Ok I'm confused.....(Vanilla Android VS Sense UI)

[youngzayiles]

Well with Moto or Samsung, even if they're not putting a UI over a phone, they still add to it with their drivers and/or bloatware, etc. It's not just aosp. The reason an update can hit the N1 so much faster is because it's just aosp. So when google makes a code commit to android it will work fastest on builds of android that are closest to what google committed code to. Even things like dialer codes, prl, pri updates change the stock android experience and add another step in taking an updated piece of google code and making it work for a moment or droid, etc.

As far as efficiency for me it's not so much performance but more just knowing that the only things that I use are what's there and anything I don't want is gone. I don't have to remove sprint TV or amazon mp3 because they weren't their in the first place. I equate it to what I do with a new computer, I wipe it and perform a clean install of the OS and only put what I want there, sure my computer can handle more but I just want to use what I want.

As far as the aesthetic for me, I really dig Launcher Pro and didn't want the sense launcher running (even blank) in the background. I also like having home screens that can rotate so I can use the phone natively horizontally and on the kick stand. The lock screen was huge for me as well. These are things that can all be removed from a rooted sense rom, it's not even a lot of work, there are also apps that be installed to change your lock screen. for me though I just dig it.

Everyone's going to have their own opinion and from motoblur to sense to stock android there are plus and minuses, that's the great thing about android though is everyone is working to have what everyone else has and it only means better things everyday for us end users who like to tinker around a bit.

Ok well now that explains alot... I wasent aware that the manufacturers still put their own drivers etc. in their stock android phones.. I know what u mean when it comes to stuff like amazon, and sprint t.v... I havent opened up one of those apps since I had my evo... But I thought since all of these phones are carrier branded except the Nexus they kind of have to get some bloat ware do to the carriers sort of "branding" process...

 

[2CupsWithString]

Ok well now that explains alot... I wasent aware that the manufacturers still put their own drivers etc. in their stock android phones.. I know what u mean when it comes to stuff like amazon, and sprint t.v... I havent opened up one of those apps since I had my evo... But I thought since all of these phones are carrier branded except the Nexus they kind of have to get some bloat ware do to the carriers sort of "branding" process...

They put a lot on, I'm sure even 95% of it is helpful too. Just to give you an idea a HTC FroYo sense rom is about is 167MB, an aosp rom (cm6) is 67MB.

 

[DroidGnome]

Ok there is something that no one has mentioned directly, though they hint at it..

SenseUI is composed of TWO separate items as far as most users are concerned.

1) The Launcher itself
2) Embedded Code to support various Sense Only objects, such as Widgets, or Facebook integration of Contacts and such.

So if you have an Evo running a stock ROM (either rooted or fresh from the factory), you currently have both portions that your utilizing.

You can install a different launcher, which removes the Sense UI launcher functionality, but retains EVERYTHING else as it's already preloaded into the phone's ROM. Two of the more popular launchers are "Launcher Pro" and "ADW". I prefer Launcher Pro myself due to it's new gesture functionality.

That said, I'm also running a STOCK rooted ROM with HTC Sense. Why? Simply because I LOVE the integrated sense aspects of the contacts page and while I cannot use the Friendstream widget (One of the best widgets for messenging) I can still use the Friendstream APP! Which is basically the widget in app form rather than on your home.

Now some will say that just running the Sense UI elements at all will slow the phone down, bloat it's memory etc... but as others have said, the EVO can handle it just fine. I notice the launcher itself doesn't even load for me anymore on startup in 2.2 when not using it, so only the background functions appear to take up memory, and I use those so no problem.

The best thing to do would be to go into a phone store, or grab a friend with say a Nexus one that hasn't had a custom rom and you can see what Vanilla looks like. It's not bad, but you'll instantly see what Sense is giving you when you start to navigate and use your contacts, keyboard and I believe even the dialer. If you try to compare to a Droid or one of the new Samsung, remember they are using their own version of things, and are not standard Android at all.

As already stated if you decide to take the plunge to root your phone, as I have done, you can remove most of the extra non-HTC bloat like the amazon and TV stuff, even when using a stock rom. That way you get to keep the sense like feel of your apps, and the smaller (though not smallest possible) footprint.