[XPERIA X8 General] KingAmir:
I have created this thread in order to my personal review on the GingerZaraki ROM on top of the alfs v08a/v09a kernel for CM7. I have had experiences with many ROMs and have decided to review the one I am currently running on my device.
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Before I begin, I have to mention that, although there maybe other reviews every one is opinionated or 'spiced' differently. I think it is valid that there will be more than one review of the same ROM.

If you have ANY suggestions, please leave them as a post below.

This review will be on the latest version of the ROM - v08.​

XDA renowned ROM author RohinZaraki - along with his team - rolled out his first ever ROM: GingerZaraki on the 18th May 2012. Seeing as a track record was in-existent, many users summoned their fiery mists of doubt. But after reading further, these mists were quickly extinguished. After using the ROM for quite a while, there is no doubt that it is a clear contender for ROTC (ROM of the century). I will cover various areas in which the ROM amazed me and some where the ROM may have disappointed me.

Visuals

TeamZaraki has obviously pulled all the stocks out making a flawlessly beautiful ROM. With many talented themers in the team, the ROM offers bold icons revolutionizing the classic gingerbread 2.3.7 look. The team have also modernized the x8 adding the Xperia Ice theme seen on many of the newer breeds of Xperia devices. Overall, the Zaraki team has done a great job - one would forget that the android base was the old gingerbread if not for the version in settings.

Kernel

If you have any problems with performance on the x8 I can assure you that the alfs v08a/v09a will annihilate any problems you had. Blasting out an Antutu total score of around 2500, you will see a great increase in basic speeds on your device. Again, with a custom kernel, you will be given the ability to overclock and undervolt. I can personally recommend scaling to about 729mhz. The battery performance seemed to be a bit of a letdown though. I was getting one day of heavy use and two days of moderate use. This was a considerable decrease from the ICS ROM I was using previously. However, with much consideration, this may just be a sacrifice for all that extra umph! Also, seeing as you have to install a custom kernel, you must have an unlocked boot loader which is a brick wall for many users. Fortunately, many variants of the same ROM were created in order to allow stock users to enjoy Zaraki as well. :laugh: I do think that users will have to muscle up seeing as the stock kernel is a brick wall for developers trying to port gingerbread+.

Firmware

Gingerbread is like the Windows XP of Android. It is debatably the ultimate android operating system. With that said, I think many crave a higher OS even though it may be beyond the x8's capabilities. A possible suggestion for a next version would be to build the ROM upon a port of jellybean. JellyZaraki? The ICS platfroms will be too slow to really be a deserving update to the series.

Side Note

Even though this is nothing to do with the ROM itself I think it deserves note. RohinZaraki has offered a multitude of tips, troubleshooting guides and screenshots with the thread supporting the ROM. I think that the effort has to be applauded even if it is done in a small senior member post.

Conclusion

I believe that the experience provided by GingerZaraki is one that will set very high expectations for ROMs to come. But with producers like TeamZaraki I have no doubt that the bar will be raised with every release. I do not believe one thread is enough to highlight all that is good with the release but I will take the opportunity to thank Rohin and all the team for the release on behalf of the x8 community.

Rating: 9 out of 10

I have spent quite some time typing this review, please do not troll. All suggestions on the other hand are more than welcome. Please hit 'thanks' if you appreciate my massive effort. Sorry if this is not something you wanted. Even though the guide is long, I call it mini because it does not cover everything.

Special Thanks to RohinZakari and all the guys at TeamZaraki. (Chris95X8, SpyderX, nazz.rule, lucastan96, AckeflyRzyle, Lloir)

Check out the ROM here:

GingerZaraki

Kernel