New GS2 on the way, new to Android, WWYD? Plz pick a question!

[zero.]

i have exhaustedly researched my choice for a first Android phone for months (coming from a very custom tweaked and extremely usable iP 3GS). i finally bit the bullet on an AT&T SG2, and a $10 refurb at that... what a deal w/ my really good old data plan. quite happy and excited about this! should receive midweek.

i have checked the stickies and will continue to research more.

now some questions for you guys please:

1 - eventually this thing is destined to be on ICS, rooted, flashed, and maybe overclocked etc. but i am not in a rush for that. i want to learn a bit about android and kind of survey the territory as needed. but i dont know how important it is to learn GB at all if ICS is already available even if not OEM. would you stay OEM GB or just find an ICS port right away? if so, which one? if not, why? i am simply assuming that there are ICS ports at all, so excuse if i am assuming incorrectly.

2 - is it true that OEM ICS will be coming in Q1 or Q2? ANSWERED!

3 - this is a refurb... what's your short list for things to look for, evaluate, or even stress test in the 90 day warranty period?

4 - what are your votes for must-have apps? my main functions are forums (tapatalk is already on my list), texting (i will probably appreciate a great sms app), and google reader.

5 - i neurotically manage my iphone's RAM to keep it snappy. i hear thats not the android way. any thoughts or suggestions?

6 - i like it clean and not cluttered, so i may look onto things like nova and stuff... if you were me would you hold out on that much customization if you knew you were heading to ICS when available?

7 - any special case recommendations?

8 - is an ext battery worth it?

9 - regarding ROMs and stuff, i love features, speed, and stability. but i don't intend to flash regularly, just as needed to get what i want and keep it tight. any suggestions for this?

I've only held the phone in my hand at a corp store for a few mins so only know the phone from gathered online info, which is quite a lot. looks like i chose wisely. anything else you can throw at me to get off on the right foot?

thanks a million, this forum was the primary source to help me choose confidently.

~z

 

[mclifford82]

Re: New GS2 on the way, new to Android, WWYD?

4 - what are your votes for must-have apps? my main functions are forums (tapatalk is already on my list), texting (i will probably appreciate a great sms app), and google reader.

Probably the most important thing is to find a keyboard you like the best. You can try out swype, but I really dislike it. I have found Perfect Keyboard to be the most similar to the iPhone keyboard. Podcatcher -- BeyondPod. File Manager -- Astro Pro. Reader is the official google reader app. RedLaser -- all purpose barcode/QR code scanner. StreamZoo -- cross-platform Instagram. Emit -- analogous to Air Video, which streams video from your computer over WiFi or the net to your phone. Does live conversion. I enjoy the standard messaging app just fine.

5 - i neurotically manage my iphone's RAM to keep it snappy. i hear thats not the android way. any thoughts or suggestions?

Not entirely sure what you were doing managing RAM on an iPhone. The last one of those I had was the iPhone 4 and it wasn't an issue. Anyway, Android has lots of task killers, including a built-in one that works just fine for my needs. I open it every once in a while and see if there are any programs running that I don't need, and if there are I just kill them.

6 - i like it clean and not cluttered, so i may look onto things like nova and stuff... if you were me would you hold out on that much customization if you knew you were heading to ICS when available?

I wouldn't wait. Just customize to your heart's content. Otherwise you're stuck with bland until some unknown date in the future. From what I've heard ICS is coming in 2012. Great.

7 - any special case recommendations?

Mine goes nekkid.

8 - is an ext battery worth it?

Ext batteries tend to add bulk and have special covers that alter the way the phone feels. I went the route of just having an extra battery and charger and I can swap them out. Keeps the phone svelte.

9 - regarding ROMs and stuff, i love features, speed, and stability. but i don't intend to flash regularly, just as needed to get what i want and keep it tight. any suggestions for this?

I don't have much experience with this (just flashed a new ROM tonight), but the one I've tried is called UnNamed ROM. From the very little time I've spent with it, my battery life has improved, and it certainly has some cool features, such as letting you use the vol up/down for taking pictures, more toggles in the notification area including a flashlight button (damn do I use this more than I thought I would). Check the link below for what it changes:

[ROM][2.3.6] UnNamed v2.2.1 - (12/22/2011) - Improved battery life and performance - xda-developers

Finally, get ready to fall in love with this beast of a phone.

 

[R6Blitz]

+ 1 for unnamed rom(siyah kernel) I'm at 48 hours on battery with 24% left and light to moderate use.

Android manages memory good itself.

Go SMS is great.

I'm waiting for cm9, but that will be a while I think.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk

 

[1jaxstate1]

Re: New GS2 on the way, new to Android, WWYD?

I say get the extra battery. I'm getting good battery life, but a spare is always nice.

I've yet to flash my new GS2, I'm actually liking Touch Wiz 4.0. I don't intend on flashing with a new ROM anytime soon, unless some must have feature/function is added that I don't have access. As of right now, the phone is damn near perfect as is.

 

[Entropy]

Re: New GS2 on the way, new to Android, WWYD? Plz pick a question

If you're looking for stability - I would suggest VillainROM 3.0 + Hellraiser.

VR3.0 is based on one of the most stable I9100 firmware bases (XXKI3), and Hellraiser is a tool to port I9100 ROMs to the I777. Read through the I777 development forums on XDA for more info.

Titanium Backup is a must-have for those who have rooted their device.

Unfortunately, the out-of-the-box experience of the GS2 is poor due to stupid firmware bugs that AT&T put into the device. The original factory firmware, UCKH7, has a defective widget that eats data like crazy. Good news is that nuking the AP Mobile widget is easy if you're rooted.

The December update, UCKK6, is notorious for poor battery life on wifi.

So far the most stable and robust firmware I've used is the international XXKI3 base. Note that you cannot run I9100 firmware on your phone without modifications! You'll see a lot of references on XDA to Hellraiser - it's a package that you can flash after installing an I9100 ROM that makes it function well on the I777.

OEM ICS from AT&T probably won't be until 2013, knowing them. A port of the I9100 release depends on two things:
1) When the I9100 release actually comes out
2) How tough it is to resolve audio routing issues with the ported I9100 release on an I777. Unfortunately, the audio I/O of the I777 differs from the I9100.

 

[psufan32]

Re: New GS2 on the way, new to Android, WWYD? Plz pick a question

I'd play around with Touchwiz for a bit before deciding if you'll go the ROM route or not. I wasn't 100% sold on Touchwiz prior to getting the phone, but I've customized so that I have only one home screen with the time at the top, with the BeWeather widget underneath, eBuddy XMS, Text messaging, Calendar and Contacts on one line, and Phone, Gmail, Internet and Apps on the "always there" row at the bottom. Keeps things clean and uncluttered. I couldn't imagine having 7 home screens or something ridiculous like that. All of my apps are then in the "Apps" folder, like FB, Twitter, Google+, Google Music, Spotify, TuneIn Radio Pro, Google Maps, Google Navigation, Flixtser, Tedbox, IMDB, YouTube, news apps, ScoreMobile and ScoreMobile FC, F1.com apps, adidas Google Shopper, Google Docs, Gas Buddy, etc. I took all the pre-loaded crap and the stuff that's on my home page (it appears both on the Home page and in the Apps folder) and put in a folder on the last page of "apps."

As for cases - mine is naked. I was waiting for a basic black Barely There case from Case Mate, but they still haven't released on. So far, I've been fine with a screen protector.

The built in Task Manager does a terrific job of killing apps. Whenever I finish a "session", I simply kill all apps.