roms vs themes????

[excess]

I've been reading up trying to soak up as much as possible and have been succesful installing a bunch of apps but have yet to toy with my today screen.I understand a rom is flashed on to the phone while themes are just applications running in the background, what are the pros and cons from one another.

[rvashi]

You are right that a ROM is flashed on to the phone. This can include your Operating System (OS) and/or Radio.

A theme is just the background picture and color scheme that you see on your today screen and throughout the rest of the OS. It is just like themes on Windows XP or Vista. A theme, however, is not a background application.

Additionally, ROMs and themes are completely different thus 'pros and cons' cannot be evaluated. ROMs are what makes your PocketPC work and themes are what makes your PocketPC look customized.

Hope that helps.

[excess]

I've picked that up on my own but I still haven't been around long enough to still understand why use the rom. most of the things that make using the phone easier like pocketcm or different browsers are all applications that can be added without flashing.I guess what im looking for is an explanation on why "your" rom makes the phone work any better than htcs loaded with the apps I like to use.

[rvashi]

Well, I am not sure if we are on the same track but a ROM, again has your operating system and radio. What you are saying seems like the following: I want to use Microsoft Word/Excel, play games, listen to music, etc. on my PC without having Windows XP or Vista. That's just not possible. ROM has Windows Mobile 5/6 on it along with a Radio ROM which allows the phone functions to work.

Hope that helps and let me know if I am understanding you incorrectly.

[TurboFool]

Originally Posted by excess

I've picked that up on my own but I still haven't been around long enough to still understand why use the rom. most of the things that make using the phone easier like pocketcm or different browsers are all applications that can be added without flashing.I guess what im looking for is an explanation on why "your" rom makes the phone work any better than htcs loaded with the apps I like to use.

The custom ROMs you see floating around are the result of tweaking the ROM under the hood. Swapping out base-level components with more stable, or faster-running ones, and also building tweaks and adjustments in from the beginning instead of having to add them later. Some applications even run better when installed as part of the OS instead of later on. All-in-all, a custom ROM can be an overall improved version of the OS and include a bunch of cool stuff that you don't have to install yourself later on.

[itsall_cooool]

If some of the meaningless junk Sprint includes in their ROM is removed (like Sprint Music Store) programs you choose to use can be added to the custom ROM. This frees program storage memory so more can be added later.

If you are happy with the operation of your phone and don't require the space to load your phone with third part applications just customize it using today plug-ins.