ROM Picks: MeanROM v3.4 for the HTC EVO 4G LTE
We’ve covered MeanROM for the HTC EVO 4G LTE before when it was still in its EVO 4G LTE infancy at version 0.9. Since then MeanROM has been the most consistently updated EVO 4G LTE ROM around with 25 new versions over the past 55 days adding a variety of features and options that have made the ROM a new, more powerful, wonderful thing.
Since we last left it, MeanROM 3.4 now runs on the EvilZ kernel and allows for overclocking for slightly improved performance over the stock kernel. Changing a config file allows you to choose whether MeanROM performs in performance or battery saving mode.
Google Now has been added to the ROM allowing you to have the personal assistant you never knew you needed. Yesterday before an interview I got a notification telling me that it was time to leave the house so I could arrive for the interview on time, and although it’s a bit naive about the time it takes finding parking, it was close enough.
Swype Beta installer is included so you can get an incredibly good new beta keyboard. If you haven’t checked it out recently, it’s smooth, works significantly better with voice recognition, and doesn’t seem to mess up swiped recognition nearly as much.
Neat new features include the ability to wake the phone by pressing the camera button or voice search by half pressing it, screen on with incoming SMS, improved multitasking, a really neat circular battery indicator, a fixed build of Google Wallet that doesn’t report that it’s an unsupported device because the phone is rooted, 4×5 Rosie, power saving mode, an OTA updater to keep you up to date with the most modified 4G LTE ROM out there, HTC Notes (which I’m uncertain if it came with stock or not), and MMS compression off.
It took a lot to woo me away from Viper4G, let me tell you, and MeanROM managed to do that again. The HTML message format available in Exchange email has been one of the reasons I keep coming back to MeanROM – and keep being disappointed in other ROMs.
I’m not terribly impressed with the EvilZ kernel they shipped with it, as it does not like my phone all that much. It’s worth noting that MeanROM gives you a wide selection of kernels you can install from the SD Card including lesser-overclocked versions of EvilZ’s kernel which work much better for me.
MeanROM is a constantly-evolving piece of work – sometimes so much so that you start to wonder if the changes are driven by the popularity gained by having a new version number, or if they’re just the inevitable results of a perfectionist attempting to stay right on top of everything. Whatever the case, it’s a solidly built ROM with a feature set that can be best described at the moment as “all of them.”
[xda-developers]
