2012 12 04 22.22.59 576x1024 ROM Picks: ParanoidAndroid 2.99 Official Source Built for the HTC EVO 4G LTELense_Flare has released a version of the AOSP-based Paranoid Android ROM for the HTC EVO 4G LTE, built off of the official PA source. PA is distributed across many different devices and is most well known for its nifty feature of being able to turn your phone into a tablet or a phablet via the hybrid mode.

The newest features of the ROM include the ability to define apps with varying opacity or background colors.

The name of this should probably be “ParanoidAndroid 2.99 Official Source Build” or “…built from source,” but I’m not complaining – just pointing that out.

The camera still leaves a bit to be desired, and there are reported issues with the top mic being used as opposed to the bottom in several instances, but overall the ROM is solid, pretty speedy, and brings much of what Sense lacks to the table.

As with most AOSP-based ROMs on the EVO 4G LTE, it’s kind of a what-you-make-it ROM in that on first glance it looks very vanilla. It’s loaded with options, but unfortunately the configurability can be kind of daunting and imposing if you’re looking for a distinct package. It’ll take a lot of work to make it uniquely yours, but it’ll be worth it.

Comparing the AOSP PA2.99 to the Sense MeanROM 6.4 with Chad Goodman’s Anthrax Kernel, PA scores a 4554 in Quadrant compared to Sense’s 5579, and 11,701 AnTuTu to 11,351. Results are mixed with it performing better here and worse there. However, comparing it to stock I’m pretty sure PA beats it hands down.

It’s also Linaro optimized, although I don’t see huge performance increases over the non-Linaro versions. Then again, I’m not entirely sure where I need to poke around to see the differences.

It’s a pretty sweet ROM, and I wish I had more time to play with all the options in it (my other work has been demanding a phone that works all the time, so I’ve been trapped in Sense land for the past couple of months). The stability this presents, other than minor annoyances, may allow me to make a daily driver leap to it soon enough, though.

If you’re flashing this, be aware that you’ll need to be either S-OFF or comfortable flashing via Flash Image GUI or the fastboot method. Make sure to make a nandroid backup before flashing, and since it’s AOSP-based, make sure to download the gapps package as well, if you want to be able to download anything from Google Play.

Let us know how it works for you, but please make sure to read through some of the thread to make sure you don’t end up with a phone full of boot-loops.

[xda-developers]