CM6 Rom (Detailed) Edit: shortened

twilk · #1 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 07:35 AM

Long? Yes! If you haven’t tried CM6 and you want to know what it’s about, read ahead. If you tried CM6 and you are very familiar, just skip.

First CM6 is the only rom fully based off of AOSP. Other roms include AOSP in them however they are not AOSP they are in fact sense roms with bits of AOSP added in. AOSP doesn’t have any HTC Sense and the CM6 rom will probably never have HTC Sense because it’s not open source. CM6 is all about open source because it’s legal to mod and use. A plus to no HTC sense means a lot of extra space on the internal memory. Now here is a list of CM6 features.

- CM6 has a different blue tooth stack (one that works with the Wii remote).

-Tethering and Hotspot is unlocked (you don’t need an extra app to make it work, the option is unlocked).

-There is a power widget that is far better than the stock power widget and it’s got a lot more customization then the stock power widget.

-YouTube parental settings are unlocked.

-Wireless N is unlocked (most roms have this unlocked already).

-There are options to have battery % inside the battery.

-You can turn the clock off in the status bar if you want.

-There is an option to monitor your cell phone signal strength.

-There is the option to change the color of the notification bar and the drop down menu individually.

-There is the option to place the phone down, or turn it over to silence the phone when getting a call.

-Haptic feedback can be tweaked.

-When you long press the home key you can bring up more recent apps (8, 12 or 15) or even change it to open an app instead.

-You have the option to set music controls on the lock screen when music plays or you can set it to show the controls all the time. The controls also work with Pandora.

-You can set the menu key to unlock to phone so you don’t have to slide to unlock.

-There are Performance settings that allow you to change whether JIT is on.

-You can set surface dithering (this improves image quality) and you can change the VM heap size.

-Sound settings include the options to focus notifications, this allows the running app to quiet down and let the notification sound play. You can set the notification, ringtone or alarm to a higher then default sound level. Meaning if notifications aren’t loud enough for you on the loudest setting then you can change it with CM6 to be louder.

-There is a render effect option that allows the screen to be all one color. Its similar to sepia or negative in the camera options where as if you choose negative for the camera it makes a black and white photo. The difference here is that the render effect has options for various colors like red, blue or lots of colors. It works with the whole phone though not with the camera.

-There are tweaks for the automatic backlight. These settings go beyond the standard backlight settings.

-FPS is unlocked to almost 60.

-You can set the screen so that it will rotate with almost any app, including the home screen. You can set the screen to have the ability to rotate 90, 180 or 270 degree’s.

-You can set how long the screen takes to turn the lock screen on. Ever turn off the screen or the screen shuts off and you go to turn it back on only to see the lock screen. Turn it back on before say 5 second and the lock screen won’t be there.

-Also this rom has the 3D gallery which I like.

-I think this rom pushes my Gmail, whenever I receive a Gmail its instant.

If I missed anything feel free to add.
One thing to remember this is not a sense rom so if you load it for the first time it might be overwhelming at first. You’ll notice the message and phone look way different. Also there is no voicemail standard you have to add it. Another thing the camera does have settings and yes you can change them. When you click on an icon on the right of the camera screen a box or window opens up, that window is scrollable. It’s not something that is obvious to most. I personally get excellent battery life with this rom and I have been running it since RC1. It’s as good if not better then the stock rom battery life. If you are noticing shorter battery life with any rom it’s probably your phone and not the ROM. I think that goes for all roms. However there are a few roms out there that are really geared towards getting better battery life. Also this rom is running very smooth and stable for me.

There are downsides to this rom and they are all pretty well known. There is no 4G (yet), no FM radio, no HDMI out. If you try to send a text over 160 characters it fails (this doesn’t happen for everyone). Some people also have issues with the 3D gallery (I do not have these issues). I think that’s an issue with all roms though. This rom doesn’t have a VVM app. You can load the Sprint one but if you do you will get a text as well as a VVM whenever you receive a VVM. Also HTC widgets don’t work on this rom, obviously.

MrDSL · #2 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 09:29 AM

I think the 160 char txting is a user issue or a roaming issue since it works fine for me and many others..Just my take though.

You really like the 3d gallery? Man I hate that app!! Its slow and half the time doesn't even load all my photos. The HTC Album is about the only HTC app I actually miss. It loads fast and loads all my pics everytime so for now I just use b&b gallery from the market to replace the stock 3dgallery.

blockhead428 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 12:57 PM

Now if only the people who are making the roms could do this same stuff, we'd be in good shape. I noticed that some of the chefs create roms, tell very little about them, and don't even post screenshots. I'm not going to blindly flash something without knowing jack about it. OP, excellent write up. If you plan on doing this with other roms, I think you have a good idea going. The roms need a place where they can be reviewed and rated so we can make more informed decisions. The threads can get junked up by people posting random garbage. Sorry for somewhat jacking your post, but thanks again!

JeffKay · #4 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 01:18 PM

Hey twilk - I could not get the google apps to install. The rom installed and operates fine, but the google apps zip does not. I install it in recovery, no errors during install. But the google apps (gmail, market etc..) don't work.

How did you do it?
Thanks

MrDSL · #5 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffKay

Hey twilk - I could not get the google apps to install. The rom installed and operates fine, but the google apps zip does not. I install it in recovery, no errors during install. But the google apps (gmail, market etc..) don't work.

How did you do it?
Thanks

Flash the gapps zip just like you would a ROM..If its not working then maybe you got a bad download? Try downloading gapps again

twilk · #6 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 02:46 PM

Like stated above google apps needs to be flashed like a rom. Its not installed like an .apk

MrDSL I hear lots of people having troube with the pictures loading. I personaly dont I have a class 4 micro sd and there are very few pictures on my sd so that could be why. Also there is a theory on the 160 plus characters not sending for some. Apparently some people think it is a location thing. Where as one guy mentions he can send more then 160 characters in his home down but while on vacation he had issues. And several others in that thread said similar things.

JeffKay · #7 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 03:25 PM

I factory reset and installed Google apps..

All I can say is WOW!!! Friggen WOW!

This is the way this phone is supposed to act.

I never liked HTC's interfaces. From my Touch Pro till now. This is clean and FAST!

The only two things I would like so far is the contacts app from sense. I had to downland an app for grouping contacts.

The "sync all" from sense. (or an equivalent.)

Props to the Cyanogen team!

Highly recommended.

snowplow54 · #8 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 03:53 PM

I tried CM6 for about a month, and liked it. The battery life on it was amazing. after a slow 12 hr day at work i still had 60% battery left. However, I do think this write up is a little biased. You seem to imply that every sense rom is the same. I would suggest that you try comparing the stock Rom to Fresh Rom, I think you'll be able to tell the difference. Each person is different, and I can see why so many people love CM. But for me, I just can't live without my HTC widgets.

cmdauria · #9 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 05:37 PM

Anyone know where to find Up time and Awake time on this Rom? I can only find Up time.

MrDSL · #10 (**permalink**) 09-03-2010, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twilk

Like stated above google apps needs to be flashed like a rom. Its not installed like an .apk

MrDSL I hear lots of people having troube with the pictures loading. I personaly dont I have a class 4 micro sd and there are very few pictures on my sd so that could be why. Also there is a theory on the 160 plus characters not sending for some. Apparently some people think it is a location thing. Where as one guy mentions he can send more then 160 characters in his home down but while on vacation he had issues. And several others in that thread said similar things.

I have a class 6 and it always tests around 10 so I don't think that's it. Every other gallery loads instantly pretty much after the first time run of course.