New to roms, help me decide

**jamescordrey** · 03-16-2011, 12:49 PM

Hey all, so I'm kinda new to custom roms and wonder if anyone can help me find a rom with the things I want. Here's what I'd like to have in a rom aside from a speedy lag free interface

-720p Video
-8mp Camera
-Bug free GPS
-Unthrottled data(or the ability to install a mod to have data unthrottled)

Too picky? Please let me know
Thanks in advanced

**ndwatkins** · 03-16-2011, 06:57 PM

Hey there, I'm pretty new to all this also so you might want advice from someone who has tried all of them, but that said, I've tried Liberty 1.5 and Apex 1.4.1, and Apex is my favorite. Liberty has a Toolbox that is sort of like an app where you can add various themes and adjust different things about the OS. You can also add back some Blur options, like the camera interface and gallery (which I did at the time because Liberty doesn't have an HD camera) but it's easy to fix. I think Liberty is probably the best for beginners because it's pretty straightforward. I cannot however remember if there was an option to turn off data throttling. The GPS was totally fine.

Apex is a little less user-friendly, but only slightly. Using the Apex Toolbox was really nowhere near as intimidating as I thought it would be. The toolbox in Apex is based in the Terminal Emulator. Basically you type "su" to allow superuser access and then "apextoolbox." It's really self-explanatory from there. There are some instructions around the forums and on the web, and I believe Fab has a wiki page about using it. There is definitely an option to turn off data throttling in the Apex Toolbox. I've used the GPS, and zero problems so far. The Blur camera/HD recording remain, and there are also options to add more Blur stuff too. Apex is more blurry than Liberty.

I ended up with Apex because Liberty made my phone do weird things, like randomly reboot. I had to pull the battery at least once a day, and that just drove me crazy. I've read and heard that this situation is pretty phone-dependent though. Having tried both, Apex runs faster on my phone and I like the options it has better.

Good luck with all this!

**Lobo23** · 03-16-2011, 07:31 PM

Liberty 1.5 gives me that!

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**SuperChargedJ** · 03-16-2011, 07:57 PM

Originally Posted by jamescordrey

Hey all, so I'm kinda new to custom roms and wonder if anyone can help me find a rom with the things I want. Here's what I'd like to have in a rom aside from a speedy lag free interface

-720p Video
-8mp Camera
-Bug free GPS
-Unthrottled data(or the ability to install a mod to have data unthrottled)

Too picky? Please let me know
Thanks in advanced

Rubix Focused 2.0.1 and then Libertyv.1.5 would be my second choice once you flash the Unthrottle hack.

**kismet769** · 03-17-2011, 02:01 AM

Apex has been the most solid for me, second would have to be Darkslide.

Apex keeps all the good Blur and forgoes the rest.

**irish22022** · 03-17-2011, 02:15 AM

Well, as you can see, there is one answer for ROMs. Droid-life.com did a survey recently and found that liberty was the ROM in charge right now. But that was before apex 1.4 dropped, so I don't know now.

I've used liberty, apex and darkslide:

Favorite (and highly recommended for beginners) is Liberty. Before you do anything, go to liberty setting and change the "keep in memory" to 50 rather then 25. That will solve the weird reboot issue on a lot of phones. It did for mine, I'd say 90% of the time. Admittedly, I get a random reboot once every 2 or 3 days. But the ease of the ROM makes it worth it, and knowing that the new version will drop in a few week, and KEJAR has said he found the source of the reboots - makes it not worth changing right now.

I've used Apex 1.4. I found INCREDIBLY klunky. So much so that I rewiped everything and reinstalled, and still was shocked at how slow the thing was. I did not like it at all, and was very annoyed with the blur that it kept (if you have a rooted phone, may as well have wycontacts, it's 100 times better and includes facebook sync unlike stock android phones).

Darkslide was okay. I frankly hate the look of it. I couldn't find a single benefit over liberty, so I just went back to liberty.

I can tell you A LOT of people will swear by their ROMs without ever actually trying any other ROMs. There are sub-category android fanboys that run rampant all over these parts. You won't know which ROM works best until you suck it up and try a few.

**davidnc** · 03-17-2011, 04:40 AM

My vote would be for Rubix Focused 2.0.1,and then DarkSlide 4.2( DarkSlide4.3 should release any day now tho)

**ndwatkins** · 03-17-2011, 05:53 AM

Originally Posted by irish22022

Well, as you can see, there is one answer for ROMs. Droid-life.com did a survey recently and found that liberty was the ROM in charge right now. But that was before apex 1.4 dropped, so I don't know now.

I've used liberty, apex and darkslide:

Favorite (and highly recommended for beginners) is Liberty. Before you do anything, go to liberty setting and change the "keep in memory" to 50 rather then 25. That will solve the weird reboot issue on a lot of phones. It did for mine, I'd say 90% of the time. Admittedly, I get a random reboot once every 2 or 3 days. But the ease of the ROM makes it worth it, and knowing that the new version will drop in a few week, and KEJAR has said he found the source of the reboots - makes it not worth changing right now.

I've used Apex 1.4. I found INCREDIBLY klunky. So much so that I rewiped everything and reinstalled, and still was shocked at how slow the thing was. I did not like it at all, and was very annoyed with the blur that it kept (if you have a rooted phone, may as well have wycontacts, it's 100 times better and includes facebook sync unlike stock android phones).

Darkslide was okay. I frankly hate the look of it. I couldn't find a single benefit over liberty, so I just went back to liberty.

I can tell you A LOT of people will swear by their ROMs without ever actually trying any other ROMs. There are sub-category android fanboys that run rampant all over these parts. You won't know which ROM works best until you suck it up and try a few.

I totally agree with this. As much of a pain in the **** it is to flash roms repeatedly, I would definitely recommend trying a few different ones. I'm probably going to try Rubix Focused next because I've heard lots of great things about it

**mdlissner** · 03-17-2011, 07:01 AM

Using Apex 1.4.1 right now. Had Liberty, Liberty 1.5 was nice - but didn't seem as solid as the previous version on my DroidX - others swear by it.

Apex 1.4.1 has been rock solid for me. No reboots - excellent speed. Waiting for Liberty or Apex to release a new version before I flash again.

**kismet769** · 03-17-2011, 10:27 AM

The best thing to do is pick a couple you like and give em a try for a while. I've tried Apex, (my favorite), Darkslide and Liberty.

Certain ROMs work better on different phones. Liberty was very buggy for me , it's a great ROM though, very user friendly.

I haven't tried Rubix yet but I am thinking about it. I just hate having to re-install everything and re-tweak again.

**SuperChargedJ** · 03-17-2011, 10:41 AM

Originally Posted by davidnc

My vote would be for Rubix Focused 2.0.1,and then DarkSlide 4.2( DarkSlide4.3 should release any day now tho)

Wow, if that's true I can't wait to see what Darkslide 4.3 brings.

**jamescordrey** · 03-17-2011, 03:13 PM

I think I'm gonna give Apex a shot...I like certain aspects of Blur; like Camera and the Contacts...now does it come with unthrottled data built in or will I have to flash a separate file?

**jamescordrey** · 03-17-2011, 03:26 PM

Sorry, I found my answer...(removed data throttling in v1.4.0)

**vudugan** · 03-17-2011, 04:10 PM

I've only tried Darkslide 4.2 which I have been using for the last month or 2 and it worked for me since flash. Had good times flashing Winmo ROMs but didn't want to get back in depth like that with Android. So I vote DS4.2

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**BigSkyX** · 03-17-2011, 04:48 PM

I rooted a few months ago and finally went to a custom ROM last week with Apex. I can't speak to any others since Apex is the only one I have used but can say that it is far superior to stock in pretty much every way.

I do prefer the blur SMS and Mail apps and couldn't get them to install using the toolbox, but it isn't that big of a deal.

Good luck!

**Bald Steve** · 03-17-2011, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by davidnc

My vote would be for Rubix Focused 2.0.1,and then DarkSlide 4.2( DarkSlide4.3 should release any day now tho)

+1. Installed Rubix 2.0.1 yesterday and it is so fast and stable. The quick clock app is phenomenal, too. It runs tests on your x and optimizes the performance of the processor.

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**davidnc** · 03-18-2011, 05:03 AM

Originally Posted by SuperChargedJ

Wow, if that's true I can't wait to see what Darkslide 4.3 brings.

Over at "My Droid World " they report that its running well , still in beta but sounds like close to an release.

RubiX is running so good tho be tough decision when to try it out,,,, when the release happens lol

Originally Posted by Bald Steve

+1. Installed Rubix 2.0.1 yesterday and it is so fast and stable. The quick clock app is phenomenal, too. It runs tests on your x and optimizes the performance of the processor.

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Yup I purchased the Advanced quickclock( since I liked the rubix version of quick clock so much) when I tried out an earlier version of rubiX

**jamescordrey** · 03-18-2011, 12:36 PM

So far I like Apex a lot...the only quirk I had with it was the Toolbox. I attempted to load an alternative keyboard and the end result left with me with Swype only. So I had to flash the gingerbread keyboard in recovery. Is this a problem with all Apex Roms or did I do something wrong. Also is there a fix? The toolbox has some really neat features I'd like to take advantage of.

**ndwatkins** · 03-18-2011, 08:19 PM

You know, after I posted I had this problem too. It was pretty minor so I didn't freak out much, but I also wonder why it happened! I ended up downloading XDA's Gingerbread keyboard apk, since I know I'm in the minority but Swype is just unusable for me. I tried reinstalling through the toolbox, rebooting, etc. and no dice.

Either way, fixed now, but I'm still curious!

Edit : I've never had any other problems installing stuff from the toolbox, if that helps. Just the keyboard thing!

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**kismet769** · 03-19-2011, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by jamescordrey

So far I like Apex a lot...the only quirk I had with it was the Toolbox. I attempted to load an alternative keyboard and the end result left with me with Swype only. So I had to flash the gingerbread keyboard in recovery. Is this a problem with all Apex Roms or did I do something wrong. Also is there a fix? The toolbox has some really neat features I'd like to take advantage of.

I know a few days ago Fab was transferring his site to a new server. Not sure if he's done or not. Last thing on his Twitter was a couple of days ago.