After several months of running the stock ROM on my ThunderBolt, it is now happily S-OFF and running CyanogenMod7. I greatly missed Cyanogen after running it on my EVO 4G. The stock HTC ROMs are extremely bloated and slow. Stupid Sense interface. Along with ridding my phone of bloatware I quite enjoy the customization options that CyanogenMod and ADW.Launcher offer. It may be small, but one of my favorite features of CyanogenMod are the lockscreen media buttons. They control both the Music app and the Pandora App! Since I use my phone in the car as a media player, this makes changing tracks very easy. I find that Cyanogen’s phone app is much more user friendly than that of the Sense ROM. Favorite contacts are very easy to get to. In fact…other than a couple of the widgets I don’t like anything about HTC’s Sense ROMs. They are bloated, resource hungry pieces of poop. Steaming poop.
I used http://revolutionary.io/ to root my ThunderBolt. While Revolutionary is only a developer preview right now, it was very easy to use and worked very well! Once I was rooted I loaded CyanogenMod7 and used ROM Manager to flash a compatible version of ClockworkMOD recovery. So far so good. 4G LTE, WiFi, and GPS are all working flawlessly.
If you have an Android phone and are not happy with the stock ROM your manufacturer/carrier provided, I HIGHLY recommend CyanogenMod. Remember though: root at your own risk. It will void your warranty.
I have been using Verizon’s LTE network since March of 2011. It is the fastest cellular network I have ever used and is up there with some of the fastest hardwired Internet connections I’ve ever used! Using Speedtest.net’s Android application I averaged 25.19 Mbps down over 7 samples! Ping time over the same sample averaged 131 ms. That ping time isn’t great, but Internet surfing and downloading of apps is plenty fast. Uploading pictures to various services is noticeably faster with LTE as well. There really is no comparison between Verizon’s 3G and 4G services. When I get into an area with only 3G coverage Internet browsing feels very sluggish and slow, while picture uploading seems to take forever. I realize I’m spoiled by LTE, but it is the way of the future. I only hope in future devices Verizon and phone manufacturers improve LTE battery life. When I’m on LTE the battery in my ThunderBolt only lasts a few hours. I have to keep a spare battery on hand to swap out if I’m planning on being out and away from WiFi for any length of time.
A couple of more applications I have found handy:
LED Light: This app turns on the camera flash LED making it a flashlight. Can be used as an app or widget.
Key Ring Reward Cards: Key Ring stores your reward cards for stores such as Kroger or CVS and displays the associated bar code on the screen. The bar code can then be scanned from the screen at checkout, thus eliminating the need to carry the reward cards themselves.
I know, I know. With the release of the EVO 4G every website out there is doing a top apps post. I’m hoping to offer you all a top app list from a different perspective. Not one of a seasoned Android user, but from the view of a new Android user and technology enthusiast. I’m not going to include all of the Google apps or social media apps. Half of them are included on the device, and the others most of you are already aware of. Without further adieu here we go.
Utilities:
aCar: aCar allows you to track your vehicle’s (or multiple vehicles’) fuel mileage and maintenance schedule.
Advanced Task Killer: Android does not include a utility for managing running applications. You can use ATK to manually kill running apps or ATK will automatically kill them on a time based schedule or automatically when the display turns off. You can maintain an ignore list of apps you don’t want ATK to kill. I’ve used this one for a short period of time, but thus far it seems to have improved the battery life on my EVO 4G. Read this article on why you shouldn’t use task killers.
ASTRO File Manager: Android also does not include a good way to browse files on the installed SD card. This is a good file browser and included some other handy features.
Bubble: Bubble is a bubble level. You can calibrate the level and it includes both a plumb/level and 360 degree level.
Keeper Password & Data Vault: This is a United States government certified encrypted password and login data vault. It is similar in function to BlackBerry Wallet.
MyBackup: This is a backup utility for your Android device. It allows you to backup all of your device data and settings to the developer’s secure servers or an installed SD card.
ConnectBot: A telnet and ssh client.
Financial:
Bank of America: The Bank of America application will help you find banking locations. It will also all you to view transactions, view and pay e-Bills, and transfer funds between your accounts.
Mint.com: If you use Mint.com to manage your finances, this app will keep you up to speed on your financial portfolio when you’re on the go.
State Farm Pocket Agent: If you have State Farm insurance this app allows you to view your policies, document an accident, and help you find auto related services while on the go.
Sports:
The Hockey News: THN provides all of the NHL news, scores, stats, and standings you can digest.
One Google app that I believe is worth mentioning and is my new favorite: Google Sky Map. In Google’s own words: “With Google Sky Map for your Android phone you can discover and browse the night sky just by pointing your phone to space.”
Since 2005 I have been a devoted and loyal BlackBerry user. No phone could part me from my beloved BlackBerry devices. That is, until now. Over the last year I have witnessed people use their mobile device to surf the web quickly and easily, playback smooth video, and enjoy large high resolution displays. My BlackBerry started to make me feel left behind. Where BlackBerry excels at messaging, it falls flat on its face when it comes to a rich media experience. Strong messaging capabilities are exactly what many people are after, especially the business types. To that I say great! Continue to use your BlackBerry! I, however, want more. This lead me to researching new phones and platforms. Where I landed is Android. Yesterday (6/4/2010) I picked up the HTC Evo 4G from Sprint! So far this new device is everything I want. It integrates tightly with all of the Google services and includes push Gmail support! My Google contacts sync effortlessly over-the-air with my Evo. The UI is fast and responsive and video playback is smooth. The Android Market has thousands of applications which I have only thus far scratched the surface of. My initial impression of this device is that it is simply amazing.
The one feature that only BlackBerry offers which I will truly miss is BlackBerry Messenger. It really is the best at what it does. There is no replacement. BBM alone though is not enough to keep me with BlackBerry. I believe that if RIM does not step their game up, BlackBerry will be left behind. I understand that they are a secure, corporate devices but consumers want a rich media experience. That is a fact RIM cannot ignore.
I’ll post additional thoughts after I have more time to become acquainted with my new device.
