My Problem with Android

So after using an Android phone for about a week now, I am both pleased and disappointed. I acquired a used HTC One X (Evita) for $50. From a hardware performance and speed standpoint, I am amazed. Going from an iPhone 4 that took about 5 seconds to load twitter to almost instantly on my One X is great. 4G LTE is also a godsend compared to 3G. The camera is also far better. However the stock HTC ROM is garbage and not to mention hideous. I don't understand why Android phone manufacturers have to taint the stock Android so much. Just about everything that came preinstalled, I will never use and it just clutters the system. I am severely OCD and the HTC ROM just feels bloated and unorganized coming from iOS7. Also, rooting has been a nightmare for me. Even the people on XDA Devs haven't been able to point me to a successful method of rooting my phone. If I just want to install a new ROM like CyanogenMod, do I even need to be root? 

Let me know what you guys think, I know this forum is predominately Android users and I want to know what you guys have to say. I'm basically a virgin to the real smartphone world.

I recently purchased a motorola Droid Maxx (the one based off of the ultra) and it is almost as minimalistic as my Nexus 7 2013.

I haven't installed a ROM on a droid since android 2.3 on my droid 4, but later went back to stock with android 4.0.

Heard a lot of people hating the HTC android platform. I usually tell people to go with Samsung for features and to Motorola for cleanliness and streamlined phones.

I don't think you need root to install a ROM, at least I didn't a year ago.

Seems like you aren't the only one having problems with the new ROM. I'd say if the hardware is decent, get apps to "color over" what you don't like. If you can get root to work, you may be able to remove some of the bloatware that HTC installed.

Yeah, thanks for understanding my situation. Most people just spew "YOU SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT N5 BLAH!" Just no. I bought this phone from my neighbor for $50. If I didn't get a good deal then I wouldn't have a new phone at all lol. I'm 16 and I don't have a job so I don't exactly have $350 for a new phone... But yeah HTC is off my list in the future. I've heard tons of good stuff about the Droid line, so I may look into picking up one of those used. 

i had some experience with htc, with the sensation.

 

to flash custom roms you need to unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recoverey such as clockworkmod or 4ext, and get S-off

i cant help you much with achieving this with the one x, but google is your friend.

all i know is that it can be achieved because there are custom roms for the One X

If you want a different UI just install a good home replacement. No need for root or custom roms. Something like Nova Launcher, Themer etc should work just fine

The newer HTC One isn't nearly as bad so they are getting better...

If you root you can delete the bloatware apps, right now without root you can get nova launcher to replace the homescreen. Its less intense than install cyanogenmod but then you barely have to see HTC stuff.

If you get it rooted you can install the google play edition rom. Since the google paly version of the htc one is stock android.

besides ANDROID,  can you tell me more about the hardware? like camera, screen, buttons, feel?

Front cam sucks ass. Back cam is far better than any other phone I've used, however the zoom is still digital but whatever it's a phone. Records 1080p@24fps, has video stabilization that works quite well. Has "Beats Audio" which I'm guessing is just an amp which makes the music louder when enabled, and adds bass. I listen to old school hip hop and rap so I like it. The AT&T version has a dual core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and 1GB of RAM. 4.7in 720p IPS screen. Some NVIDIA GPU. Felt big in my hand at first (I have small hands) but I'm used to it now. Overall the phone loads apps quickly and feels snappy even with many apps open, however I usually reboot the phone once a day (takes about 10 seconds). If I was gonna buy one new I would just get a Nexus 5.

The home, back, and app switching buttons are all touch but they work perfectly. Has a volume bumper on the side and a lock button on top. Also has a small LED which gives you charging and message notifications etc.

With power saver on my battery lasts EASILY 32 hours (I don't play games but I do check twitter and my messages frequently) however it takes fairly long to charge compared to my previous iPhones. 

damn sounds like it would be a pretty dope phone if it wasnt for the carrier bootloader lock? im guess that's what the problem is.

Yeah theres a way to unlock it but it's been a pain in my ass and I can't get it to work. If I were buying new, the Nexus 5 is the best option they are only $350 and they are badass.

BAM!! http://www.redmondpie.com/root-unroot-all-htc-android-devices-in-one-click-using-htc-quick-root-tool/

Let me know if this works. I thought about all the different devices incompatibility issues and wondered if there was a universal one. What do ya know? Also first you should do the HTC official bootloader unlock. This is one of 3 parts to installing a custom rom. 

1. unlocking bootloader- this lets you install custom roms but only when you also have root

2. root- lets you delete bloatware and stuff by giving full access to phone

3. a recovery-this lets you back up the phone and "flash" kernels and roms, flash pretty much means install and a kernel is what lets you control the cpu speed and overclock, undervolt ect... Many roms come with a custom kernel too.

Anyway let me know how it goes, I've seen you posts and I used to struggle alot with bad tutorials that didn't really worked for my phone. I'd be happy to help and answer any questions you have.

A 1 minute search had me go to this fourm and i found out the htcdev website has the things you need to unlock the bootloader

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2490492

I also have this link to load fastboot and flach a CM 10.2 rom

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1647993

This even tells you what you need to type into your computer to start fastboot so you can do it for other roms or files. Amazing how its the same thing for motorola that I did 2 years ago. 

 

Honestly I say this in a very caring way. You need to do a little bit more research before asking questions because this search took literally all of 5 minutes on XDA. Once you install a new rom onto a phone the process is pretty much the same for all of that brand.. motorola will be the same as moto. htc will be the same on htc. Samsung hasn't changed in the past 4 years.