Need a ROM Recommendation

[etnpnys]

My father-in-law wants to remove all the bloatware from his DX. I have rooted my previous HTC Sprint Hero and I had a different ROM on it every week - so I understand the schtick.

After rooting, would it be easier to adb and remove all the crap or to install another ROM? He likes his phone and would like to keep everything the same except for the crap.

No interest (yet) in Gingerbread or stock launchers or anything - he wants his phone without the bloat.

If another ROM, is there one that removes the bloat but keeps the launcher and all widgets and everything intact?

 

[ultravisitor]

You say he likes the phone as is but there is no interest in the stock launcher? Huh? Which is it?

 

[slycen]

He mistyped I'm sure. He probably meant he doesn't want custom launchers. It would be better to either get root explorer and remove the bloat, or do it from ADB. All the roms are pretty non-standard, by that I mean that a lot of AOSP based and won't have the motorola launcher and widgets. I mean, the best rom I've used on Froyo was Rubix focused 2.0 which was fast and bloatless but had a funky keyboard that you would need to replace to get back to stock, but that isn't that difficult. Also non of the roms I've used have had moto widgets which is why I think just removing the bloat manually would be the best path for you. Hope this helps.

 

[etnpnys]

You say he likes the phone as is but there is no interest in the stock launcher? Huh? Which is it?

My bad. What I meant was that he has no interest in the VANILLA Android launcher - he likes the Moto one.

Thanx for your feedback, guys!

 

[ultravisitor]

I think you can go with rubiX Blurry. That's rubiX with the Blur elements still intact.

 

[kentusmc]

Another option that may solve this is simply to use Titanium to freeze the bloatware after rooting, that way everything is stock, and isn't a custom rom.

 

[friguy3#AC]

id go with apex...you can remove adw and it has all the blur in it. I dont want to use a rom where parts dont work right and apex is perfect

 

[ultravisitor]

With ApeX, you have to add back some parts of Blur and remove other parts you don't want via the toolbox. I would think it's easiest to just go with rubiX Blurry. I've only tried rubiX Focused, but that one is awesome. I would think that rubiX Blurry is just as great.

 

[.46caliber]

If you remove the bloat via root explorer or ADB, he will not be able to upgrade to the next update unless the bloat is put back. Deleting bloat is not the best idea.

ROMming a DX is a bit of a different ball game than an HTC Hero. If you go that route, do your homework first. Read tutorials and the directions carefully.

You have two options really to help your father-in-law with the bloat.

Option 1: Root the phone, install Titanium Backup Pro. Use Titanium Backup Pro to freeze the bloat. It will not show up in his drawer, it won't run in the background. The phone completely ignores those files. But they are still intact when it comes time for an official OTA update. Just un-freeze and update. This would be the simplest and easiest route and it would not require your father-in-law to learn anything new. If my father-in-law came to me with the same request, this would be my choice.

Option 2: Install a custom ROM that retains all the Blur elements. Since that is what he is used to and wants, you'll have to find a ROM with Blur. I honestly don't know much about Blur ROMs because they've never interested me. I'm not sure how much Blur they do or don't retain. With a ROM though, there may be more options and settings tweaks that he can get into and the expanded field may not appeal to him.