Help finding a suitable ROM requested

[SweetBearCub]

UPS is scheduled to deliver my Epic 4G today - My LG Optimus S is being returned. While the Optimus S is a fine device (especially for a free Android phone), coming from a TP2, I could not adjust to its smaller screen and lack of a physical keyboard, so I called Sprint and ordered an Epic 4G as an exchange.

While I'll certainly explore the Epic 4G as-is before I root it, I'm sure I'll probably root it and upgrade its ROM rather quickly.

I spent some time surfing the Epic 4G upgrade sub-forum, but I can't make sense of all the diferent ROMs. Information overload. I'd appreciate it if I could get some guidance on finding a ROM that meets these criteria:

1) Android 2.3 (preferred) or 2.2.1 base.
2) "Desktop-compatible" Flash 10.1 (Hulu-capable, for example).
3) JIT and other "speed hacks" fully enabled.
4) Able to be over and under-clocked.
5) Able to connect to and use Ad-Hoc WiFi (unlike un-modified Android code).
6) No Sprint bloatware.
7) Completely stock/non-custom interface.

Thanks!

[austin420]

1. there are no 2.3 available yet (ask gten about drivers and such)
2. all 2.2.1 will be desktop compatible with flash, but you do know that hulu activly blocks us mobile connections right? although there is a hack for that, i dont belive it is cooked in to any roms. you can find more about it here. http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/sprint-epi...work-epic.html
3. jit will be enabled on any 2.2s you flash.
4. over clocking is a kernel thing. better read up some more. this aint winmo. there is more to it than just flashing roms. there are roms kernels, modems, and bout 4 diffrent ways to flash them. some use clockwork, some people use odin, some people use heimdall, some people use a stock recovery. look in to all thius first.
5. there is an app for that. lol
6. some sprint bloat were is pretty handy. the sprint zone app lets you do connection tests and acts like a sprint.com app. you can use it to check up on all the phones on your account. i like it, but ehh.
7. give touchwiz a chance. i think it has some useful pluses and a few widgets i couldnt live without.

[SweetBearCub]

Thanks for your reply.

1) That's fine. 2.3 will come soon enough, I'm sure.
2) Yes, I do know that Hulu actively blocks mobile connections, that's why I specifically said "Hulu-capable", vs. the standard Flash 10.1. According to the thread you linked, it is cooked into at least one ROM - But that ROM has other customizations (such as a different lock screen and startup & shutdown sounds) that I don't want. I want the UI (sounds included) to be as close to 100% vanilla Android as possible.
3) Ok, fair enough. At least on the Optimus S, in addition to JIT, custom ROMs also made a few changes to stagefright, enabled GPU hardware acceleration, and made references to "aligning" files on the internal storage for faster access. Are those additional speed hacks active in custom ROMS for the Epic 4G, if they're used at all?
4) I am aware the the flashing procedure is a bit more involved in Android, and that overclocking is a kernel-dependent thing. However, from what I've seen, some kernels (built into custom ROMs) are enabled for under & overclocking, and some are not. I want one that is ready to handle that. Also, I have yet to find a good tutorial that explains all the various parts/methods to an Android flash sequence.
5) So I see. But I'm not sure how to install it, and thus would prefer that it came cooked into a custom ROM.
6) Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but I want every trace of Sprint's apps off of my phone.
7) I've seen TouchWiz demoed in some YouTube videos. It didn't appeal to me. I want it gone, replaced with a vanilla Android launcher, one that I'm free to customize.

Is there no such ROM available? If not - How can I make one?

Originally Posted by austin420

1. there are no 2.3 available yet (ask gten about drivers and such)
2. all 2.2.1 will be desktop compatible with flash, but you do know that hulu activly blocks us mobile connections right? although there is a hack for that, i dont belive it is cooked in to any roms. you can find more about it here. http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/sprint-epi...work-epic.html
3. jit will be enabled on any 2.2s you flash.
4. over clocking is a kernel thing. better read up some more. this aint winmo. there is more to it than just flashing roms. there are roms kernels, modems, and bout 4 diffrent ways to flash them. some use clockwork, some people use odin, some people use heimdall, some people use a stock recovery. look in to all thius first.
5. there is an app for that. lol
6. some sprint bloat were is pretty handy. the sprint zone app lets you do connection tests and acts like a sprint.com app. you can use it to check up on all the phones on your account. i like it, but ehh.
7. give touchwiz a chance. i think it has some useful pluses and a few widgets i couldnt live without.

[austin420]

im sorry i cant be of more help. i can only tell you what i run and why. i use the acs-dk17 by konane. its essetially a stock rom. just a slightly tweaked version of one of the leaked betas.
it works for me. i actively avoid aosp or vanilla roms. touchwiz is just as customizeable as plain android. everything from vanilla android is still there with impovements to the gallery and music player. the only diffrences i notice are the dock apps are diffrent from vanilla and the app drawer slides left and right instead of up and down. since we got touchwiz 3.0 now you can change out the dock icons, so that makes it a little better than the touchwiz on 2.1.
i dont require tethering. i have buisness class internet at home and a clear hotspot on the go from my job, so i cant help you there.
1ghz is also fine for me. i tried overclocking and could see no diffrence in everyday use and im not one to go around touting quadrant scores, so after a little playing, i decided to leave it at stock as far as clock speed, so sorry, i cant help you much there as far as finding a rom for that either.

[Johnny.Bravo]

Originally Posted by SweetBearCub

Thanks for your reply.

1) That's fine. 2.3 will come soon enough, I'm sure.

No it won't. 2.2 was released in May and here we are 7 months later and we still don't have an official release for the Epic. 2.3 is already rolling out in the UK, but don't hold your breath. I would be extremely surprised if we see 2.3 for the Epic before mid-summer 2011

Originally Posted by SweetBearCub

4) I am aware the the flashing procedure is a bit more involved in Android, and that overclocking is a kernel-dependent thing. However, from what I've seen, some kernels (built into custom ROMs) are enabled for under & overclocking, and some are not. I want one that is ready to handle that.

Overclocking is done by writing a custom kernel that allows access to controlling the CPU speed. The only way to write a custom kernel is if Samsung releases the source code the that particular version of Android. So far all the Froyo ROMs we have are unofficial leaks. Samsung has not released the source code yet, therefore, no custom kernels yet. If you want to O/C your phone you are going to have to stick with 2.1 for now. Supposedly the official release of 2.2 is coming in the next 3 weeks or so. When that happens Samsung should release the source code either at the same time or very shortly thereafter. Once that happens you can expect custom O/C'd kernels within a day.

Originally Posted by SweetBearCub

Also, I have yet to find a good tutorial that explains all the various parts/methods to an Android flash sequence.

Have you checked out the the wiki on the Epic? There are some pretty good step-by-step tutorials on how to root your phone, install clockworkmod and flash custom ROMs and kernels.

http://wiki.ppcgeeks.com/index.php?title=Sprint_Epic_4g

Originally Posted by SweetBearCub

5) So I see. But I'm not sure how to install it, and thus would prefer that it came cooked into a custom ROM.

Wireless Tether installs just like any other app that you would download from the Market. Its in apk format so just click on it. However, most of the custom ROMs out there already have it cooked it. Its a pretty popular requirement.

So, having said all that, you still haven't received an answer to your original request. Here's what I think.

If you are dead set on an overclocked ROM, I would recommend going with either the Syndicate ROM:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/sprint-epi...-5-2010-a.html

or the Epic Experience ROM:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/sprint-epi...9-11-22-a.html

These are both Android 2.1 ROMS based on the last official release ( DI18 ). You'll notice that they have not been developed much since mid-November because the devs have all been working on the Froyo leaks, but these are very fast,stable ROMs that have gone through many updates and have had just about all the bugs worked out. If you follow the links you will also see that there are several different kernels you can use with each so try them all out and see which one gives you what you want. In fact, the Experience ROM doesn't even have a kernel so you have to choose one and flash it apart from the ROM.

Now, if you want to go with Froyo, I highly recommend the Viper ROM:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/sprint-epi...2-07-10-a.html

The cook is pretty dedicated to putting out updates and he responds to feedback fairly quickly. Its fast, stable and has pretty decent battery life for not having a custom kernel.

Be aware that if you go to any of the Froyo ROMs you have to flash the modem separately using Odin. Don't worry its not hard at all, and it only takes about 2 minutes, but it is absolutely necessary. Read as much as you can about how to flash everything before you dive in, and if you have any questions just come back here and ask and you'll probably get an answer within a few hours.

[wudstock54]

Midnight and Nebula roms are also stable 2.2 with good battery life, at least in my experience.

[SweetBearCub]

Thanks for the replies.

As far as us not having access to the 2.3 update or source code (likely) for quite some time - Will the fact that Google used a Galaxy S phone (sans 4G, keyboard, removable storage, and notification LED, but still a Galaxy S phone) as a dev phone which will likely get all the updates (and source code) first help us? Unless I'm mistaken, the Nexus S and our Epic 4G have very much the same internal hardware/chipset.

[austin420]

the only problem with that i could see is the radio. the nexus s will be a gsm phone with said radio. that could cause an issue. also, if we see a port there could be a problem with getting wimax to work. the 4g radio will require a bit of finesse.