Need help/advice with new Sprint Hero

[drdeath91]

My wife and I finally convinced a Sprint Rep that her Pre was a total POS and they are giving us a Hero to shut us up (she is not eligible for a new phone for another 12+ months). My question to my new Android brethren is:

1. What is the difference between 2.2 and 2.1 (I have an EVO, and its my first Android device, so I don't know what the differences are)
2. If rooting is nessecary to make the device run well, what are some good roms to look for?

I'm not lazy, I just don't know where to start looking on this massive forum. Any help is appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[user7618]

Welcome! :-D

Truthfully, to get the most out of your Hero root is the only way. Any rom runs much better than the stock Sense rom. As for rom suggestions, 2.1 I would suggest Iced Honey Bun, which you can pick up here on AC in the roms/hacks section of the Hero board. It is an excellent rom and it's dev, beezy420, does a great job of supporting his rom and those of us that use it. It is a Sense based rom, so if your wife is digging the widgets, this would be the way to go. It is my Sense rom of choice.
Now, for 2.2, there are a couple choices, but the best would be Cyanogen 6.0.0. This is a AOSP rom, so no Sense widgets, but those can be replaced somewhat with Launcherpro Plus. This is my daily rom.
I'll hop on the pc and dig up links for these two roms. Cm6 is over on xda. If you have any specific questions, please ask. The community here is great.

EDIT: Links for roms

Iced Honey Bun

Cyanogen 6.0.0

Sent from my CDMA Hero. I got some hot Froyo on Hero action here!

 

[drdeath91]

I'm a former Pre user, so we patched our devices to make minor tweaks to the OS. What does rooting do in comparison. In other words what does Iced Honey Bun do or not do in comparison to stock Sense.

Seriously, I love all of these blogs and forums. PreCentral was good but AC is even better...

 

[qdigga]

Excellent resource for "root"

http://www.androidcentral.com/root

 

[tlower]

Check out this link, you will find everything you need about rooting your Hero. Have Fun!

 

[user7618]

I'm a former Pre user, so we patched our devices to make minor tweaks to the OS. What does rooting do in comparison. In other words what does Iced Honey Bun do or not do in comparison to stock Sense.

Seriously, I love all of these blogs and forums. PreCentral was good but AC is even better...

One of the biggest things would be wireless tether. That will save you $30 a month. IHB is really not too different than the stock sense, it all comes down to the amount of customization you can do. The rom devs are also a lot more responsive to fixing their roms than the carriers are.



Sent from my CDMA Hero. I got some hot Froyo on Hero action here!