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OEMS are ridiculous, STOP USING SKINS
- Thread starter adamvk
- Start date
A.Nonymous
Extreme Android User
I don't think that would be practical at all. You change virtually every aspect of a phone with the skin. Do you know of any ROMS that give you this option? I don't. It would be needlessly complex and would make getting updates to the phone even slower as well as making the ROM on the phone more bloated which would cause all kinds of problems with hardware and space on the phone. Not to mention the endless confusion to the average consumer and performing tech support for the phone would become a nightmare.
I agree with you that it wouldn't be practical in any sense but I don't have enough trust in the OEMs that they would be willing to release a non-nexus device that can run vanilla android stock. Yes it would slow the device down for seemingly no functionality but I don't see any OEM willing to drop their skin and not gain a nexus name. I think LG did something along these lines with one of their earlier android phones but gave it up.
chrlswltrs
Extreme Android User
I agree. I wish all these phones offered the option of Vanilla Android. Skins never really benefit anyone, all they do is make it so that phones take forever to update. I mean seriously, there are still phones that are on Android 2.2 when Gingerbread was released about a year ago....
A.Nonymous
Extreme Android User
There are many, many, many, many, many users out there who would completely and totally disagree with you. I'm one of them. My next phone will be an HTC phone because I like Sense. It is a huge value add to me over Vanilla.
rui-no-onna
Android Enthusiast
I do have a Nexus. However, the problem with that is you're not really left with a lot of choices. If you want vanilla Android, it's either you go with the only Nexus phone released for that year or go with others and flash a custom ROM.
A.Nonymous
Extreme Android User
I would also add that if skins offer nothing, then why does Google take features from skinned UIs and integrate them into their new releases? Just look at ICS. It has a camera on the lock screen (Sense), re-designed dialer (Touchwiz) and a new camera app (Motoblur). If the skins added nothing, why does Google take what these skins do and integrate them into their new releases?
huy_lonewolf
Well-Known Member
I guess this whole discussion just points to the fact that some people are happy with OEM skins and some are not. However, I believe that the number of people being happy with OEM skins is quite substantial (which can be shown by the fact that HTC was the top smartphone manufacturer in the US in Q3 2011, so at least people are generally happy with HTC Sense). Personally, as a HTC user, I really like HTC Sense for making Android more polished and fully functional out of the box. The lock screen on Sense 3.0 is simply awesome!
A.Nonymous
Extreme Android User
Honest question - What did you find annoying about it?
I rooted to get rid of sense. It slows down the phone, chews up loads of internal memory. I don't need the facebook integration it offers as I am not a facebook user. I can't stand the twitter app they have and would rather use a 3rd party app from the market. I like a specific 3rd party launcher as well as a replacement lockscreen so having sense running in the background of my phone offers me no advantage of AOSP.
Before the TB I had a OG Droid which was AOSP and a Droid 2 Global which had blur. I can say sense is better than blur IMO but for snappiness and customization I like AOSP over any other type of rom.
chrlswltrs
Extreme Android User
I had a camera on my lock screen before that was part of sense, and I still have a camera on my lock screen on my GSII.
Everyone copies things from everyone. Google, apple, OEMs, Cyanogen, etc. they do it in one way or another. But, there is a lot more bad than good with skins like extra memory usage, battery drain, and additional unwanted apps.
A.Nonymous
Extreme Android User
I've ran AOSP and Sense and never noticed any difference in battery life at all. Can't speak to performance issues. I never loaded all my apps on the phone as I found the experience with Vanilla Android too dull and boring looking. With just Vanilla the phone was like having a Honda Civic. Reliable. Dependable. Gets you around. Will not turn any heads. It's a grandma car. Throw Sense on it and you have something that looks flashy and adds extra functionality. Unwanted apps don't bug me. I just don't use them. I'm rooted and I haven't removed any of them even though I could do so very easily with TB. They don't bother me in the least. To each his own I guess.