ROM Picks: HatkaLTE 1.1.0 for the HTC EVO 4G LTE
HatkaLTE is a Sense-based custom ROM for the HTC EVO 4G LTE, aimed at the audio and video enthusiasts who want a stock experience, be that Sense stock, Xperia stock, AOSP stock, or a mish-mash of those.
HatkaLTE is a blind port of developer utkaar099’s Hatka ROM for the One XL, so there may be some EVO LTE specific issues that pop up later on down the road, but I haven’t run into anything that I think can be blamed on the ROM.
The ROM has an Aroma installer, so you get to pick and choose what you want, which is awesome if you know what you want, but perhaps not so much if you’re wanting to sample everything. I imagine some of the mods don’t play too well with others though, and there’s probably no reason to install several different launchers and audio/video players.
The ROM features the AC!D Audio engine, Beats, the Sony xLoud Engine, and a series of tweaks for the signal, GPS, smoothness, battery, etc. It also features the Sony Bravia Engine 2, landscape Rosie, and a very long features list. There are a handful of music players included from different devices, such as the Walkman player.
There’s also a Sense camera mod that I’ve been wanting for a long time – the ability to change the numbering format from IMAG0XXX to the date the image was taken. This is absurdly useful if you flash multiple ROMs and move the pictures you’ve taken off of the phone so you don’t start right back at IMAG0001.JPG.
Besides the filename mod, you can also do scenes for the front facing camera, and force video formats to mp4 or 3gpp. There are also options on screen for ISO and white balance, and an option for ZSL, but that’s disabled by default.
One thing to note is that with 1.1.0, there are two downloads: the ROM, and a patch to get the camcorder running. Make sure to download both and flash at the same time, as the camcorder fix appears to delete the Dalvik and require a rebuild (this will save you some time).
On the initial install, you’re presented with an Aroma installer and you’re given 12 options over a couple of pages. After you make you’re selections, the install will begin. Once it hits the kernel installation portion, it will take a couple of minutes and appear to be locked up. Walk away for a minute; I’m not sure what it’s doing there, but it does warn you that it will be a bit.
The first boot is longer than anything I’ve run across on the EVO LTE line. I thought my phone might be locked up, as it seemed to sit at the white screen considerably longer than others. I did an ADB logcat, and saw it was chugging along, getting things ready. All in all, I think the entire install took about seven minutes. After subsequent reboots, the ROM is on par with any other ROM I can think of; it’s just a little slow on the install boot.
Since this ROM has many a music mod, I tried it out in my pimp Honda Element with factory everything. It sounded really, really good. I also tried it out with my second favorite headphones, as I can’t find my favorite headphones, and it sounds loud, full, and little more encompassing. I can’t play music at full volume with this ROM/setup without my ears hurting. I think that’s probably a good thing.
One thing I did notice is that when there’s not a stream of audio or you’re not playing anything, there’s a lot of random noise coming off the line. Not having played a lot of music off my EVO in the car, I’m not sure if that’s an EVO or a ROM thing. Basically I could hear what I was pressing and some little Morse-code sounds in the background. The instant I started playing anything or the jack became active, it was completely silent. I’ll try this out with another ROM later and see how that works out (whether it’s the ROM or my phone).
The Xperia launcher is pretty neat if you haven’t played with it. It’s a bit minimalist, does what it needs to do, and works fine. If you install the Xperia launcher, you’re going to have a fairly blank canvas to work on and that’s cool. The Xperia transitions are a nice change from Sense.
It’s a pretty neat ROM; the only things I’d like to change that I’ve run across are the persistent power saver notification in the status bar is annoying (blame HTC for that one) and incoming audio notifications during music sound a bit odd.
Try it out and let us know what you think!
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