[Touch Pro2, Tilt 2 Windows Mobile ROM Development] cajunflavoredbob:
Simplicity ROM Review

I use T-Mobile, so my setup is based on that. This review is based on the 6.5.3 (29017) version of seeM_ZA's Simplicity ROM.

On the initial boot, I had to do a double take at my laptop screen when I heard the boot up noise as the ROM uses the Windows login tone. The Simplicity splash screen for the initial load is pretty nice. The text is easily read and the progress bar doesn't get in the way of the background image. There is no HTC setup wizard to go through in this ROM, which is nice for people like myself who flash pretty often.

All of my T-Mobile settings for voice and data worked from the first boot. I had to set up the MMS settings and keyboard layout on my own, as I normally do. There aren't many chefs who cook in T-Mobile settings like this, so it was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I sent and received several text messages without any issues. MMS and data worked fine after setting it up myself. I synced contacts, mail, and calender via an Exchange account over wifi.

The first thing I noticed was the stock Sense look. seeM_ZA also usually cooks a CHT version of the ROM, but I jumped at the chance to test out the new beta build instead. The Start Menu is very clean and organized. It comes with most of the stocks apps cooked in, albeit updated. It was lacking a screen capture program, so I installed one. Opera 9.7 is cooked in as the default browser. Both Arkswitch and FDC task manager are cooked in as well. Arkswitch is mapped to the far right soft key, witch is handier than trying to tap the tiny task bar at the top of the screen in my opinion.

XDA_UC is cooked in, but does not prompt on whether or not to run it. In my reviews, I prefer to set up manually, than run an auto setup, so I ended up having to hard reset once I realized what it was doing. This was my only really problem. I feel it would be better to include a prompt to ask you if you want to run it in the first place or not.

The Sense interface hasn't changed in this ROM other than the inclusion of the Facebook Tab. All other Sense Tabs are included except for the Recent Documents Tab. Animated wallpapers were not included in this ROM, unfortunately. Sense remains skinned to mirror the stock look lacking any additional theming. I find this to be a very pleasant and simple look.

Having none of the hard keys mapped by default was actually a help for me. The task manager is easily accessible, so I mapped MSVC to the send key's long press, and left the Quicklist mapped to the end key's long press. tarkim's key remapper provided the rest of the tools to map the other keys.

Battery life wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. I was able to make it a full work day on a single charge, but would be at 10% or less after about 13 hours. I use the device moderately for calls and e-mail mostly, with some data thrown in as well. Even though it was able to get me through a full work day, I would suggest having a second battery or a charger handy if you use your device more than I do.

I experienced no freezes or SODs while using this ROM. From day one, it remained as stable as stock with no problems. Even after overclocking (I do it out of habit. You really don't need to on this ROM.) and installing all of my apps, I had the same great performance and stability that was there from the initial boot.

Free RAM on boot was 91MB. Any ROM booting with over 85MB while also using Sense as its UI is just impressive. seeM_ZA has squeezed every little drop of performance and speed out of this ROM, and it shows. I only noticed a bit of a lag when opening the Windows directory, which took 9 seconds on this ROM.

Stock ROMs kind of cater to a niche group around here, but don't let that detract you from a wonderful experience. Stock ROMs give you a feel that no theme can match. It's a great thing to improve on what the OEM left us with. Simplicity does just that. It is a look at what could have been if HTC really gave it their all. Whether or not you like the stock look, you should give this one a try. Screen shots are below. Happy flashing. :)