Several months ago I wrote about my experiences as a new Android user followed a few months later by my experiences installing custom versions of the OS. Yesterday, Apple finally announced a new iPhone, which is a big speed boost from the iPhone 4, running on essentially the same hardware as the iPad 2. Next week, Google and Samsung are expected to announced the next version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, along with a new Nexus phone. I'll be watching very closely.
After five months with Android, I'm kind of fed up with it. Is it because I'm used to iOS? Very possibly, but I will also assign some blame to the phone itself. The T-Mobile LG G2x turned out to be something of a dud. Even with custom software installed, it still feels considerably slower my iPad with what should be roughly equivalent hardware (dual-core 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, Tegra 2 GPU). As it turns out, Google has refused to include GPU acceleration in the OS. (That link also explains the benefits.) This may seem like a minor issue, however, two of their competitors in this arena, Apple and Microsoft, included it in their phone OSes, and the difference in smoothness is incredible. The iPhone 4, an 18 month old phone, despite having a single core processor reportedly clocked around 800 MHz, still feels like a faster phone than almost anything with Android barring maybe some of the most recent releases like the Samsung Galaxy S II, and Samsung supposedly includes GPU acceleration in Touchwiz, their custom interface (I believe certain versions of Motorola's Blur have it, as well). It seems like a small issue, but it's a huge difference in usability. A day doesn't go by that my phone seems to miss a tap to its touchscreen or lags when I try to do something or seems to simply freeze for seconds at a time - issues I never had with my two year old iPhone 3GS. That doesn't even get into concerns that aren't about usability, but do show a lack of polish, such as non-smooth zooming, choppiness while scrolling, and so on. It gets really choppy in areas with bad "4G" reception, since it starts to switch between that and 2G which seems to eat a bunch of CPU cycles (and battery). Sure, it can be easily forced to use 2G only, but that's not much of a solution, though it's thankfully rarely a problem (and not one I'm willing to switch providers over). I've also recently been running into an issue of the phone having trouble reconnecting to Google's server after losing connection. This shouldn't be a big deal, except that I use Google Voice for text messaging, and without a connection to Google's servers, I don't have texts. (Well, not explicitly true. I can still send them through T-Mobile, but then I have to use my phone's actual number, which not a lot of people have.)
It's not all bad. Things like home screen widgets are a great feature, and the sheer number of customization options is amazing. I'm going to see what Google has to offer next week, then probably switch phones to something else. I'm really interested in Windows Phone 7, but I'm not sure I want to drop the cash on it. We'll see.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out a week or so ago to XBox360, PS3, and PC. Being lazy, I decided to download it off Steam after hearing a handful of positive reviews from people I largely trust. Buying a new PC game is something I rarely do, so I was worried I wouldn't be interested, especially since it takes place in first person. There's been VERY few games I've really enjoyed that are first person, and none have been shooters, which this game appears to approach much more than the others (those being Portal and Portal 2, a pair of wonderful puzzle games, and Mirror's Edge, a deeply flawed, but gorgeous and fun first person action game). Also as a disclaimer, I haven't played the original or its much-hated sequel, so I can't make any comparisons to those.
After the download was completed, I started playing, and pretty much didn't stop for another six hours. That's something I haven't done in ages. I tweeted that it's the most into a game I've been since Mass Effect 2, and that's accurate. The comparison is actually pretty appropriate too: they're both story-driven western RPGs, they both have a cover-based shooting mechanic (ME2 being in third person), and they both have a science fiction feel. They're not identical by any stretch, of course. ME2 is set in the far future and follows a story with consequences that affect the entire galaxy. Deus Ex, by contrast, is a much more intimate cyberpunk story set in 2027 with consequences that might affect a single, fledgling company. You play as Adam Jensen, the head of security for biotech company that's developed a number of cybernetic augmentations, a fairly new industry that's under attack from all sides. After an attack on the company, Jensen is put through a series of surgeries and given a number of augmentations to save his life, which is where the story really begins (the attack serves as a short combat tutorial for the most part).
At this point, you're dropped into the actual game. The world of 2027 is dirty, grimy and shows an obvious class separation that would makes today look like we're all on an even footing. Augmented humans have a large amount of prejudice against them, derogatorily called "augs," with a number of groups trying to get augmentation banned and a growing "pure human" movement. So far, the game has taken me to two locations, both of which are about as described. You're dropped into an environment with a mission to carry out, but without much in the way of a time limit, so exploration is rewarded with some experience points, and loot (guns, ammo, upgrade points, etc.), and talking to the right people can trigger side missions away from the main ones.
Combat occurs every so often, but the game seems to push you towards a more stealthy approach: nonlethal methods of taking down enemies give bonus experience, and there's an achievement for completing the game without killing any non-boss enemies (bosses have to be killed, in one of the most common complaints), as well as one for not triggering any alarms. The fights are pretty typical cover-shooter fights, although the enemy AI is not the best. Basically, enemies in the area will move towards you, and that's about as complex as it gets. Which is fine, and it may be intentional to push players to the stealthy approach. Between combat sequences, there's often parts that require talking to characters to gather information or just get something done. These often require remembering what you've seen and done recently, and certain augments can make this a lot easier. One gives you the option to release pheromones to influence other characters. I usually try to do without just for the added challenge. Conversation trees are somewhat like Mass Effect, but there's no morality component to it, and they only seem to directly affect the conversation you're in.
Graphically, it's not the best game I've seen, but not the worst either. Character models are unique and interestingly designed. Facial animations are pretty good, although not always synced with the voice acting. Speaking of which, it's all over the place. Jensen speaks with a low, gravelly voice that rarely conveys any emotion. It fits with the tone of the game, and is well-voiced, but I'm still not sure it was the best choice. Other characters aren't so good. It's clear that many of the voice actors, if nothing else, don't speak English as much as French (it was developed in Montreal, Canada) and sometimes inflections are off as a result. Still, it's good enough.
All in all, I'm loving the game, and have been playing it as much as I can find time for. I totally recommend it, especially to those who prefer slower games to twitch action games.
After the download was completed, I started playing, and pretty much didn't stop for another six hours. That's something I haven't done in ages. I tweeted that it's the most into a game I've been since Mass Effect 2, and that's accurate. The comparison is actually pretty appropriate too: they're both story-driven western RPGs, they both have a cover-based shooting mechanic (ME2 being in third person), and they both have a science fiction feel. They're not identical by any stretch, of course. ME2 is set in the far future and follows a story with consequences that affect the entire galaxy. Deus Ex, by contrast, is a much more intimate cyberpunk story set in 2027 with consequences that might affect a single, fledgling company. You play as Adam Jensen, the head of security for biotech company that's developed a number of cybernetic augmentations, a fairly new industry that's under attack from all sides. After an attack on the company, Jensen is put through a series of surgeries and given a number of augmentations to save his life, which is where the story really begins (the attack serves as a short combat tutorial for the most part).
At this point, you're dropped into the actual game. The world of 2027 is dirty, grimy and shows an obvious class separation that would makes today look like we're all on an even footing. Augmented humans have a large amount of prejudice against them, derogatorily called "augs," with a number of groups trying to get augmentation banned and a growing "pure human" movement. So far, the game has taken me to two locations, both of which are about as described. You're dropped into an environment with a mission to carry out, but without much in the way of a time limit, so exploration is rewarded with some experience points, and loot (guns, ammo, upgrade points, etc.), and talking to the right people can trigger side missions away from the main ones.
Combat occurs every so often, but the game seems to push you towards a more stealthy approach: nonlethal methods of taking down enemies give bonus experience, and there's an achievement for completing the game without killing any non-boss enemies (bosses have to be killed, in one of the most common complaints), as well as one for not triggering any alarms. The fights are pretty typical cover-shooter fights, although the enemy AI is not the best. Basically, enemies in the area will move towards you, and that's about as complex as it gets. Which is fine, and it may be intentional to push players to the stealthy approach. Between combat sequences, there's often parts that require talking to characters to gather information or just get something done. These often require remembering what you've seen and done recently, and certain augments can make this a lot easier. One gives you the option to release pheromones to influence other characters. I usually try to do without just for the added challenge. Conversation trees are somewhat like Mass Effect, but there's no morality component to it, and they only seem to directly affect the conversation you're in.
Graphically, it's not the best game I've seen, but not the worst either. Character models are unique and interestingly designed. Facial animations are pretty good, although not always synced with the voice acting. Speaking of which, it's all over the place. Jensen speaks with a low, gravelly voice that rarely conveys any emotion. It fits with the tone of the game, and is well-voiced, but I'm still not sure it was the best choice. Other characters aren't so good. It's clear that many of the voice actors, if nothing else, don't speak English as much as French (it was developed in Montreal, Canada) and sometimes inflections are off as a result. Still, it's good enough.
All in all, I'm loving the game, and have been playing it as much as I can find time for. I totally recommend it, especially to those who prefer slower games to twitch action games.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Why I won't be playing Diablo III
In the past couple days, Blizzard announced a few things about their upcoming sure-to-be megahit Diablo III. The two that stood out are the creation of a real money auction house for selling in-game loot, and that playing the game will require an always-on internet connection, even when playing single player. The former isn't a particularly big deal to me. Having played previous installments of the series, I don't really care if some random dude has way better gear than me. I don't really play PvP stuff, so if it means he's killing more stuff than me, it's not a big deal. On top of that, I'd mostly be playing with friends, so it's even less of an issue, unless they decide to make cash-only items that affect gameplay, but I don't see that happening. (Cash-only items that don't do anything, well, that will almost certainly happen if World of Warcraft is followed.
The second, however, is a major problem. Not as a practical concern - my internet connection is quite stable - but as an ideological one. I'm not a fan of DRM, in general, but I'm okay with it if it's unobtrusive. Valve's Steam system is a pretty good example. You can't take your games away from Steam, but that's all the built-in DRM. Publishers can add their own to games on Steam, however, which can be annoying, but is generally not much more than a serial number. Requiring an always-on connection means that any time it goes out, even briefly, your game ends. It means you can't put it on a laptop and play on an airplane. I'm not totally against DRM, but I can understand the reasoning from publishers. This is just too far, and I won't support any game that does it (provided it's not an online multiplayer game, but I think that's obvious). Maybe there's more to it. Maybe people can just randomly join your game, and there's really no such thing as a "single-player" game in this. If that's the case, I'll reconsider, but probably won't change my mind. It's unfortunate, but I hope more people do the same.
The second, however, is a major problem. Not as a practical concern - my internet connection is quite stable - but as an ideological one. I'm not a fan of DRM, in general, but I'm okay with it if it's unobtrusive. Valve's Steam system is a pretty good example. You can't take your games away from Steam, but that's all the built-in DRM. Publishers can add their own to games on Steam, however, which can be annoying, but is generally not much more than a serial number. Requiring an always-on connection means that any time it goes out, even briefly, your game ends. It means you can't put it on a laptop and play on an airplane. I'm not totally against DRM, but I can understand the reasoning from publishers. This is just too far, and I won't support any game that does it (provided it's not an online multiplayer game, but I think that's obvious). Maybe there's more to it. Maybe people can just randomly join your game, and there's really no such thing as a "single-player" game in this. If that's the case, I'll reconsider, but probably won't change my mind. It's unfortunate, but I hope more people do the same.
Monday, August 1, 2011
From Dust and Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D
When last I talked games, I missed a big one: Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D, for the Nintendo 3DS, somewhat obviously. This is one of my big gaming confessions: I've never played OoT all the way through. In fact, the only Zelda games I've completed are Twilight Princess (Wii) and Link's Awakening (Game Boy). So I was kind of excited to see OoT come to the 3DS in a somewhat changed manner. While it still largely looks like a Nintendo 64 game, side-by-side image comparisons show that it's pretty significantly improved. It's still far from modern-looking, but it looks a lot better, and really, I'm not playing games on a 3" screen for their graphics. What I'm playing it for is the actual game itself, and having played games that aren't 16 years old, it definitely feels like it is. Controls aren't quite as tight as more modern games, and it has some mechanics that seem really strange in light of more current games. Nothing game-breaking or even particularly difficult, but still somewhat annoying. On the plus side, it's not like the DS Zelda games where everything is controlled by the touchscreen. I can't really make a recommendation here, since anyone who's played the game knows what it is, and anyone who hasn't is probably still aware that it's consistently lauded as not just one of the best in its series (or the best, depending on who you ask - though its only major competitor is the SNES's Link to the Past), but possibly one of the best games of all time. I think 16 years of love says far more than I can on the matter, but just beware that it's a 16 year old game, and wears that on its shoulder.
On the newer side of things, I also downloaded From Dust on XBox Live Arcade, the second of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade selections. From Dust plays somewhat like the old PC game, Populous. You play as a god, I suppose, leading a group of villagers from map to map by creating pathways for them to move around the map. They can't cross water or lava, so the puzzles often involve transporting soil from one area to another to create a land bridge. You also gain more powers as the story goes on - things like the ability to move more stuff at a time or evaporate a large amount of water on the map for a short period of time. So far it's been okay, but I'm not sure I can say I really love it. It's not been terribly difficult and I appear to be more than halfway through the story (assuming the map it shows of the various lands is accurate) despite barely playing it. I'd check out the demo and go from there.
On the newer side of things, I also downloaded From Dust on XBox Live Arcade, the second of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade selections. From Dust plays somewhat like the old PC game, Populous. You play as a god, I suppose, leading a group of villagers from map to map by creating pathways for them to move around the map. They can't cross water or lava, so the puzzles often involve transporting soil from one area to another to create a land bridge. You also gain more powers as the story goes on - things like the ability to move more stuff at a time or evaporate a large amount of water on the map for a short period of time. So far it's been okay, but I'm not sure I can say I really love it. It's not been terribly difficult and I appear to be more than halfway through the story (assuming the map it shows of the various lands is accurate) despite barely playing it. I'd check out the demo and go from there.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
3DS Ambassador!
As of last night, Nintendo has deemed me fit to be a 3DS Ambassador! What does one have to do to get into this elite club? Why, simply purchase a 3DS before the $80 price drop! Wait, that's not a good thing at all.
Due to sluggish sales, Nintendo has dropped the price of the 3DS by $80 to $170 (which is well worth it, honestly) after about six months of sales. It's unfortunate they had to do it, but I think it was completely expected with Sony announcing the PS Vita at the same $250 price point. $80 was more than I would have expected, however. At any rate, anyone who accesses the 3DS eStore before some date I forget is automatically made a "3DS Ambassador" and will eventually get 10 NES and 10 GBA games to download to their 3DS. Nintendo hasn't released the full list, but what they have (although the language suggests that it might be subject to change) looks like some quality, albeit a lot of stuff I've already played. It's a nice gesture, and one they didn't have to make, so I'm glad they're doing it. Still, I think I'd have rather saved the $80...
Due to sluggish sales, Nintendo has dropped the price of the 3DS by $80 to $170 (which is well worth it, honestly) after about six months of sales. It's unfortunate they had to do it, but I think it was completely expected with Sony announcing the PS Vita at the same $250 price point. $80 was more than I would have expected, however. At any rate, anyone who accesses the 3DS eStore before some date I forget is automatically made a "3DS Ambassador" and will eventually get 10 NES and 10 GBA games to download to their 3DS. Nintendo hasn't released the full list, but what they have (although the language suggests that it might be subject to change) looks like some quality, albeit a lot of stuff I've already played. It's a nice gesture, and one they didn't have to make, so I'm glad they're doing it. Still, I think I'd have rather saved the $80...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
On the playlist
It's been awhile since I've talked about games. Part of it is that I'm not sure what I have to say it particularly interesting or new. The other part is that I haven't really been in the mood to write much of anything. The final part is that I don't think I've played anything really substantial in awhile. So here's a bit of an update.
Ms. Splosion Man
As the title would suggest with its slight reference to Ms. Pac-Man (whose only difference, as we all know, is that she has a bow on her head), Ms. Splosion Man is the sequel to developer Twisted Pixel's 2009 game, Splosion Man, which was something I loved the hell out of when it came out, playing through the single player, and getting through most of multiplayer over the course of a couple days staying with a friend in Orlando on vacation. All that said, so far, Ms. hasn't quite captured me as much. It starts off much harder than the first game, which, while not that big a deal, can be a bit frustrating at times. There's some new gameplay features that I'm not sure were really playtested particularly well, or if Twisted Pixel ever stopped and asked "Is this fun?" As an example, within the first couple levels, you're put on a sequence of jumping from flying car to flying car, with a fall being fatal. It's not terribly difficult, but Twisted Pixel put so much work into animating the backgrounds and camera changes, that it can sometimes be difficult to tell where you are and what you're able to actually jump on. Ms. Splosion Man is, essentially, a pink stick figure, and every time you explode, she gets obscured in the blast. Combine that with controls that are maybe not quite as precision as one would like (and I'll grant that blowing up maybe shouldn't be easily controllable), and there's cases where sections are a lot harder than they really ought to be. Not that I'm complaining too much. I do really like the game, but it has some flaws that were either not apparent or simply not there in its predecessor. Twisted Pixel has also included several unlockable full motion videos, as seems to be their trademark gimmick, including an intro video for their proprietary BEARD engine. I'd recommend anyone interested to check out the first game first. It should be cheaper, if nothing else. Both are available on XBox Live Arcade.
Bastion
Another downloadable title, Bastion is an action RPG with some interesting gimmicks. For one, the whole game is narrated by another character, often with a dose of humor. If you start breaking everything in sight, the narrator says something along the line of "The Kid spent some time just raging at the world," but nothing repeats as far as I can tell, thankfully. The game world sort of grows around The Kid as he walks around. A level might start on a single platform, from which you walk to a path that flies up from below (you can fall of edges pretty easily). The art is all 2D sprites, done in an anime-inspired style, but with a very attractive watercolor aesthetic. The music that plays throughout is similarly really, really nice, and the narrator's voicework is really great (which is a good thing, since bad voicework would kill this game). All that said, it's been really repetitive so far. I'm not sure how much more I'm going to stick with it.
Child of Eden
This is the Kinect game I was waiting for. Child of Eden is the "spiritual" sequel to 2001 Dreamcast game Rez, one of my all-time favorite games. I put spiritual sequel in quotes, because there's no doubt that this is a story sequel, for what little story actually meant in Rez. The gameplay is similar, but not identical. Rez only offered a single way of attacking enemies (well, okay, two if you count the special weapon thing): target them, then release to fire. You could tap to attack, but it didn't make much difference either way. Child has this method, as well as another rapid fire attack that works better on some enemies than others. As I implied above, I got a Kinect for this. Rather than use a controller to move a reticule, playing with Kinect has you move each arm for each weapon, but only one at a time. I'm not really sold on the thing just yet. It seems to have trouble discerning one hand from the other sometimes, and it doesn't seem to add a whole lot to the game. It does turn down the difficulty, I am told. I haven't actually played more than the first level, but I'm trying to take it slow, since I know it's going to be a short game. And gosh is it pretty.
Ms. Splosion Man
As the title would suggest with its slight reference to Ms. Pac-Man (whose only difference, as we all know, is that she has a bow on her head), Ms. Splosion Man is the sequel to developer Twisted Pixel's 2009 game, Splosion Man, which was something I loved the hell out of when it came out, playing through the single player, and getting through most of multiplayer over the course of a couple days staying with a friend in Orlando on vacation. All that said, so far, Ms. hasn't quite captured me as much. It starts off much harder than the first game, which, while not that big a deal, can be a bit frustrating at times. There's some new gameplay features that I'm not sure were really playtested particularly well, or if Twisted Pixel ever stopped and asked "Is this fun?" As an example, within the first couple levels, you're put on a sequence of jumping from flying car to flying car, with a fall being fatal. It's not terribly difficult, but Twisted Pixel put so much work into animating the backgrounds and camera changes, that it can sometimes be difficult to tell where you are and what you're able to actually jump on. Ms. Splosion Man is, essentially, a pink stick figure, and every time you explode, she gets obscured in the blast. Combine that with controls that are maybe not quite as precision as one would like (and I'll grant that blowing up maybe shouldn't be easily controllable), and there's cases where sections are a lot harder than they really ought to be. Not that I'm complaining too much. I do really like the game, but it has some flaws that were either not apparent or simply not there in its predecessor. Twisted Pixel has also included several unlockable full motion videos, as seems to be their trademark gimmick, including an intro video for their proprietary BEARD engine. I'd recommend anyone interested to check out the first game first. It should be cheaper, if nothing else. Both are available on XBox Live Arcade.
Bastion
Another downloadable title, Bastion is an action RPG with some interesting gimmicks. For one, the whole game is narrated by another character, often with a dose of humor. If you start breaking everything in sight, the narrator says something along the line of "The Kid spent some time just raging at the world," but nothing repeats as far as I can tell, thankfully. The game world sort of grows around The Kid as he walks around. A level might start on a single platform, from which you walk to a path that flies up from below (you can fall of edges pretty easily). The art is all 2D sprites, done in an anime-inspired style, but with a very attractive watercolor aesthetic. The music that plays throughout is similarly really, really nice, and the narrator's voicework is really great (which is a good thing, since bad voicework would kill this game). All that said, it's been really repetitive so far. I'm not sure how much more I'm going to stick with it.
Child of Eden
This is the Kinect game I was waiting for. Child of Eden is the "spiritual" sequel to 2001 Dreamcast game Rez, one of my all-time favorite games. I put spiritual sequel in quotes, because there's no doubt that this is a story sequel, for what little story actually meant in Rez. The gameplay is similar, but not identical. Rez only offered a single way of attacking enemies (well, okay, two if you count the special weapon thing): target them, then release to fire. You could tap to attack, but it didn't make much difference either way. Child has this method, as well as another rapid fire attack that works better on some enemies than others. As I implied above, I got a Kinect for this. Rather than use a controller to move a reticule, playing with Kinect has you move each arm for each weapon, but only one at a time. I'm not really sold on the thing just yet. It seems to have trouble discerning one hand from the other sometimes, and it doesn't seem to add a whole lot to the game. It does turn down the difficulty, I am told. I haven't actually played more than the first level, but I'm trying to take it slow, since I know it's going to be a short game. And gosh is it pretty.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Adventures in custom Android ROMs
One of the nice things about Android is that it's open source, meaning developers can take Google or the phone manufacturer's code, hack it however they want, compile, and install on their phones. And if they're nice, share it with the rest of the world. Depending on the phone, this can range anywhere from simple (the Google Nexus phones) to impossible (any of a number of locked-down phones). The LG T-Mobile G2x falls on the latter side of that, requiring a couple simple tools to get it rooted and ready to install a new OS. Doing so requires wiping everything, but there's, again, tools to back everything up.
From there, it's a matter of finding and installing a custom ROM. The major repository for these is xda-developers.com, a huge forum of hackers working on dozens of phones from every major manufacturer, though more popular phones might have their own sites set up just for them. Naturally, not every ROM is going to be the same, but they generally offer improvements in speed, stability, and battery life over the shipped OS (at the cost of some convenience with updates, as well as voiding the phone's warranty, although in most cases, it's easy enough to return it to a state where it's impossible to tell it's been hacked). I find it kind of hilarious that this is the case, considering these are unpaid hackers doing it for fun, more or less. One or two of the major ROMs might make enough to live on, but that's about it. Most phones have many to choose from, although many of them, but a good number of those start with just one: CyanogenMod. From what I've gathered, the lead developer of the project, hacker-alias Cyanogen started on the original HTC G1 and has been working on the Android OS ever since, across a number of phones, and has recruited a number of other developers to work on phones he doesn't personally own. One such phone is mine, the G2x. It doesn't have a stable release yet, but I've been running the nightly builds since the early teens without many issues, and it continues to get better, currently at #89, though I think once a stable release is out (which might be sooner rather than later, since a release client was released a week or so ago), I'm just going to stop there.
CyanogenMod 7, the current version is based on Android 2.3.4, the most current release from Google. From there, the team makes a number of under-the-hood changes to the OS, as well as adding some rather nice features such as a "powerbar" (toggle switches for various things such as wifi, the LED, and so on) to the notification pull-down, "phone goggles" (set your phone to not let you call or text people after a certain time without solving math problems - yes, this is for those drunk dialers out there), as well as a whole host of new settings to further tweak the system to one's liking. Most importantly, it made my phone seem noticeably faster over stock. They've managed to keep the useful T-Mobile apps like wifi calling and visual voicemail as part of the OS, as well. All in all, it seems like a significant improvement over what was originally on the phone, even if it takes a bit more to manage it (I update maybe once a week, which takes about a half hour total).
Besides CM7, I briefly tried out Eaglesblood, which touts itself as the fastest ROM available. It seemed very snappy, but it had a pretty big issue in that it wouldn't properly mount my SD card when connected to my computer. I may have fixed that when CM7 started doing the same thing, but at this point, I'm not sure I want to bother wiping everything and starting over, even with backups all taken care of. I am, however, looking forward to the upcoming MIUI release for my phone, which looks like it goes in a completely different direction for Android. It looks almost like iOS, which isn't a bad thing in my book. But that doesn't have a set release, so we'll see when it comes around.
On Android, in general, I'm not 100% sure I'm sold yet, and this is multiple months down the line. It's still nowhere near as polished as iOS, and Google seems more intent on adding every feature they can think of than cleaning up what they have. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely a very Google way of thinking. I'm curious to see what they do with Ice Cream Sandwich, and I may snag whatever the next Nexus phone is, since that line is the purest Google experience possible. We'll see. I may just go back to an iPhone if for no reason other than that Android phones seem to be getting bigger and bigger, which is exactly not what I want.
From there, it's a matter of finding and installing a custom ROM. The major repository for these is xda-developers.com, a huge forum of hackers working on dozens of phones from every major manufacturer, though more popular phones might have their own sites set up just for them. Naturally, not every ROM is going to be the same, but they generally offer improvements in speed, stability, and battery life over the shipped OS (at the cost of some convenience with updates, as well as voiding the phone's warranty, although in most cases, it's easy enough to return it to a state where it's impossible to tell it's been hacked). I find it kind of hilarious that this is the case, considering these are unpaid hackers doing it for fun, more or less. One or two of the major ROMs might make enough to live on, but that's about it. Most phones have many to choose from, although many of them, but a good number of those start with just one: CyanogenMod. From what I've gathered, the lead developer of the project, hacker-alias Cyanogen started on the original HTC G1 and has been working on the Android OS ever since, across a number of phones, and has recruited a number of other developers to work on phones he doesn't personally own. One such phone is mine, the G2x. It doesn't have a stable release yet, but I've been running the nightly builds since the early teens without many issues, and it continues to get better, currently at #89, though I think once a stable release is out (which might be sooner rather than later, since a release client was released a week or so ago), I'm just going to stop there.
CyanogenMod 7, the current version is based on Android 2.3.4, the most current release from Google. From there, the team makes a number of under-the-hood changes to the OS, as well as adding some rather nice features such as a "powerbar" (toggle switches for various things such as wifi, the LED, and so on) to the notification pull-down, "phone goggles" (set your phone to not let you call or text people after a certain time without solving math problems - yes, this is for those drunk dialers out there), as well as a whole host of new settings to further tweak the system to one's liking. Most importantly, it made my phone seem noticeably faster over stock. They've managed to keep the useful T-Mobile apps like wifi calling and visual voicemail as part of the OS, as well. All in all, it seems like a significant improvement over what was originally on the phone, even if it takes a bit more to manage it (I update maybe once a week, which takes about a half hour total).
Besides CM7, I briefly tried out Eaglesblood, which touts itself as the fastest ROM available. It seemed very snappy, but it had a pretty big issue in that it wouldn't properly mount my SD card when connected to my computer. I may have fixed that when CM7 started doing the same thing, but at this point, I'm not sure I want to bother wiping everything and starting over, even with backups all taken care of. I am, however, looking forward to the upcoming MIUI release for my phone, which looks like it goes in a completely different direction for Android. It looks almost like iOS, which isn't a bad thing in my book. But that doesn't have a set release, so we'll see when it comes around.
On Android, in general, I'm not 100% sure I'm sold yet, and this is multiple months down the line. It's still nowhere near as polished as iOS, and Google seems more intent on adding every feature they can think of than cleaning up what they have. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it's definitely a very Google way of thinking. I'm curious to see what they do with Ice Cream Sandwich, and I may snag whatever the next Nexus phone is, since that line is the purest Google experience possible. We'll see. I may just go back to an iPhone if for no reason other than that Android phones seem to be getting bigger and bigger, which is exactly not what I want.
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