[Samsung Galaxy Nexus] pvkiniyan95:
Let me make this clear, this thread is not about getting rid of Google services but google play services....

Being a GNEX user we have cherished so many updates from 4.0.1 to 4.4.4, courtesy of some gr8 devs and teams. Every update gave us the courage to give a sarcastic look at some of the flagships still lagging behing, but deep down inside every power GNEX user knew that those updates aren't making the phone better simply bcoz its not designed for it.It all started with the arrival of brutal "Google Play Services".

TBH we all got scroogled however we are not ashamed of it coz if a service is good then there is no point in not using it, but the experience we get across different devices creates a different opinion about the entire service and thats what happened with play services..

Taking google play services out of ur phone gives u hell a lot of advantage but the right alternatives. I decided to take it out of my GNEX and now i am one of the Happiest men on the planet who uses open source apps wherever possible.

I am about to list the alternatives i used and the experience i got....

I am a LiquidSmooth or Vanir user combined with the dirtyness of DirtyV kernel, F2FS, ART, xlouder patch...

Market : Since i dont flash Gapps no Play Store but FDROID is gr8, clean and simple. For apps unavailable at FDROID i use APKLEECHER

Browser : Of course Firefox and Lightning browser both available in FDROID. I use firefox for some impt. stuffs like mobile banking, etc and lightning browser for daily browsing that includes social networks fb, g+.

Music Player : Ur choice but i am a huge lover of Noozy. :angel:

Video Player :VLC available at FDROID :highfive:

Office Apps : Office Mobile, Microsoft does a gr8 job there. :cool:

Email Client : AOSP or K-9 mail available at FDROID :D

Proxy : Obviously Orbot by Guardian Projects available at FDROID :cowboy:

IM Clients : It was easy for me since most of my friends dont use Hangouts but whatsapp...pls for the sweet love of god please try Telegram available at FDROID. It got encryption too and open source. I am working on migrating my friends to Telegram. Also i do use ChatSecure available at FDROID for my gtalk and facebook accounts chat... :fingers-crossed:

Now comes the most impt part,

Cloud,Contacts and Cal Syncs : This is the hardest part u can come across, i had my solution OWNCLOUD

i have a raspberry pi and i turned it to an OWNCLOUD server, easiest way is to Check out ARKOS if u have a rpi or beaglebone black. With that OWNCLOUD i can instantly upload photos, videos just like g+ and also using an app DAVDROID at FDROID u can sync ur calender and contacts to ur Mobile. :good:

Maps : I use OsmAnd which is an ON/Offline maps app where u can download data to ur phone. Its pretty decent for finding directions but dont expect the sophistications of GMAPS, btw i m happy with OSMAND but at some situations i do use maps.google.com at firefox. :victory:

Youtube : Viral Lite downloaded with apkleecher.com...much better than Youtube. :cyclops:

Search : DuckDuckGo available at FDROID. Google Now will be one huge feature u got to sacrifice

Any free apps can be downloaded from apkleecher.com.

Btw regarding the updates : FDROID apps can be updated easily but others, yeah i know thats pain in the ass but thats a sacrifice you got to make to get rid of play services.

After these things i got a fluid phone with extra 45mins of SOT on maguro..

THE DRAWBACKS : In the recently concluded GOOGLE I/O, google nailed the fragmentation issue by announcing that from now on all security patches will reach via Google play services which enables to secure even 2.3 devices.

However those updates will definitely added to the AOSP branch which our beloved DEVS will make use of ;)

please comment if u have any ques and try getting rid of play services and have fun......:D:D:D:D:D:D