Why I Love Android - Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II

Hello all. Over the past 4 years I've enjoyed reading the countless threads from people sharing their love of android, so I thought I would share my own story.
I've never understood the appeal of the iPhone. Even when it first arrived it didn't make me want to run out and slap $600 down to have it. So I bounced back and forth between the Palm Treo and different BlackBerries.
Then the Droid X was released. I fell in love with the big screen.....well big for 2010.....and was quickly introduced to the mysteries of rooting, ROMs, and themes. It was like a whole new world was revealed and I knew I'd found the phone system I was waiting for.
I moved from the Droid X to the X2 to the Galaxy Nexus. I loved the Nexus so much I wasn't interested in trying the Galaxy Note or any other phone. I also wasn't very daring when it came to ROMs. I found one that I liked and stuck with it. My DX had Eclipse, my DX2 had Cyangen, and my GNex had Sourcery which I absolutely loved. That ROM really showed me the level of customization I could reach with a device, and the ability to flash different themes and mods within Sourcery. That's why I stuck with my Nexus, I had it looking and feeling perfect.
I don't listen much to reviews or comments about things; I have to actually see and touch it for myself. When I finally saw the Note 2 in February 2013 and held it in my hand, I quickly upgraded. And now I anxiously await the Note 3.
I LOVE MY NOTE 2!!
I finally gathered the courage and soon learned the joy....and frustration....in flashing different ROMs. I would even say I became addicted to ROM hopping and flashed 4-6 ROMs a week. There are so many excellent ROMs available I just couldn't decide on one. It took me a few months but I slowed down and setup my current routine.
I'd flash a ROM and get it setup with theme, wallpaper, dock icons, widgets, and app folders. I'd use it for a few days until I was happy with the setup, then I'd Nandroid, save it to my desktop, and move on to the next ROM. Now, I have over 20 setups to choose from, and every 2-5 days I'll flash a Nandroid and fall in love with my Note 2 over and over again. I'd update the ROM to the latest version if needed, and change the setup if I was feeling the need.
Some may say this method is a waste of time, and maybe it is. But that's what keeps me loving this phone. People always talk about getting bored with the phone and needing to have the latest and greatest device. I'm not one of those people. I'm a simple old man that still smiles every time I look at my home screen. That's why I appreciate the developers of ROMs and themes, they keep my phone looking and feeling fresh and new. I hope one day to begin showing my thanx in a more tangible manner because I believe ALL developers need our support for the incredible work they do.
I'm currently running Jellybean 21, DarkNote theme, and a special hometown wallpaper and dock icons. Here's a pic of my homescreen; I'll post screens and info of my other setups as well.
Thanx for allowing me to share my story with you.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app

keithd203 said:
Hello all. Over the past 4 years I've enjoyed reading the countless threads from people sharing their love of android, so I thought I would share my own story.
I've never understood the appeal of the iPhone. Even when it first arrived it didn't make me want to run out and slap $600 down to have it. So I bounced back and forth between the Palm Treo and different BlackBerries.
Then the Droid X was released. I fell in love with the big screen.....well big for 2010.....and was quickly introduced to the mysteries of rooting, ROMs, and themes. It was like a whole new world was revealed and I knew I'd found the phone system I was waiting for.
I moved from the Droid X to the X2 to the Galaxy Nexus. I loved the Nexus so much I wasn't interested in trying the Galaxy Note or any other phone. I also wasn't very daring when it came to ROMs. I found one that I liked and stuck with it. My DX had Eclipse, my DX2 had Cyangen, and my GNex had Sourcery which I absolutely loved. That ROM really showed me the level of customization I could reach with a device, and the ability to flash different themes and mods within Sourcery. That's why I stuck with my Nexus, I had it looking and feeling perfect.
I don't listen much to reviews or comments about things; I have to actually see and touch it for myself. When I finally saw the Note 2 in February 2013 and held it in my hand, I quickly upgraded. And now I anxiously await the Note 3.
I LOVE MY NOTE 2!!
I finally gathered the courage and soon learned the joy....and frustration....in flashing different ROMs. I would even say I became addicted to ROM hopping and flashed 4-6 ROMs a week. There are so many excellent ROMs available I just couldn't decide on one. It took me a few months but I slowed down and setup my current routine.
I'd flash a ROM and get it setup with theme, wallpaper, dock icons, widgets, and app folders. I'd use it for a few days until I was happy with the setup, then I'd Nandroid, save it to my desktop, and move on to the next ROM. Now, I have over 20 setups to choose from, and every 2-5 days I'll flash a Nandroid and fall in love with my Note 2 over and over again. I'd update the ROM to the latest version if needed, and change the setup if I was feeling the need.
Some may say this method is a waste of time, and maybe it is. But that's what keeps me loving this phone. People always talk about getting bored with the phone and needing to have the latest and greatest device. I'm not one of those people. I'm a simple old man that still smiles every time I look at my home screen. That's why I appreciate the developers of ROMs and themes, they keep my phone looking and feeling fresh and new. I hope one day to begin showing my thanx in a more tangible manner because I believe ALL developers need our support for the incredible work they do.
I'm currently running Jellybean 21, DarkNote theme, and a special hometown wallpaper and dock icons. Here's a pic of my homescreen; I'll post screens and info of my other setups as well.
Thanx for allowing me to share my story with you.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thank you for this story. Very well written. Long but I throughly enjoyed reading it. Brought me fond memories of the day I bought my first Android phone. The HTC Thunderbolt. It's been a passion of mine ever since. Thanks for this buddy, brought a lot of good memories back
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

Really enjoyed reading this.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Google gave us what Microsoft did not, a choice! Kids and adults alike are now using Android in ways M$ only could dream about. Many of us here and other forums have the ability to enjoy a unified yet custom experience that has lead to companies being established etc... If it was not for android I would not be saving tons of energy running my mk808s instead of a PC..... The world has benefited from this platform indefinitely.
My only issue with the note 2 is the bluetooth quality no matter what rom I use, hopefully this gets fixed in 4.3. Thanks for the story!
Sent from my SCH-I605 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Very good read and I like the nan idea. ... until I saw the Baltimore wallpaper (I'm still sore about 4 and 29 last year)
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

kintwofan said:
Very good read and I like the nan idea. ... until I saw the Baltimore wallpaper (I'm still sore about 4 and 29 last year)
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL....... Yeah, I struggled with that for a bit and still do. This season will answer all the questions.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app

Related

I have an Incredible, thinking of trying out Fascinate with Community ROM

Has anyone made this switch? I currently have a stock HTC Incredible. I had custom ROMs on it but went back to stock and stayed there. I love the Fascinate hardware just not the stock software. I was thinking of picking one up and flashing the new Community ROM. How does the Community ROM compare to stock Sense on the Incredible? (if anyone has made the switch themselves)
-I need it to work with an Exchange email account
-Google Navigation/GPS to work flawlessly
Should I just stick with the Incredible? Or would the Community ROM work for me?
Over all the experience will be simpler and less cluttered without sense. My phone is super fast and smooth with the comrom. My gps works great. The only problem for you will be the lack of htc sync. Other than that everything will be an improvement especially the screen.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
I just made the same switch a few weeks ago. The 2 things I miss about the dinc are CM7 nightlies and the ease of flashing (no odin, recovery/radio confusion, etc). I'm loving the superior processor, gpu, and screen on the fascinate. I'd say go for it. Get a case though. This thing is a wet bar of soap.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App
Thanks guys. The worst thing that would happen is I don't like it and just go back to the Incredible. So does the community ROM work well with exchange accounts?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
My vote would be to stick with your INC and go to cyanogenmod 7. Its a great rom.
Then get one of the next-gen phones launching at year's end with 4G.
MrBigFeathers said:
Thanks guys. The worst thing that would happen is I don't like it and just go back to the Incredible. So does the community ROM work well with exchange accounts?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Com Rom works flawlessly with Exchange email.
superchunkwii said:
My vote would be to stick with your INC and go to cyanogenmod 7. Its a great rom.
Then get one of the next-gen phones launching at year's end with 4G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually was on CM7 for a bit but prefer stock Sense over it. I just really want a 4 inch screen and that Super AMOLED. But I will probably just tough it out. I want a new phone but don't want to waste the upgrade on the Incredible 2. I've had my Incredible a year now, that's too long
MrBigFeathers said:
I actually was on CM7 for a bit but prefer stock Sense over it. I just really want a 4 inch screen and that Super AMOLED. But I will probably just tough it out. I want a new phone but don't want to waste the upgrade on the Incredible 2. I've had my Incredible a year now, that's too long
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A very smart move indeed. The fascinate is quite impressive but in my opinion is past its prime with the way technology is moving. We are on the event horizon of the SGSII and the Droid Charge is a small step up from our phone.
Hold out till we hear news of the iteration of the SGSII Verizon will be getting before you make a choice. If we get the actual SGSII I will be jumping ship for it just for the support and hardware.
gkirby11 said:
A very smart move indeed. The fascinate is quite impressive but in my opinion is past its prime with the way technology is moving. We are on the event horizon of the SGSII and the Droid Charge is a small step up from our phone.
Hold out till we hear news of the iteration of the SGSII Verizon will be getting before you make a choice. If we get the actual SGSII I will be jumping ship for it just for the support and hardware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I always intended to get the SGS2 but who knows if/when that will be here especially for Verizon. Just wanted something to tide me over. Even though the Incredible is a great phone I get bored of my phones so quickly.
Hopefully the SGS2 comes by September but I won't hold my breath.
I made the switch a week ago, though I still have my incredible in case I want to go back. The main reason I bought the fascinate was for the super amoled 4 inch screen and it just officially got 2.2. Very nice phone and it was kind of cool learning the rooting process all over again. Its definitely not as easy as the incredible, especially since I can't use rom manager with it but its not like its that bad. I am a rom whore though so that much I do miss about the incredible.I'm basically jumping back and forth from community and evil roms. I use different kernels and undervolting to occupy my time.
I got mine for 200 on craigslist in perfect condition with a case and screen protectors. I wouldn't pay more since it seems it will soon be fazed out like the inc and the development isn't as strong as htc, though I wish it was. I don't mean that as the devs are bad, just not as many. The fascinate seems to have absorbed alt of the great devs from the eris.
As far as those things you need working, I don't use them so i can't help you there. sorry.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App

[Q] Unsure

I've been looking at two phones; this and One X.
I think both are top end phones but I'm unsure of which to get.
Either, I wait two-ish weeks for the One X to restock or I could go pick up a Note this weekend.
So quick question: any decent roms for the Note and/or overclocking/overclocking modules?
Hmmmmm............depends on what you want...have a look at the Dev forum and see if ya like any of the ROMS there. I for one have and love the Note haha hence me being in the Note forum but you may like the One I dunno I think only the iphone groupies like to have decisions made for them (<--- recovering groupie haha so no offense) Big screen is by far the deciding factor for me and I'm not a big gamer
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
If you us the GB ROMs there are a few and most if not all can be overclocked.
Since ICS has yet to be released for the I717 we do not have a kernel that can be overclocked. Once the source code is available then let the over clocking begin.
I have used several of the GB ROMs and ICS ROMs all have their unique feature and you would have to try them to find what is good for you. Or like myself keep installing the next new thing and play with if for a bit.
Either phone is nice, I had a Dell Streak that I kept cracking the screen on and was done with it and jumped on the Note as soon as I could. I have not looked at the HTC much.
Don't for get to hit the THANKS button if I helped.
Note +AOKP=goooooood.
yea i just renewed contract on the 14th and was deciding on these two myself. i went with the note for the screen size and i can remove the battery with ease. sometimes you get in a sticky situation and need to remove and re-install the battery. the one X is very fast for sure, and the picture quality is great, but i want my removable battery and the option for sd. the note is quick enough stock and even better on a dev rom, but not the speed of one x. i dont regret the note at all.
I think HTCs days have come and pass. Samsung is the future. This is from a tech prospective and a financial one.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium

New to Android

I have been an iPhone 4 user for about two years now, and am getting extremely bored with iOS. I just want more out of an OS!!
I have my upgrade coming in a few days and I have decided to go with the HTC Droid DNA, I saw the phone in a Verizon store and it looked/felt awesome!
I had my iPhone jailbroken whenever I could, and am definitely curious about unlocking/rooting/flashing and all the other terms used with an Android. I have been searching all over this forum and a few other sites to try to get familar with the whole process. It definitely seems alil overwhelming at this point, but I have learned alot form reading post and watching videos on here.
Look forward to learning more and if I can build up the courage, root this phone.
Thanks for everyones contributions and hardwork on this site, really is amazing. :good:
It is a bit different I had a galaxy nexus and man that was so damn easy to unlock root and flash whatever the hell I wanted. This is easy I got the hang of it in hours. Just keep reading up and looking at videos
sent from my beastly powered DNA using Tapatalk 2
justice_beaver said:
I have been an iPhone 4 user for about two years now, and am getting extremely bored with iOS. I just want more out of an OS!!
I have my upgrade coming in a few days and I have decided to go with the HTC Droid DNA, I saw the phone in a Verizon store and it looked/felt awesome!
I had my iPhone jailbroken whenever I could, and am definitely curious about unlocking/rooting/flashing and all the other terms used with an Android. I have been searching all over this forum and a few other sites to try to get familar with the whole process. It definitely seems alil overwhelming at this point, but I have learned alot form reading post and watching videos on here.
Look forward to learning more and if I can build up the courage, root this phone.
Thanks for everyones contributions and hardwork on this site, really is amazing. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just in case you get frustrated at first, it'll get slightly easier if/once we get s-off
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
rexdog1888 said:
Just in case you get frustrated at first, it'll get slightly easier if/once we get s-off
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been seeing "s-off/s-on" in many different threads and was not able to figure out what that means. Care to share??
justice_beaver said:
I have been seeing "s-off/s-on" in many different threads and was not able to figure out what that means. Care to share??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It stands for security on or off. If you are s off it makes your life so much easier, but you can still do many things with s on
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Gratz on getting an DNA, lot more customization than Ann iPhone, it's a decision you won't regret
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using xda app-developers app
Welcome to Android.
And just a few words, if you care to consider:
DO NOT TRY TO ROOT IT IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST ANDROID MAIN DEVICE.
If it is a main device, don't try to root it at first. Enjoy something "out-of-box" first. And most importantly, give yourself some time to get familiar with all those fancy sometimes confusing terms before you actually get hands on and root the thing.
Many times folks gets too excited and jumped into the pool immediately only to find that they did not bring safety with them and brick their device.
It is a 600 USD device after all. Enjoy the out-of-box experience first!
Try to become a power user before getting to rooting/modding/theming stuff. The fun will be exponential. =)
jiwengang said:
Welcome to Android.
And just a few words, if you care to consider:
DO NOT TRY TO ROOT IT IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST ANDROID MAIN DEVICE.
If it is a main device, don't try to root it at first. Enjoy something "out-of-box" first. And most importantly, give yourself some time to get familiar with all those fancy sometimes confusing terms before you actually get hands on and root the thing.
Many times folks gets too excited and jumped into the pool immediately only to find that they did not bring safety with them and brick their device.
It is a 600 USD device after all. Enjoy the out-of-box experience first!
Try to become a power user before getting to rooting/modding/theming stuff. The fun will be exponential. =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice, think I will go this route. I am definitely not comfortable yet trying to root/unlock. I will just enjoy the Android OS until I do some more research.
Thanks for your help!!
Yeah, honestly, Jelly Bean + Sense 4+ are great enough that if I were you, I'd get comfortable with the phone before rooting. Spend time going through all of the settings and figuring stuff out. You'll notice that even without root you'll have TONS more control than you did on your iPhone.
The Google Play store isn't as great as Apple's, but there are tons of really great apps out there. For example, I've been using Handcent SMS exclusively for sms/mms and I love it. You can customize the look and feel in that app in a way you never possibly could on an iPhone. I also highly recommend an alternate keyboard, my personal favorite is Swype. Just sliding my thumb to type makes life so easy. SMS Backup & Restore is another good one, especially once you root and start trying out custom ROMs.
Rooting will give you full system access, and so it'll allow for more powerful applications. For example, IMO the best reason to root is for recovery and backup. You can create full images of your phone (to restore if anything goes wrong) as well as backing up all your apps (with their data). Also, when rooted you can easily block all ads which is very nice.
S-off prevents writing to the system's memory (other than when connected to your computer via a developer terminal) so that holds back what you can really do in terms of custom ROMS and root apps.
a custom ROM is basically a modified operating system. Usually with new phones, the first ROMs you'll see are "debloated" or just the stock with unwanted parts removed. After that you'll start to see the developers really show off their skills and start customizing the look and feel, tweaking the performance, and writing new features. Sometimes you'll go as far as devs pushing newer versions of Android than are available from Verizon (like Liquid's ICS for the HTC Thunderbolt which still runs Gingerbread).
Oh, and if you're confused by all the food talk, Google names their Android released after Desserts alphabetically. We're currently on J (Jelly Bean 4.1,4.2), which follows Ice Cream Sandwhich (4.0), Honeycomb (3, for tablets) and Gingerbread (2.3).
This is a really helpful post man thanks. I I am a 2year iPhone 4 user as well. Always jailbroken, loved tweaking and the extra control it would give me. I had a Motorola Xoom FE TABLET with Honeycomb. I never played on it so I sold it. But I did like the Os, rooted my daughters DROID 3. But never got into anything besides that. I also looking forward to Rooting this and doing all sorts of tweaks.
Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

Two Years Later

Wow. I can't believe it's been this long that I've had this phone. The DroidX2, MB870, or whatever you want to call it has been a huge part of my life for the past two years. As strange as that may sound, you all know that it is true. I was sitting at my desk today, staring at it plugged into my computer when nostalgia'd hard core to the first day I got this phone and did the same thing. I thought back to all the things I went through for this phone (and for you guys) and how much I've learned. It's been through hell and probably worse but all in good fun.
I know that I had never really been a "consistent" developer by any means. Dropping in and out of chats, disappearing for months on end, but one thing that never left my side was this phone. When I got it back then I knew that I wanted to hack it, play with it, develop for it, change it, mold it, whatever. And I think I did just that. Not as much as a wanted to, not as much as I think I could have done, but boy did I have fun doing it. I remember building CyanogenMod 7.0-RC1 on a really old Toshiba with a Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM just trying to figure out how to even begin to make a ROM for this phone. It was painful. I remember my first SBF attempt failed because I didn't have my battery charged (now I have two phones and 3 batteries).
The first real thing I did was trying to tear apart the SBFs from a few similar phones and looking through the CDT tables for any answer to unlocking the phone. We never did find that answer (well... maybe, but that's a different story) but I wasn't going to be discouraged. The first real development effort I put into the X2 was with navendrob porting over the pull down settings from the new (still Gingerbread) Atrix ROMs. I tore through smali code, XML files, copying and pasting chunks of code from all over. And then, it happened. I got the pull downs to show up and work. I was incredibly excited (and I showed it all over the IRC) of what I had accomplished. Although this wasn't the first real effort on the X2 as keep in mind that many of us were using Eclipse at the time, I was incredibly happy that it was the first real development for the X2.
SIDE NOTE: I'm incredibly proud of nitroglycerin33. He took his experience from themeing (theming?) the X2 and brought it out to be a widely used ROM on MANY different devices. So props to him for achieving more than I have.
I went on to try to work on getting real ROMs working on the X2. This was around the time we started getting 2nd-init working (the magic behind most of the Motorola ROMs at the time). I remember the first time I got it working. All I did was set one property (something like does.this.work=1) and seeing it show up. But besides randomly popping up in the forums, I started working on ClockworkMod Recovery (which I barely got working, but never fully functional). At this time I created my Twitter account and posted this picture. The date was November 16, 2011 (wow). But I knew that I had to get 2nd-init working better before I could fully get CWMR fully working and updated everyone with why it was so hard to get working.
So I set out to get CyanogenMod actually working from a complete build from scratch (not some hacked Atrix thing) and I posted my progress in the development forum. With the help of my guinea pig Moonshadow-NM doing my actual ROM tests, I watched as we slowly got to the boot animation, and to the home screen. You cannot believe how excited I was. There were so many flaws, that it was barely usable, but I was so happy (I think I scared my roommate from all the excitement). I slowly worked out the kinks, and it's still perhaps the most stable ROM that the X2 has (although I love Jellybean and won't go back to CM7 despite the issues I have).
And the rest is history. I remember holding "release events" for my ROMs. Teasing everyone with new updates, features, fixes, you name it. The IRC chat room would be packed with people waiting for me to post the link. And I was excited to see where we would go. And even if we didn't go very far, we still went on (mostly) as a team. Through ICS, and now JB, I tried to provide what Motorola refused to give.
So this is my thank you to all of you. Past, and (very few) present. You all have helped me through my craziness and issues with this phone and I can never thank you guys enough for it all. I never thought I would have "internet friends" but you guys sure as hell came close. This isn't the end of my adventures with Android. I will be getting a new phone (hopefully) in the coming weeks/months and I want to be a vital part of that development community also. I'm keeping my Java/C/C++ skill sharp still by writing a JNI app. I'm not going to release it as it's mainly just for experimental purposes, but it allows me to practice those languages while focusing on SQL database integration, cryptography, and JNI integration in Android.
So from one X2 guy to another: thank you for all you've done, all you do, and all you will do.
Peace,
dragonzkiller
Thank you so much for all your hard work for the x2. You truly made it greater than Motorola could have. The x2 has had a great community with some great people. That is in large part due to the great roms you have released. Can't wait to see what you end up deving for next. Thank you so much from all of us.
Sent from my XT875 using Tapatalk 2
Glad I could be there for the ride! Dragon was one of a few people dedicated to making the best of the bastard child that is the Motorola Droid X2. Thanks for all the hard work and dedication. Was always proud to be rocking some dragonzkiller custom on my little moto brick. #DX2GOD
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
thanks for making my first smartphone ever that much more enjoyable. best of luck on all future endeavors
Your a hell of a dev dragon, thank you for all you did. You made my dx2 enjoyable and I still use your rom on it as an mp3 player
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2
It was great seeing you make all of those breakthroughs. I'm fairly certain if you were not a full time student over the course of your X2 dev time, we'd have seen you pull off kexec and custom kernels. You have a never-give-up mentality. Honestly, even after you get a new phone, I'd not be completely surprised to see the tweet, "KLP on DX2", lol.
Anyway, thank you for all you've done. Many people have come along and talked big games, made promises they couldn't keep, went all Melvin on us, etc. You've talked very little game, but always made/make big deliveries.
Thanks for all of your work DZK. I've tried walking through your foot steps with a 4.2.2 port I got working TWICE, but haven't gotten it working again. I hope to someday be as good as you
Thanks, it was fun watching you go at it all this time.
Sent from my US Cellular Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk 4 beta
I'm glad to see this post from you DK. It IS weird to think its been that long. As one of the users who was around back then, I have to say that it was fun seeing the DX2 move from Android version to Android version, even though this phone was stuck on Gingerbread in a lot of ways. Without you, this phone would probably still be stuck on 2.3.5. I have moved on from the DX2 and am in other sections of XDA now, but I will always think of the DX2 community to be the best, most helpful community there was/is. So not only thanks to DK, but thanks to all the DX2 users who made this forum enjoyable to be in. Its like your teenage years...you wish you could go back to that better time, but you know you just cant. At least we have the memories. Cheers.
Thanks DZK you really made a difference in my android hacking skills so to say. I remember contemplating on getting the Iphone 4s over the droid. Days after i got my X2 i found this site and tried CM7 for the first time. His roms inspired me to make my first port. This was the best fourm even though we didnt have stuff like and unlocked bootloader. The Razr M forum im at right now has NOTHING on this. Good luck on your adventure with a new phone! Bye!
dzk you've honestly brought me into my first realm of custom rommage. even though I've moved on since the dx2 I'm still excited by being able to look back on what you accomplished and was able to bring the dx2 to a whole new realm. being able to follow the progress of cm7, cm9, and now cm10 has been an exciting little journey that you and many of the other users (whether devs that were part of your "team" or the regular users like myself). all of you guys kick major ass and are awesome on your own rights. so a huge thank you to you dzk, and the og users who have made this bastard phone's forum awesome!
Its been a great experience with the roms you developed. The Dx2 was my first android phone and no matter how many phones I changed to or roms I load up, it will never compare to how I felt when waiting for a link to pop up with your new / updated peice of art.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
The X2 was my first smartphone. I didn't know anything about anything at that time. One day heard about "root", did some research, stumbled across xda. One thing led to the next until I'm looking at a little dude with a skateboard on my screen, waiting for CM7 to boot. I still remember my excitement. Thank you for that DZK, best of luck to you.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda app-developers app
You know I have move on also just recently as most, but I still have my X2. I am saving it for my son to show him with a good education and a little knowlege. He can accomplish almost anything, I never left CM7 needed the stability of what my phone offered for my sons memorys. I never tested the waters of developing. Just a few xml, png, changes to fit my desires.
You have a great deal to offer I hope it takes you far. I still check the X2 threads for new development just because I know you still play with it can't wait to see you hit the "Big Time" with your Talents. Good Luck and Thank You!!!!
It really has been over two years! My X2 had the search button wig out exactly 1yr and 3 days after I got it (3 days out of warranty) back in may 2012. Verizon nor Motorola would honor it for being out of warranty. I moved on then, but still checked back as this community is the first android community I joined.
I went through an HTC incredible and a LG Spectrum. Both were nothing compared to what you did with the X2.
After a little tinkering of my own, I got the X2 back up and running. (Took some soldering and precise hand movements to get the search button to work again. When a hardware key malfunctions, the phone will only boot into safe mode). I still use CM7 on my x2 (as an mp3 olater or a GPS unit) and it is on par with this Rezound in speed and responsiveness...
Sad to see you go, but happy you are moving on to bigger and newer projects. Best of luck on your new adventures.
Sent from my Infected Rezound using xda app-developers app
Thanks Bryan, no thanks to aceoyame who totally abandoned the x2 while porting the X2 to MIUI...
THANKS BROTHER
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2
Dragonzkiller, you made life fun with the X2. CM7 was awesome, as was Eclipse. Kudos for giving Nitro some props as he deserves it as well.
What you did, though, was awesome, Writing the image from scratch and making what was a damn stable ROM for the X2. I kept swapping back and forth between CM7 and Eclipse on the X2.
But, like you, times changed and I moved on. It was time for an upgrade and I needed a phone that had a better upgrade path, so it was with that I moved onto the Droid RAZR MAXX.
I'm still running that phone and probably will for some time since that was my last upgrade available to me. Currently, CM10.2 is being developed for it (4.3 kernel) and it's pretty stable.
Many thanks to you and to ALL the developers out there that put in so much of their time and effort into releasing things for us minions to run on our phones. I've learned a lot about how Android works, but with my full-time programming job, I've never had the time to actually learn it for myself. I still plan on doing so, but it just depends.
In any case, this is why I love the Android community. It's never a dull moment, and definitely, with the X2 and the entire bootloader unlocking fiasco that occurred that one night and caused Ash to go into a drunken tirade on Twitter, who can say the X2 was boring?
BTW, I say with a heavy heart that I no longer have my X2. Wish I did, but I traded it in at Best Buy. Got $75 out of it and used it towards getting my daughter her upgrade to a smartphone. Sadly, I couldn't convince her to go Droid. She went with the fruit, so I guess that's one failure for dear old Dad. Well, two because now my other daughter went to the fruit tree as well, even though I had her use my old OG Droid RAZR until her upgrade came up. I guess she got teased too much since all her friends had iP... oops, almost said the naughty word. You know what I mean! In any case, I do miss the X2. Might have to pick one up one day on eBay or something just to tinker with. Still have my crappy LG Vortex, which was my first Droid phone. I can't even give that one away!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
I just want to say thanks to all the hard work the devs have done to make this phone the best it could be.
I have moved on to greener pastures with a Droid Ultra.
Sent from my XT1080 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Sad this phone never got more. Thanks dragonz for your hard work when i still had this phone!
New users are still benefiting from your great work
Just wanted to say I am appreciate all the sharing of your work with others. I needed a G3 Verizon phone to work on PagePlus so I just purchased a Droid x2 3/3/2014. I rooted and flashed your CM10a3. I used this phone everyday and its a very useful phone now. I do have battery drain as some have experience but that is minor compared to the usefulness of this phone. Thanks!

S4 vs The One: My Journey

Hello All,
Wanted to post about the process I went through that eventually landed me on The One. I read everything I could for the last three months about the two phones and wound up more confused then decided on which to upgrade to. I finally decided that I need to S**t or get off the pot, so I went with the S4 because:
1) I read more positive reviews about it's camera then the One's, and for me the smartphone is a Camera that I can make calls on, not the other way around.
2) I had never owned a Samsung phone and I wanted to check it out.
3) I was worried about the lack of updates from HTC when I had the Rezound. Though I am a member of Elevate, updates have been my biggest gripe with HTC and I didn't want to get stuck with another unsupported phone.
4) lack of SD card and removable battery on the One. Not deal breakers, but factors.
So, my wife, son and I got out hiking on Saturday and I took about 60 shots on the S4. They looked great on the phone, but TERRIBLE on the PC. I had hiked in the same park last year about the same time with my son and had taken a lot of the same shots on my Rezound so I found those and compared them...The Rezound shots were much better in many instances. So I decided to take the Rezound and S4 and make the settings the same. I then took about 35 comparison shots. Almost half the time, the Rezound shots were better. That really irritated me so I searched the web for comparison images (S4 & the One) and most of the time they were so close it didn't matter.
I had bought the One through Verizon's Edge program. I know it's not the smartest thing I ever did, but I did it and I'm cool with it. They exchanged the S4 for the One and I feel pretty good about it. If I want I can move up in a year to whatever is the hottest thing at that point. I lost my unlimited, but on my phone only and they gave me 6 gigs for the same cost of my unlimited. I've never gone over six gigs before, and I can tweak my usage a little so I never have to worry about that. Besides, my wife still has her unlimited and I can switch with her if I really miss it.
As soon as I made a call with the One, I knew it was the right choice. I'm glad I tried the S4 but I really didn't like it. It just didn't measure up in so many ways. TouchWiz is so cartoonish, I felt like I should be sitting at the kids table! The screen was awesome! But so is the One's, so I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything there.
I figured I would share the Experience here in the Rezound forum because it played such a big part in my deciding the S4 wasn't for me!
Peace People!
thanks for your take on the two phones. I am considering the S4 above the One right now coming from a Rezound currently. I would like to know more about pros/cons of both and decide then. Hearing about the picture quality of the S4 might be problematic, but I'd have to see other cases of the same problem to be convinced myself. Have you compared your S4 photos with those of others who have an S4 to see if they have the same problem?
When I was at the Verizon store they had a one and a s4 next to each other so it was easy to compare. I took photos on both and the one looked crisper and clearer. I don't know if its because I am use to sense but it felt smoother than touchwiz. Plus I like the feel of the one in my hand. I missed how the original moto droid felt in my hand from its all metal body. The s4 just didn't wow me and disappointed me in others. I am sure its a good phone but not for me. If you think HTC is weak in updates for their phone Samsung is far worse. Droid charge got like a few updates and that's it. Where as the thunderbolt went from froyo to GB to ICS. Sure it took awhile to get to ICS but at least it did get it. Sammy seems to just drop all support and just build a new phone knowing people will do the iphone effect of selling their old device for the new one.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Yeah, I love the way it feels too! I really didn't want to buy the S4 based on the in store comparison, but I was trusting reviews because I shoot a lot of nature and I couldn't simulate that in store. After using the One for a week, it is every bit as good as the S4 Camera wise and blows it away in almost every other respect... So glad I switched!
Sent from the One phone to rule them all!
Sheldor1967 said:
Yeah, I love the way it feels too! I really didn't want to buy the S4 based on the in store comparison, but I was trusting reviews because I shoot a lot of nature and I couldn't simulate that in store. After using the One for a week, it is every bit as good as the S4 Camera wise and blows it away in almost every other respect... So glad I switched!
Sent from the One phone to rule them all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're into shooting nature or anything that moves really, play with Zoe on your one, you'll probably end up loving it.
Sent from my HTC One
Khayos said:
If you're into shooting nature or anything that moves really, play with Zoe on your one, you'll probably end up loving it.
Sent from my HTC One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've dabbled some with it...Need to do more...Fun feature, especially for my son!
Thanks for the review, there's one thing holding up getting the One for me though, no unlockable bootloader.
mjones73 said:
Thanks for the review, there's one thing holding up getting the One for me though, no unlockable bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read around the Verizon HTC one forum, you will see someone found a way to S-Off. Better than bootloader unlock.
Sent from my Infected Rezound using xda app-developers app
Uzephi said:
Read around the Verizon HTC one forum, you will see someone found a way to S-Off. Better than bootloader unlock.
Sent from my Infected Rezound using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have, it requires a java card. It's either shell out the money for one or pay/beg/get a favor from someone who has one.
I decided that I love the phone even if it is never rooted, but I trust it will be... These guys are good!
Sent from the One phone to rule them all!
I'm actually probably going with the S3 or S4. HTC One seems to be harder to find deals for with my credit. S3's are only $100 now, so this college student may snap at that.
http://signatures.mobile-overload.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sig-cm-5.png
And my One is now S-off! So glad I went this way... But the truth is that I am still thrilled with the stock experience. I have roms waiting to be flashed, but I just don't want to!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Sheldor1967 said:
And my One is now S-off! So glad I went this way... But the truth is that I am still thrilled with the stock experience. I have roms waiting to be flashed, but I just don't want to!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the stock experience thrills you compared to original android?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
sdsubball23 said:
What about the stock experience thrills you compared to original android?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The simplest answer is that it works so well...It's lightning quick already, so I don't need mods to eliminate lag. Everything does what is supposed to.
But the truth about flashing other Roms is that there is almost always some buggy element. I have only run a handful in three years that didn't. I rooted both my Incredible and Rezound because there were features out there that I couldn't get on those phones.I have everything I could want on the Stock One.
If I had a Nexus device, I would enjoy that experience, but I also would miss the TV app in Sense 5 and believe it or not, I am having a blast with Zoe and some of the other features of the Sense 5 Camera. It would require too many trade offs to go to Stock Android.
Having said that, I am a flashaholic, and I have flashed one Rom since the previous post. Frankly, battery wasn't as good, and the 4g signal wasn't consistent. And that was a Rom that was very close to Stock. I know I could reflash and do other things that might fix it, or I could just go back to Stock, which I did... I'll flash other Roms, my curiosity is too strong not to, but it's great to know that Stock is so rock solid to come back to!
How's the camera compared to rezound? Also how is the scrolling lag compared to the iPhone?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda app-developers app
Lag? I know naught of you speak? Seriously, I don't have an iPhone so I can't compare it, but this thing blows my old Rezound out of the water, and it is every bit as fast as the S4 was.
As for the Camera, I love it. It does some things better then the Rezound (low light) and I have been able to crop with no problems. There's a learning curve but it didn't take long. I even have that purplish tint at times, but changing the iso usually makes it go away...
Sent from the One phone to rule them all!

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