[myTouch 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] neuralboy:
Cm7 nightlies - no longer CM7 alpha

It's true that this is probably the wrong section and I'm a noob too but before they bring in the new rules about minimum postings in the developer section, I'll throw in my ten cents.

Background:

US T-Mobile version of Mytouch4G and had no reason to be unhappy with the stock Rom but just love to scratch an itch and see what happens.

In the pursuit of seeing what happens I successfully rooted the phone to the point of permanent S=off (but not complete unlock as I have no need for that yet)

and over the course of the last few weeks systematically installed and tested three of the froyo builds/ports available on this forum.

Each have their strengths and weakness which are clearly listed so I wont catalogue the details I'll just say the following:

It's a lotta lotta fun! there was a geek in me waiting to get out and I finally see what the true potential is with this platform (android) - It's probably unlimited.

Aside from the philosophical point of wanting to have the freedom to do whatever with and put whatever you want on the device, that rooting facilitates (I’m a veteran of two generation of iphones), there is also that practical point that rooting does unlock the full potential of the device available right now which includes a host of apps already on the market only for rooted devices.

I don’t want to go into all those possibilities here because they are covered in detail in any google search but let’s just say that once you’re on the other side of the proverbial fence, the grass really is greener.

I know I’m being vague at this point, but let me continue a little longer.

Having also owned a number of windows based htc devices through 2005-2008 I’m no stranger to htc sense and some of the useful little gadgets that they seem to have evolved to a fairly decent level in android and I’ll say this:

Take away the surface veneer which is not as bad in the MT4G as in some others (bloatware) and you find that the meat and potatoes of the platform/operating system is all android.

And it runs MUCH better without the crap. – forget about overclocking (which helps and is fun) loose the veneer and the device flies.

And what you lose in the process – a couple of apps – you replace immediately with comparable ones for free down at the market.

So – phone runs better, can do more, has a host of better looking ui’s and themes that all the talented developers on this forum are constantly pushing out – then what about the risks?

I haven’t had a single hitch – not one.

I’m as impulsive as the next guy but I just took it steady with the information overload – carefully rooted the phone and from there, flashing one rom after another has become no more complicated than booting into recovery – case closed.

It’s become second nature.

And I’ve had to do a double take once or twice when something didn’t play out exactly as described but I’ve discovered that I had overlooked a detail here and there and it’s an easy fix.

Point being that there are constant warnings and disclaimers for obvious reasons, but my device at least has turned out to be very hardy – no scares here.

So finally, I’ve been eyeing developments in the gingerbread camp like everyone else and I’ve been wary of the alpha builds because my zero level of expertise keeps me from playing in that league and I see early this morning that an official CM7 release is out for my model the glacier.

At first I run I into problems flashing Clockworkmod to 3.0 and even try to flash the rom and boot from 2.5 with the predictable conclusion of a stuck boot loop all the while not really knowing what to expect from this ginger hype and whether it’s really worth the trouble of leaving my now very stable cooked froyo rom.

Someone then creates the thread a few lines up describing how to simply use rom manager to install the update for CWM 3.0 and at 2am I’m on my way.

I flash the rom and install the additional google apps and what do I find?

GINGERBREAD IS **** HOT!

Nuff said.

I won’t be overclocking it as a rule but I get 2805 on quadrant – previous high being in the 2500’s (each chip is actually different so I’ve heard that everyones score will vary)

The device has no lags, splutters, and runs quite literally incredibly.

and the look and feel of gingerbread? – I’ll add to what I said earlier – it’s amazing – it’s a moving graphical, visual feast.

It will seriously rain on apple’s parade when this thing hits the main stream and I think quite honestly that it’s the greatest mobile device operating system ever created.

I know I’m gushing but it really is that good and considerably more impressive than froyo while having the same core navigation and other functionality.

I won’t be going back.

I won’t endorse taking risks with your device but I’ll say it’s worth taking a look.

A few afterthoughts for those asking the questions:

There is a brand new version of the market packaged with the 20110115 version of the larger gapps file floating around on this forum – it also rocks!

Although most apps available on the market have not yet been updated for gb 2.3, they all work so far on my machine with one or two unimportant exeptions.

I’ve replaced all sense functionality with free apps off the market – no loss there.

The device runs smoothly and all functionality is tested and working in the latest release - great job guys doing the work here.

Long and the short of it being …it’s all good.

hope that helps.