Good and EVO

Reader ROM Picks: MIUI ROM for HTC EVO 4G

Reader ROM Picks is a regular series that showcases G&E readers’ favorite HTC EVO custom ROMs.

Evo-reader-rom-miui (1) This ROM pick was sent in by Alex Cordero.

G&E talked about MIUI ROM late last year, and I’ve been using it off and on for about six months and recently decided to maintain it  my daily driver. Prior to doing so, I lurked through XDA for other stock- or AOSP-based ROMs looking for the perfect one.

I settled on Myn’s Warm TwoPointTwo for a while and bounced back to CyanogenMod nightlies and then mixed in a variety of overclocking and undervolting kernels; I tried many custom ROM and kernel combinations. My goal was the same as
any EVO/XDA enthusiast: to find the most efficient ROM that offered the best battery life possible without sacrificing my phone’s intended purpose . . . and to do all this without bricking it. Fortunately, I
never damaged my phone and learned a lot from XDA members.

I first discovered MIUI while reading through a thread on XDA about a unique ROM that wasn’t based on stock Sense or AOSP. I performed a Nandroid backup (tutorial here), flashed it, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best. When the phone finished its boot process, the interface was completely different from anything I’d ever seen on Android. It was as though I had a new phone. I showed it to some buddies who thought that it looked like an iPhone or iPod touch; the iOS design inspiration and resemblance is unmistakable.

The early versions of MIUI were buggy as early releases of ROMs tend to be. The phone was functional for the most part but other MIUI users suggested flashing different kernels because the phone would perform random restarts on or off WiFi. But regardless of what kernel I flashed, MIUI would drain the battery faster than any other ROM I had used before. So I stopped using it for a while with an interest in some of the Gingerbread ROM development and would revisit MIUI Developers to see if some of the issues had been resolved.

Evo-reader-rom-miui (5) I eventually flashed MIUI 1.2.19 to find that most of the problems that I previously encountered had been resolved. Gone were the random restarts, and battery life was considerably better. Also improved was the availability to themes that were easy to apply; everything seemed overall faster,
more fluid. So not only did I now have a unique ROM, but it was functional too.

Currently, I’m using version 1.2.25 (that latest version is 1.3.5 Beta 6), which offers the best battery life I’ve enjoyed on my EVO without having to look for or research other kernels. It’s functional enough to be my daily driver.

Aesthetics are important to me. I like color, enjoy MIUI’s sophisticated appearance, and I’ll be honest, I also really enjoy the way iOS is organized; and MIUI definitely has an iOS look/feel to it. I like Sense and AOSP, but it’s refreshing that a developer can exploit Android’s open architecture and offer something unique like MIUI.

My favorite feature about MIUI 1.2.25 is the dramatically improved battery life with the included kernel (SavagedZen-0.1.0-BFS-HAVS). I can get a day and half of average use from a single charge, which is a far cry from the 12 hours I used to get using other ROM/kernel combinations. Note: We all your use our EVOs differently, so your runtime may not be the same as mines.

Evo-reader-rom-miui (4) Evo-reader-rom-miui (6)

Evo-reader-rom-miui (2) Evo-reader-rom-miui (3)

The SMS/MMS interface through MIUI is robust because it offers a few custom features that are found mostly in applications like Handcent or Go SMS. But what is probably one of the most unique features of MIUI is, as G&E has previously mentioned, the absence of the app drawer. When you install an application, it simply places it sequentially after your last application (like in iOS) and creates another home screen if necessary. Folders are supported, so you can still keep things neat and tidy. I didn’t think I’d get used to this arrangement, but after a few days of using it found that I really didn’t miss the app drawer. Overall, I find MIUI to be ideally organized for quick access essential features. The system settings offer more customization than I’ve seen on any other ROM.

All in all, I think MIUI is a robust ROM that exemplifies everything the HTC EVO has to offer and does it with style. Despite my ROM flashing addiction, I’ll be hard-pressed to try more ROMs after MIUI.

Download: http://www.multiupload.com/QVKNU6UZKK (version 1.3.5)
Info/FAQ: http://www.miui-dev.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?18-HTC-EVO-4G

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Reader ROM Picks is a regular series that showcases G&E readers’ favorite HTC EVO custom ROMs.

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Jenn K. Lee

Jenn K. Lee is the founder of Pocketables. She loves gadgets the way most women love shoes and purses. The pieces in her tech wardrobe that go with everything are currently the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Sony Tablet P, and Nexus 7, but there are still a couple of vintage UMPCs/MIDs in the back of her closet.

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