How to start with my New One?

[Callum Orr]

Hey Guys,
i have been away from android for almost a year now, after having attempted getting into Windows Phone, however when my phone broke i jumped at the opportunity to get a HTC One.
i have a couple of questions about what to get started with, and any general advice.
Should i keep the HTC skin with the ONe, or would you recommend rooting and going for the stock android, or would you recomend any others such as Cyanogen Mod??
and are there any key apps i should be downloading and any that i should be removing from the phone??
thanks

 

[ajua]

I highly recommend you keep HTC Sense. It's good-looking, has great features like camera app with Zoes, Highlights and many more. One of the features I like the most about Sense 5 and I think it's been way overlooked is the keyboard. I've tried Google Keyboard, I bought SwiftKey and tried a few others. Stock apps like Gallery, the dialer, contacts and email app are good looking and you don't need replacements unless you want a feature they don't have.

The overall appearance and organization works very well. If you want more customization options without ditching Sense, install a third party launcher like Nova (that's what I use), Apex, Action Launcher, etc. This way you can customize icons, transitions and more. Give it some time, say 1-2 weeks, and if you don't like it that much, install a Google Play Edition ROM to get stock Android but I preferred Sense 5 in my case.

For advise I can tell you to stay away from any task killers and memory management apps. I don't see the need to use them in this day and age and can cause more harm than good.

The Android 4.3 with Sense 5 is coming before the end of this month. You can wait until you get before going to flash ROMs and whatnot. This way you can make a nandroid bakck with the latest stock software, firmware, radios, etc and not resort to looking for the latest ones in case you want to revert to stock again.

Besides the popular must-haves these are one of my favorite apps:

• EZ Weather HD: weather app free without ads (unlike other free weather app offerings) with a minimalistic interface and awesome widgets. If you install a 3rd launcher you will loose the weather widgets from Sense. If you use the Sense 5 launcher, you won't need another weather app for widgets.
• File Commander: file explorer app It has IMHO the best/friendliest interface and packs nice features. Free.
• Plume Premium: excellent Twitter client with the best interface and lots of features. I used to prefer Falcon Pro but Plume has a better looking interface for reading and it's under constant development, not like Falcon which had the be pulled from Google Play. Paid version removes ads, recommended.
• Smoothie: my favorite photo editor. It has a paid and free version. Try the free one and if you like, purchase the complete app to get more features and filters. Free options like Aviary, Pixlr Express and Snapseed are also great.
• Easy Uninstaller Pro: uninstaller app, not free. With it you can uninstall severals apps at once (you just need to tap to confirm for each one, though). You can sort your app list by name and date. If you are going to try plenty of apps, this can help you get rid of them quickly instead of going to Settings - Applications every time and scroll through a long list.
• AppSales: useful for tracking app prices and receiving notifications when one goes on sale. Free and a must have.
• Scan: for reading QR codes. Great interface and really simple to use. Free.
• Convertbee: unit and currency converter. It has a nice interface and tons of features. Free.

If your phone is carrier-branded you may have some apps that you can remove. If it's unlocked or dev edition, there's no need to remove anything.