My HTC Hero running 2.1
So there I was, sitting in front of my desk gripping my phone, contemplating throwing it against a wall. Actually, let me step back a bit. I got my phone in November 2009. Initially I noticed a bit of lag while switching screens and going through settings and such, after a while it was atrocious. So I decided to Root my Hero and install Modaco’s custom rom, which at the time was based on 1.5 still. At first it was bit snappier, but after a short time I noticed that lag again, in fact it had gotten even worse.
I dealt with it for months, all the while contemplating buying an unlocked Milestone or maybe a Nexus One. A 2.1 rom leaked back in December 2009, but it was buggy to the piont of being useless, so I never even toyed with it. recently however, a much more stable 2.1 rom has been leaked from the Eris, and was quickly ported over to the Hero. So now I am happily running Villainrom 3.2, with 3.3 having just been released.
I now have the new market, google goggles, voice nav, 3d gallery (with a hiccup), and various other new features such as the ability to zoom out to all of my desktops for quick navigation. when my phone booted for the first time with that colorful X animation I was excited, once it booted completely to 2.1 I think I fainted.
The phone is so much more responsive, it’s retarded. I have yet to experience a freeze or a significant FC problem. I notice that programs are managed much better in 2.1, which I’m sure can be credited for some of the speed improvements.
The ability to zoom out to all 7 desktops is awesome, and the transition is exceptionally smooth, even on the Hero’s limited hardware. It used to take me minutes, literally, to get into application management through the settings menu, now its mere seconds. The keyboard is more responsive, and seems to support multi touch.
That’s not to say that there are not draw backs, such as the crappy battery life. The 3d gallery works fine in either portrait or landscape mode, until you rotate while in the gallery. It then goes crazy and you have to back out. Navigation through google maps w/voice works well enough, but the actual navigation application that comes in 2.1 does not seem to be working. GPS works, but you might have to turn it on, and then restart before it actually turns on.
do keep in mind that this is a custom rom based on a leaked Eris rom. It is NOT an official rom, and its fairly new, hence the issues that it has. I imagine the official 2.1 update, due sometime this month if I’m not mistaken, will undoubtedly be far more stable, probably even snappier, and should not have any of these problems. But that said, I am using this rom as my day-to-day rom, and have no intention of abandoning it until a better custom 2.1 rom is released, or the official update comes out. I won’t be going back to 1.5. Thanks to 2.1 I can now live with my phone, for now… but I want a Nexus One :p
here is the link to Villainrom if you would like to download it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=622468
and if you’re phone is not already rooted or you don’t know how to load a custom rom, let me know and I’ll point you in the right direction.
if you have any other questions, leave them in the comment box.
No comments:
Post a Comment