[General Topics] TooManyRoms:
My take on some of the alternative mobile OS' available for preview.

I fell in love with webOS on the Palm Pre+ many years ago. Since leaving Verizon for T-Mobile last year, I have been on a quest to find another mobile OS that I love as much. Currently I am running Beanstalk Android on a Nexus 4 and I do like it. But I am not in love, so I've been using MultiRom to try out many different Android ROMS, as well as Firefox OS, Ubuntu Phone, and most recently Sailfish. So here is my user experience with the non Android alternative mobile OS' running as a secondary ROM on my Nexus 4.

I'll start with Sailfish. I like it's highly gesture featured UI. But the Mako release doesn't have Android support, so I can't evaluate how well the Android apps function on it. The browser is functional but there is room for improvement. I also feel that the left and/or right side-swipes would better serve the user as a way to switch between open apps, instead of them both bringing us back to the home screen. But for the most part, I think Sailfish OS is fun to play around with and shows promise as it keeps developing.

Onto Firefox OS. Personally I feel Firefox OS is very functional, but it doesn't impress me for some reason. I do like the option to make it more gesture based in the settings. I'm a big fan of swiping in from the side edges as a way to switch between open apps. As well as the swipe up from the bottom to return to the home screen. And I applaud the two finger swipe up that brings you into their "Cards View" mode, allowing you to choose or close any open apps. Your a good mobile OS Firefox and I want to love you, but I just don't. It's not you, it's me.

As far as Ubuntu Phone goes, I wanted to fall in love with this mobile OS so bad, but I realize now it's just not going to happen for me. I guess I don't appreciate the scopes as much as others do. The side launcher has never worked smoothly for me, and the copy and paste functions do not work well either. I do like that Ubuntu Phone's "Cards View" mode now supports swipe up to close an app. I also find that the side swipe gesture to switch between the last two apps and the top window shades all work well, aiding to the functionality of the OS. Obviously they need more native apps and it would be great if they incorporated a full blown desktop option mode for those times when the mobile OS can't provide what I need. (As painful as it would be dealing with a full blown desktop OS on a small phone screen, it would be nice to have it just in case the need arises.) Overall Ubuntu Phone is fun to take out on a date, but I doubt we'll be going steady anytime soon.

Lastly if the LuneOS port was strong enough to run as a daily driver, I would wipe my phone and give it a fair try too. But hopefully the day will come when I can add it as a secondary OS using MultiRom. It would be amazing if someone could get a current Android ROM and/or Android Apps running inside a LuneOS card. Just for those times when you need to take advantage of the power of Android and it's market. Eventually, I hope to take LuneOS for a spin.

I would love to hear what you guys think of these and the other alternative Mobile OS' out there. I guess for me, I have been spoiled by webOS, tweaked out, on a Pre3 and I may never be fully satisfied with another mobile OS and device again. :(