Hi, my name is Brandon... I've been on the forum wagon for months- I've lurked mostly in the Epic forums and here in the
NS4g halls despite reading
AC news daily because I swore after breaking my 1st Rooted Epic that the update leaks were too frequent for me to bother getting caught up in it all... again.
It was Paul and his stable ROMS that got me into this flashing mess in the Epic days... and while I may have ponderd defecting at the launch of the Nexus S4g... I'd have to say it was his own defection and my defective Asurion Epic replacement that eventually drove me here to stay.
After the official
GB Epic update still didn't fix my bluetooth issues and created a GPS problem- I really had no choice.
I do have to say- the Nexus S ROM development and it's volume of support is staggering when it comes to options - but quite frankly, STOCK
GB IMHO really stinks in my humble opinion.
(IF you don't like rants- stop reading now as I drag out my soapbox and start a riot with my heracy)
Now
ICS has made some huge strides - possibly most of all - the great keyboard/dictionary/grammar and improved voice command features- something many take for granted are shockingly improved. And to have an email app in android that actually appears to WORK rather than the butchered Samsung touchwiz one that seems to always be a mess despite 3 OS updates on the Epic sure is refreshing...
Shame really that Google doesn't copy ADW/Go and HTC more so we have all the options we want in a stock launcher without having to resort to other means... but alas- I'll gladly donate to someone who can work up the following mods to stock
ICS- although I'd rather see Google get Mettias off his rump and add an option or two themselves. (by the way- I had a Palm Pre and Web OS was NOT all that... I fear he may actually strip out options rather than add ones if we look back at the Pre for reference)
1. Remove the google bar option (better yet- put it in the notification tray where it belongs!)
2. Adjustable home screen options. If Go launcher can support an infinite number of home screens- why is stock stuck on 5? Being able to adjust the grid to 4x5 or 5x5 is a must as well. And changing app icons to look like any other icon (ie: change an ugly one for another like in Go) goes a long way to a more zen experience- and let me hide the status bar- we've all got clock and date widgets already.
3. Yippie
ICS has google+ widgets... um Google- did you forget something for the past few OS updates... ie: a Google Reader Widget? Seriously what are you waiting for? And your calendar widget is a joke either fix it or delete it- but someone needs a demotion over the disgrace that it is currently.
4. Option to put folders in the app tray and widget tray- I want to group my widgets- some
apps have way too many widgets- but if I could group them in kind in 1 folder- I wouldn't mind if an app had 10 widget varieties.
5. Backup the launcher settings and export to storage- many non stock launchers do it- why can't google?
6. Phone backup WITHOUT Root. I can't get family members to ditch an idevice if Android refuses to allow application and app data backup - the fact that the #1 troubleshooting method of any cell carrier in the US for an android phone is to factory reset and wipe all data from a phone that has no official backup method quite frankly makes Android the WORST mobile OS I've ever come across. I love it for the customizations it provides me- but if I'm to tell the world how great it is... Google needs to try harder - instead- after spending time with stock
GB and
ICS I see WHY the OEMS try so hard to skin the devices- because for the common layperson- Google hardly makes an effort (
ICS is the 1st major step - and it still has a long way to go) to making this easy to use for the common user... which hate to break it to you - will never visit a blog about mobile devices.
So happy to have a phone that seems to solidly work compared to the Epic- and yet still feed my need for customizations... now I just need to convince my wife to ditch her keyboard ways and join us. (I won't hold my breath though)
