[Android General] dragontology:
Well, I got the standard form letter from Motorola on the BBB.

I'm not sure I agree posting links to the Jelly Bean ROMs is the best idea as a response. If ICS was still developed and maturing alongside the JB ROMs, since ICS is the OS in question, I think that would be more effective. JB is something of a straw man here. I can just see the uninitiated looking at that and thinking, "Jelly Bean? I thought they wanted Ice Cream Sandwich? Now I'm confused." I'm talking about somebody who doesn't know tech/Android. Also, there are two technical reasons as well. Jelly Bean isn't quite ready for prime time. The latest JB ROM doesn't have root, although users who "dirty flashed" it over the previous version, retained root. But wiping everything and flashing just the latest? It's like ICS when I first flashed it. Everyone was saying "you gotta flash 0.3.1 first, then the latest". Second, we don't want JB. Motorola most likely was already working on ICS. If we can just get that (or rather the source), I'm sure our devs can work out the drivers/libs for CM9, CM10... and even CM11 in the future, since KLP was unofficially announced as Android 4.2.

Anyway, the problem with sticking to a form is you ignore points that have been raised since. I'll follow some guidelines that we want to stick to, but my priorities are my own. I think our first priority should be bootloader unlock. Ultimately I want people to be able to choose ICS/JB, with all its problems and benefits, or CM7. Second is the ICS source code/drivers/libs, so CM9/10 can be improved. An official update is dead last. What if the 4.x update locks your phone? Enough people will take it without waiting for CM9/10, and it won't help those who are locked. For someone who is locked, it would be a crappy prize, don't you think? ICS with Blur and greyware (Carrier ID and the like) and no way to unlock? Ugh. Might as well stick with the devil you know (GB).

/edit: I responded to Motorola's form letter on the BBB. Another long read, haha.

I really don't know why I bother. I'm almost certain that Motorola is reading these. I can't imagine they care all that much. But there it is...

//second edit: I'm watching QBKing77's video, and halfway through, while I appreciate what he's doing, he's kinda just saying the same thing we all are.

I don't have a popular YouTube show, but I think, with my wife running an all-stock-everything Electrify and me being on CM9, I'm in a somewhat unique position to compare them, side by side. Only problem is, well, you guys know, diarrhea of the word processor, as Stephen King puts it. I have the same issue. So if I wrote out an outline, would you guys help me pick things we can use to compare the two? Then when I write the script I'll more or less be reading from, would you guys help me edit it down for time?

My wife might let me use her phone for this, but she is strongly opposed to me unlocking her phone or even rooting it. And I want her phone untouched so we can compare what the good folks at XDA can do for the Photon/Electrify, vs. what Motorola can do. Now, can't stock Blur jump between three presets (wallpaper, icon layout, etc.) or was that Sense? If I can get the stock Photon wallpaper (Electrify does not have it), get the stock icon layout... and then I'll flash whatever ROM you guys think is the fastest, and set it up for comparable stuff... and then run them side by side.

My biggest thing is BATTERY LIFE. Smartphones suck at battery life. So one that can get twice the battery life of another is obviously very cool. Hence Droid RAZR MAXX. The battery life they've advertised? I've gotten it on my Electrify. It's not hard. With a stock ROM maybe, but CM9/10? So easy. If I had a full day, I could show her phone dying after 8 hours and mine at around 55% left... In shorter time, I can show her phone take twice the time to boot up. I'm pretty sure in the time hers takes to boot up, I can boot to recovery, then reboot to system, and still be able to get to Google.com faster. I don't know about Photon, but Electrify takes a good little while to boot up. Seriously, the boot animation should play the "November Rain" music video while your phone boots up. (Yes Axl, my phone drives me to pop pills and drink hard liquor too...)