense?), what you like about it, and whether you have the Pro version for $3.99 (I can't find a free version). Thanks.

I use it on both. You choose your launcher every boot, so you can choose to only use it when you'd like.
The most enjoyable aspect, for me, is the integration of the app drawer into the home screen. Home and app drawer are the same experience, rather than two separate ones. Also, covers and shutters are awesome tools to improve your efficiency.
I'd pay four times as much for this launcher and not even think about it.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[quietlybrilliant]

Does Action Launcher allow you to use Blinkfeed or do you need to switch back to Sense launcher to access it?

 

[Scott Kenyon]

I found a workaround. Download Nova launcher and create an action widget to HTC Sense, then delete all of your other home screens. Works fine for me.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[quietlybrilliant]

How is it going now? Which are you using more, Sense or Vanilla?

 

[Scott Kenyon]

I'm still not in personal use mode yet. On Sense for today, then we'll see.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app

 

[Scott Kenyon]

So after my testing, which consisted of real world use, here's what I have to say:
This is pretty neat. A lot of the things I thought would be negative actually aren't. The only bad thing I thought about from the outset was being on GPe and needing to take Sense photos/zoes. In a pinch, the GPe camera is ok. It's not horrible by any means. It does, however, lack the zoes and highlights that may be important at the time. The only real way to combat this is to be on Sense when you feel there will be things going on that will be relevant to the camera side.
It should be noted that in the version I'm basing this upon, things like saved default apps do not work. This can be inconvenient, but not dealbreakers for me. It's not too bad to reset my defaults every time I need to switch, because it's not all that often. I can enjoy the Google experience when I choose to, and swap back to the cool HTC stuff when I want to. That overrides the annoyances in my opinion.
Overall this has been a great experience, and one I wouldn't have thought of last year. I'm very grateful to Paul O'Brien of MoDaCo. Not just for this, but for his site when I was the proud owner of a Samsung Omnia. He has brought a lot to the table over the years, and I thank him with every ounce of thanks I have to give. You are appreciated, Mr. O'Brien!
If you're on the fence, give this a shot. You'll probably enjoy it.

The only thing untested is the OTA update feature. There hasn't been an update yet, but the ROM leads me to believe the updates will work like an OTA, or at least will with the finished product.

If you guys have any questions, please post or PM me or email. I don't mind answering and testing for you.

 

[quietlybrilliant]

What directions did you follow to install it?

The first post at MoDaCo.SWITCH Beta 8 support topic - HTC One (M7) - MoDaCo?

I had three problems at the very outset:

1) I can't find the /sdcard folder on my T-mobile HTC One.

2) It wasn't clear to me how many zip files need to be downloaded and copied into that directory. Both the beta 1 as well as the beta 8 zip?

3) It wasn't clear to me how to make a backup of the device in case I need to return it to stock HTC sense (in case of warranty issues, etc).

Any help with these basic problems would be much appreciated.

 

[Scott Kenyon]

I received a notification for the official 4.3 OTA on the GPe side. It won't pass the necessary checks to install. For those considering or using it already, Paul said he was going to update it when he can.

 

[quietlybrilliant]

Does this work with the MoDaCo switch?

Use the logo on the HTC One as an extra button with a custom kernel | Android Central

 

[Scott Kenyon]

I'm not sure tbh. I'll have to research. Bigger more elaborate postings to come tonight or tomorrow.

Sent from my HTC One using Mobile Nations mobile app