ROM in focus CyanogenMod
Available on: Over 50 devices
CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod is the most famous of all the
custom ROMs for Android, and has amassed more than two million users.
CyanogenMod is currently available as version 7, which is based on Gingerbread
(Android 2.3), and also as version 9, which is based on Ice Cream Sandwich.
CyanogenMod is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which is the
pure source code for the Android OS. This is what gives it its popularity
-CyanogenMod comes without any customizations that are common with phone
manufacturers. It is heavily optimized to produce excellent performance in both
speed and battery life but also comes with a large number of tweaks and options
that enables the user to customize their experience. These range from the
ability to grant or revoke permissions from third-party apps on a case-by-case
basis, to Phone Goggles, which prevents you from sending inappropriate >*=
text messages when you are otherwise worse for wear!
The Google apps are not part of the
CyanogenMod ROM, but are available to install separately on your device when
you flash the ROM.
ROM in focus AOKP
Available on: 26 devices
ROM in focus AOKP
AOKP - which stands for Android Open Kang
Project (a play on AOSP and the term ‘Kang’, which means leaked or stolen code)
- is a relatively new custom ROM that launched late last year. Like CyanogenMod
it is based on the Android Open Source Project and gives user’s access to the
Vanilla Android OS. As a result the differences between AOKP and CyanogenMod
are relatively small, at least at first glance. Probably the main benefit of
choosing AOKP over CyanogenMod is for its ROM control feature. This collects
together all the tweaks and settings specific to AOKP into a single location.
Almost all of the most crucial parts of a phone’s UI are up for grabs - from
big things like the lock screen to minor concerns such as how the LED flashes.
AOKP ROMs are generally good for day-to-day use, and very easy to flash, but
also have plenty for the more demanding user too. If you have a Galaxy Nexus,
in particular, you’ll find lots of goodness from AOKP.
Cut out and keep guide... Rooting your phone
The process for rooting an Android phone
differs from one device to the next. In some cases there are universal tools
that can do the job, but for other devices a specific app is required. Here are
a few options - be sure you always follow the instruction for your method
fully.
Rooting
your phone
Step
1
Apps such as Super One Click and Universal
And Root reduce the rooting process to nothing more than a few clicks of a
mouse on your desktop computer. Simple and, where available, the best option.
Step
2
If you don’t have a one-dick solution then
you will need to use a manual method, which can sometimes be as easy as the
one-dick offerings. Fastboot and ADB are the methods that are used here to
great effect.
Step
3
Find and follow the instructions specific
to your device. If you need to enter commands you should copy and paste them
rather than typing, to ensure there are definitely no errors in what you enter.
Cut out and keep guide... Creating a Nandroid backup
A Nandroid backup is a full backup of your
phone – the ROM, the apps and all the data you’ve got. You can’t selectively
restore data from a Nandroid backup; instead it is used when you want to roll
back to an older ROM, and is absolutely invaluable if you ever encounter
problems.
Creating
a Nandroid backup
Step
2
The phone will now automatically reboot
into Recovery Mode, the backup process can take a little while so make sure you
aren’t expecting any important calls! The recovery backs up your current ROM to
the SD card.
Step
3
If you ever need to restore a ROM boot into
Recovery (usually by holding volume down and the power button) then navigate
your way to the Backup and Restore menu. Choose Restore and pick one of your
ROMs to restore.
Cut out and keep guide... Hashing a new ROM
When you flash a custom ROM on an Android
phone the entire device gets wiped and replaced with the new version you are
flashing. When you reboot for the first time it may take a while for the phone
to start up, so don’t be alarmed and just leave the phone to do what it needs
to.
Step1
Download ROM Manager, scroll down the main
menu and select Download ROM. A list of suitable ROMs for your device will
appear. Choose a ROM and a list of version releases will be displayed. Select
and tap to download.
Step
2
The ROM will download followed by a
reinstallation menu. Select both Wipe Dalvik Cache and Wipe Data and Cache.
Select Backup Existing ROM should you wish to save your current setup. The
phone will reboot and flash.
Step
3
The flashing process should take a short
while to complete (and a bit longer if you’re backing up as well). Once the new
ROM has booted up it may be slow for the first few minutes while the Dalvik
Cache is rebuilt on your device.
