Best ROM for simple folk. Your opinion please? - Touch Pro, Fuze ROM Development

Hi all,
I am a techy at a large secondary school in the UK. In my wisdom I organised the rollout of 7 XDA Serra devices (O2 branded Raphael) to members of senior staff early this year. Now.... I have had no end of moaning about the appalling ROM O2 supplied, I have changed the radio version and disabled 3G to get 3 days+ from battery, where it was previously 1 day max, added slide-to-unlock and slide to answer.
However the handsets are still frankly rubbish. Crashing and freezing, especially when you try to use them as - god forbid - a phone.
I have two choices -
either find a really good stable and useable ROM (which I hope you can help with!) -Getting them all in for upgrade is the highest level of tedium, so if this is going to happen its going to be a one-shot thing. Gotta get it right first time. These people are middle-aged school workers so dont care about the bling, its gotta be easy to use.
or (the hard way) say they are "unfit for purpose" and try and send them back to O2 for something else.As much as I love fighting the big boys, I really cant be bothered. If they are going to be swapped theres only one handset the senior team would accept. iPhone. Yuk. (IMHO).
So - do you think I'm onto a loser to begin with? is this handset just a dog? It was so hyped at launch I didnt think I could go wrong.
or is it just the ROM? If just the ROM then what's the best ROM around that will tick all the right boxes?
In the meantime I'm off to play with my new HD2....
Thanks in advance.

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if you want a simple rom, with smooth operation and good features, try TAEL standard edition. I can vouch for it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=561158

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o2 serra
The bad news....The rom supplied with the Serra is a dog (as you have probably learnt). Has problems 'sleeping' at night, is graphically horrible & freezes whenever challenged!
The good news... The device is a winner, all problems are software related, you have some re flashing to do & there are plenty to advise on simple stable rom's better than me.
Clearly with multiple devices & reflashing, you need to be aware of voiding your warranty. Dropped mine four foot onto slate floor & the screen started acting badly.... A freezer might come in handy.....Enjoying NRGZ Rom on a replaced device

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Yeah I had figured the Serra ROM is a dog.Thanks for confirming that to me tho!
Your suggestion the hardware is a winner has given me some hope, so thanks.
I will test out the TAEL ROM and see how it fares.
In fact I think I was at one point using the TAEL ROM myself. (I couldnt stand the O2 ROM more than about a week)
If it passes my in-house testing (giving it to my boss for a bit - he's impartial) then I may try the rollout. See if I can fend off the iPhone wanters and their pitchforks.
Any other suggestions for ROMS welcome of course.......

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cjwhite said:
... See if I can fend off the iPhone wanters and their pitchforks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia, Palm Pre! even!...
Usually, only the win32 centric IT type like the WinMo. You should have titled your post "Best device for simple folks"
Who's paying for that Leo?

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Your prob right, but I got these at the start of this year, when the iPhone (IIRC) only just got exchange sync, and the pre was a distant dream. Plus half of the staff already had Windows PDA's. So I was thinking it would soften the learning curve.
You know what its like now - people act like children over bloody iPhones. I'm not an Apple hater but its horses for courses, iPhones and Macs fine as a choice for home users but not a business tool. Dont get me started on the iPod touch being described by apple as a "handheld learning device" to flog it to education! grrrrr.
And the Leo? I fought for two of them in place of two serras that developed faults cos there was no equivalent replacement.

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Hmm, if you ask me, the best ROM that just works is EnergyROM (the most current one is Phoenix 2). From my experience, EnergyROM is very fast, very stable, and tends to be streamlined. In my opinion, this is probably the best ROM for simplicity.
Mind you, I'm not knocking Tael ROM. I tried the version with Sense 2.5 recently and I'm in love. It is shockingly fast and stable; much more so than any other ROMs with Sense 2.5 that I tried.

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Simple ROM
If i were you id use Tael's rom... i used Energy ROM for about 7-8 months because it was eye candy and had a lot of apps i needed... its the best looking and most loaded ROM there is in this forum... but i made the switch because the battery didn last very long and i started gettin a lot of bugs after like a month of use... don know how it happened... Energy ROM is more for personal use and for showing off... (Dont get me wrong... i appreciate all the work NRGZ does and all the time he puts into his wonderful ROM)
I switched to Tael's ROM about like a month ago and it is the most stable ROM there is... during this whole month i didn have one problem with it. the ROM has only the most basic and useful applications... It also gives me a battery life of about 3 days on normal texting, bluetooth for like 5-6 hrs a day, phone usage of about 2 hrs of talk everyday and 3G on at all times! if i probably turn of the 3G, auto updates of some program, and stop using bluetooth... i would get atleast 4 days out of it! If u want a reliable ROM with almost all the functions of the phone, Tael's ROM is the best!

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OK, so what about the best simple ROM for tilt, or both tilt and fuze?
I just picked up a Tilt and Fuze and would greatly appreciate advice as which best "simple" (=stable, easy install) ROM would be for each, please? And ideally, if there is a ROM which would cover both? (I'm on t-mo)
many thanks
Tilt, unlocked to T-mo
Fuze, unlocked to T-mo

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sagarc88 said:
If i were you id use Tael's rom...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Er, EnergyROM is the most loaded ROM? I think you're mistaken. That would probably be Chrome ROM (which even the author calls 'the Cadillac' of ROMs).
Your claims about battery life confuses me even more. I put my Fuze (with EnergyROM at the time) through a stress test and it lasted roughly 6-8 hours with constant Youtube, video playback, and 3G radio. I have not done the same for Tael ROM, but judging from usage, it would lastly roughly the same amount.
I'm not saying you were lying about your experience regarding EnergyROM, but I just wanted to put in that ER is definitely not as bad as you described.

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i'm liking taels rom right now, it seems to be faster than the energy rom as i'm getting less hang ups while scrolling etc. battery lif is about two days with tael and about the same with energy, sending/receiving 300 txts a day and maybe a couple of phone calls...

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I'm torn on this thread ...
... part of me feels it should remain open to allow the OP to obtain the information required to make an informed decision for his faculty users.
... and part of me feels it should be closed as these types of thread end up with posts full of emotionally charged opinions about chefs and their roms.
@cjwhite:
If the thread remains on topic and devoid of emotionally charged opnions, I'll leave it open. Once you have obtained all of the information required, please issue a request to have this thread closed.

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I'd recommend that you stay away from any roms using the new office 2010. It's beta, and expires in 5-6 months. Since the phones aren't going to be updated frequently (hopefully never, I'm sure), you don't want any part of time-bombs. You might consider just flashing a stock HTC rom.

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Farmer Ted said:
I'd recommend that you stay away from any roms using the new office 2010. It's beta, and expires in 5-6 months. Since the phones aren't going to be updated frequently (hopefully never, I'm sure), you don't want any part of time-bombs. You might consider just flashing a stock HTC rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Just grab this ROM: http://www.htc.com/www/SupportDownload.aspx?p_id=140&cat=2&dl_id=501 and you won't regret - it's bug-free, stable, fast enough.
Alternately, you can try shep's ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=497699, but not the new version, because it's buggy. I recommend the "old" ROM (10. august), I used it for a month without problems, then I reverted to HTC latest primarily because I don't like 6.5 Start Menu.

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8525Smart said:
Er, EnergyROM is the most loaded ROM? I think you're mistaken. That would probably be Chrome ROM (which even the author calls 'the Cadillac' of ROMs).
Your claims about battery life confuses me even more. I put my Fuze (with EnergyROM at the time) through a stress test and it lasted roughly 6-8 hours with constant Youtube, video playback, and 3G radio. I have not done the same for Tael ROM, but judging from usage, it would lastly roughly the same amount.
I'm not saying you were lying about your experience regarding EnergyROM, but I just wanted to put in that ER is definitely not as bad as you described.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a Chrome ROM lover, they are as loaded as NRGZ ROM.
Performance they both have their pros and cons.

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For the ROM your looking i would suggest nothing but Timolol's ROM.
They are so fast and So basic.
As basic as stock with no extra apps.
They don't have a manila version hece only the simple titanium to use.
They are on a old build which is very stable.
Though i would never use such a bland ROm but for the people for whom you are going to Flash the ROM this is the Best ROM.
Give it a try.
It is really Light !
Timolol's ROM
Even the chef calls it "Stock like ROM"

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Hi everyone.
There was a worrying moment where I thought we were going all emotional!
Mind you its the varied opinions that make this place so interesting.
I'm really grateful to all of you for your effort in replying.
I think the bottom line is I need a ROM for "someone who has never been on XDA-Dev".
I'm going to try Tael's latest ROM as I've personally found it solid enough in the past, and the feeling I'm getting from you is that it is pretty well liked.
I do however like the idea of a stock ROM. What would they be missing out on by using the stock HTC ROM? Anything a normal person would miss?
Cheers
Chris

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cjwhite said:
I do however like the idea of a stock ROM. What would they be missing out on by using the stock HTC ROM? Anything a normal person would miss?
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Nothing really important. On stock ROM there is an older Manila build, that's maybe the most important thing, also cooked ROMs are often loaded with apps. But, stock HTC ROM has one big advantage over all cooked ROMs - absolutely everything is working, and that's not the case with cooked ROMs - there's always something wrong, missing from ROM etc. For example, on most cooked ROMs (OS 6.5) you will find that video call doesn't work, if it works there are some other bugs with the dialer, such as non-working USSD codes or inability to answer calls (not chef's mistake, just dialers ported from other devices do not work 100%). Then there are some other problems - on one ROM MMS ain't working, on the other battery is pathetic, or the phone is very slow and buggy due to the use of Sense (Manila) 2.5 etc. You get the point - if you choose cooked ROM, there will always be something that isn't working, question is - do you (your workers) need those non-working functions.

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Well...... I just flashed TAEL standard ROM."launch browser" button not working on internet tab.
@pilgrim011 - Perhaps your right!

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cjwhite said:
Well...... I just flashed TAEL standard ROM."launch browser" button not working on internet tab.
@pilgrim011 - Perhaps your right!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try the timolol's ROM.
Everything is working on that !
You must give it a try.