[Droid Incredible General] pianoplayer:
Back when I got this phone a few months ago, I was having a hard time choosing a good rom that suits me. I tested nearly every rom that's out there and *think* I have something I'm going to stay on for quite a while. The process would have been much easier, though, if there was a guide to choosing a rom, so that's exactly what I made for the noobs that just got this phone. So without further ado:

HOW TO CHOOSE A ROM

DISCLAIMER: IF ANYTHING BAD HAPPENS TO YOUR PHONE, INCLUDING BRICKING, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE. IF SOMETHING GOOD HAPPENS, THEN I GUESS IT WAS ME.

Before you choose a rom, you should learn a bit first.

There are three main types of roms:

AOSP (built from source)

Sense (built off HTC roms)

Senseless (a Sense rom without sense… more on this later)

Within AOSP roms, there are two main types: vanilla UI and custom UI. Vanilla UI roms run on Froyo (2.2) or Gingerbread (2.3, latest version except for Honeycomb). These have the stock Android UI. You can tell if a rom is AOSP by visual inspection of the dock. In Froyo AOSP roms, the dock has a background of a rounded, translucent rectangle with two dividers, with a 4x4 tiny grid for the app drawer button in the middle. In Gingerbread AOSP roms, the dock has a background of a sharp-cut grey rectangle with no dividers, with a 4x4 tiny grid for the app drawer button in the middle. This doesn’t always work, as some Sense themes will change the dock, but Sense roms will almost always also have a black top notification bar, which in AOSP roms (Froyo or Gingerbread) is always white.

AOSP roms are built from the Android Open Source Project. Because Android is open source, anyone can take the code, add, remove, or change features, and create their own version of Android. The current (stable) Android version is Gingerbread 2.3, but the only phone using it is the Nexus S and no manufacturer has made their own version except for Samsung (Nexus S only). Enter AOSP building. Because Gingerbread is available in the AOSP, devs can download the source, add the necessary drivers, mod it, and release it. This is what CyanogenMod 7 or OM(F)GB is.

There are Froyo 2.2 AOSP roms also, but since HTC has made their own Froyo with Sense, there is no point in using an AOSP rom just to have Froyo. There is if you want extra customizations and hate Sense. Personally, I would never use a Froyo AOSP rom, only a Gingerbread one but that’s just me.

Then there are roms with really customized UIs like MIUI and LiquidMetal/Light. They look nothing like the standard AOSP UI. MIUI looks like an iPhone, and LiquidMetal looks like… nothing I’ve ever seen before. Check it out yourself.

Sense roms are built off HTC official roms. There are three main types: Incredible-based roms (based on the Incredible stock rom), Evo-based roms (based on the Evo 4G stock rom), and New Sense roms (based on Desire Z, Desire HD, or Incredible S stock roms). Incredible based roms are the result of a dev taking the official rom and adding or removing stuff. Evo based roms are based off ports from the Evo official rom or ports of an already modded Evo rom. These roms are a bit faster than real Incredible roms. Porting is easy because the devices are very similar. New Sense roms are ported from Desire Z/HD or Incredible S. They have a “Personalize” menu that replaces the “Add” menu, which allows you to use HTC-supported skins.

They can also rotate the launcher. You can tell old sense roms from new sense roms by pressing menu at the home screen and see if there is an item called add or personalize. Old sense will have add, but new sense will have personalize.

Senseless roms are just sense roms without sense. This probably makes no sense (lol). Basically, you can use launchers like ADW or LauncherPro without leaving sense running. This is better because sense will take up battery and CPU and if you don’t use it then it’s a waste. There is a desensitizing script at http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=724813 . I haven’t tried it.

Q: BUT WHAT SHOULD I CHOOSE?

A: Have you read the stuff above? If not, then read it. If you have, proceed to the “Android Rom Personality Test” below.

1.	Do I like HTC Sense UI? (Quick Info: HTC Sense UI is the UI that comes on your device stock. Distinctive Characteristics: Flip Clock, Black Status Bar. Sense also has a ton of awesome widgets.)

a.	Yes. I love it! Proceed to Question 2

b.	No. I hate it! Proceed to Question 4

2.	Do I like the Inc/Evo Sense or the Desire Z/HD/Inc S Sense better? (Quick Info: Do you like to rotate the homescreen and retain Sense? Do you like HTC supported themes? Yes to anything = I prefer Desire Z/HD/Inc S)

a.	Inc/Evo Sense. Proceed to Question 3

b.	Desire Z/HD/Inc S Sense. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 3)

3.	Do I like any Inc theme or Evo theme?

a.	I like a particular Inc theme. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 1)

b.	I like a particular Evo theme. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 2)

c.	I don’t know. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 1 and 2)

4.	Do I like any of the HTC apps (News or Mail for example)?

a.	I like them but not Sense. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 4)

b.	I hate them in addition to Sense. Proceed to Question 5

5.	Do I like the Stock android interface?

a.	Yes. I like it. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 5)

b.	No. I hate it in addition to Sense. Proceed to Rom Recommendations (Type 6).

ROM RECOMMENDATIONS:

Type 1: You should use an Incredible-based Sense rom. My favorites are Skyraider Sense, Redemption, and Magnolia.

Type 2: You should use an Evo-based Sense rom. My favorites are Incredibly Re-engineered, Warm 2.2, and Redemptive rEVOlution.

Type 3: You should use a New Sense Rom. My favorites are Uber Z and Warm Z.

Type 4: You should use a Senseless rom or use the Desensitize script on any Sense rom. I don’t have any recommendations.

Type 5: You should use an AOSP rom. For Gingerbread I recommend Cyanogenmod 7 or OM(F)GB. For Froyo I don’t know, I haven’t used an AOSP Froyo rom before.

Type 6: Use a “Different UI” rom. These are MIUI and Liquid Metal/Light. I prefer Light though they aren’t too different. Also there is the Meizu M9 rom which looks like a refined MIUI but it’s very buggy.

CREDITS: Thanks to the community for being great. I don’t claim that any of these roms are my work.

I will try to maintain this guide (for example add the Gingerbread Sense rom from Huashan if it ever gets done).

Q & A: TO BE ADDED LATER ON