Related
I've been seeing a lot of activity of android development for windows mobile and I wanted to know if I should even bother loading Android on my device.
So I have a few general questions.
1. Can someone tell me how fast android runs on xperia? The reason I ask is because WM is great, but only when it's not lagging or freezing. I'm guessing it would lag just as much or more than WM since it's running on top of WM. (though some of my reading says that android is "not" runing at the same time as WM?)
2. At this point the main features Android on Xperia lacks is:
-reliable battery
-gps (According to this article gps should be coming soon to xperia right?)
-bluetooth?
-camera
3. Once all the above features are working it will be possible to make an android rom for the xperia?
That's it.
If Android is not too slow and the GPS and battery issue is fixed then I can see myself using Android on my Xperia.
Thanks in advanced for those who reply.
If you want a real phone OS you have to stick to WM for now. Android is "emulated" through Haret from within WM. Haret is supposed to reboot the device and make it so the device boots into Android, but it only runs off of the SD card. If you run an ultra-lite ROM it is almost like you are running an Android ROM, but it is still patchwork and the kernel is incomplete. So it will be a little slow and there will be some missing capabilities.
There has been a very promising improvement since the Xperoid began, and it is perfectly safe to test, but it is not yet ready for daily use, in my opinion.
realaxed said:
I've been seeing a lot of activity of android development for windows mobile and I wanted to know if I should even bother loading Android on my device.
So I have a few general questions.
1. Can someone tell me how fast android runs on xperia? The reason I ask is because WM is great, but only when it's not lagging or freezing. I'm guessing it would lag just as much or more than WM since it's running on top of WM. (though some of my reading says that android is "not" runing at the same time as WM?)
2. At this point the main features Android on Xperia lacks is:
-reliable battery
-gps (According to this article gps should be coming soon to xperia right?)
-bluetooth?
-camera
3. Once all the above features are working it will be possible to make an android rom for the xperia?
That's it.
If Android is not too slow and the GPS and battery issue is fixed then I can see myself using Android on my Xperia.
Thanks in advanced for those who reply.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Android is better than WM, and Faster.
2. Battery is almost fixed, GPS and Camera are coming after fixing battery.
3. when Android is working fine a ROM will be made naturally.
personally, I dont need GPS or camera.
Minus GPS and camera, which are two things which I really only use about once a week, Android is a perfectly acceptable replacement for WM. Battery will not get you through the day though.
Really it's not that hard to try it out, just give it a go and see if you like it. Keep in mind there will always be improvements being made.
At the moment, Android is just for fun. It's a really nice OS, and the work thats being done on this forum is staggering considering its being done by people UNPAID, and IN THERE OWN TIME! Sorry just like to stress that point to people who moan... Huge teams of HTC employees are on 60-70K a year writing code that these guys will probably end up doing a better job of for free, but I digress...
If you want to play around with HTC Sense on Android, which is my current toy, you have to make do without Wifi, GPS, Camera, but I don't experience the huge drop in battery life that everyone else does. Maybe I'm just lucky. If you're patient and wait for everything to load, I'd say that it is actually faster than WinMo. The Clean/Glossy versions have a greater capabilty (you get wifi and such like) and are even faster. Probably best to try that one first. Hope that answers your first two questions.
To the last, we're a long way off a ROM, but if things progress at their current rate I don't see why we can't have one some time before we all retire our Xperia's.
To your thread title, as long as you don't expect too much at this stage and you are willing to accept that this is just a "proof of concept" there's no reason not to try it. All you're loosing is half a GB on storage space on you're SD... And the more people that try it, the quicker bugs can be ironed out, and the major things like camera and GPS can be fixed.
Android is worth the workload. It's running smoth on the X1 and much better than WinMobile. Thanks to the developers.
I don't know why it has to Windows Mobile OR Android.
I for once really like the ability to have a multi-os system.
Therefor I try often new Xperoid builds and am quite impressed by the improvement.
Thanks to everyone working on it !
Greetings
SlowlyDead
Time to replace my old HTC Diamond isn't ? On paper, the Galaxy seems by far the best option. However, users complain about GPS, which is very important to me, and lag which is quite annoying.
Are those problems solved when installing Froyo ? I don't mind modifying the phone as I have been doing it for a couple years with the Diamond.
The next best option seems to be the Nexus 1. I really don't know what to do !
Comments ?
The GPS problem is not fixed (at least for me) in Froyo JPK. If GPS is a key feature for you I would advise to wait for official Froyo to see if the GPS is fixed, or, alternatively, buy a different Android phone.
The lag problem is not fixed either, however you can root the phone and install Voodoo or one-click lag fix and that does fix the lag.
I love my Galaxy S but if GPS is really important to you then it is not the phone for you.
for me neither of the lag fixes actually impact on the day to day use of the phone, it still lags.
Yes my quadrant scores are a hell of alot faster but in real life the homescreen with widgets open still stutters
I am in the same boat currently, im impatient, but luckily in the position that if when froyo arrives it solves the issues, i can always go and purchase another SGS
There are numerous users who have experianced hardly any lag and good GPS performance, i unfortunatley am not one of those people no matter what rom i use
AnimeEd said:
I love my Galaxy S but if GPS is really important to you then it is not the phone for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
as for lag, real lag fix eg voodoo makes it fine for me, but froyo currently does not fix lag. Maybe final.
With the Galaxy Tab Froyo released and open source code as well we might see better fixes.
GPS not fixed in JPK.
here is my galaxy track recorded with My Tracks:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...d=103378720844078541500.0004925e3286cfa0ab46b
here is same track recorded with nexus one (in same car):
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...560353618778776094.0004925e5d7a76db22a6e&z=14
Jgobeil said:
Time to replace my old HTC Diamond isn't ? On paper, the Galaxy seems by far the best option. However, users complain about GPS, which is very important to me, and lag which is quite annoying.
Are those problems solved when installing Froyo ? I don't mind modifying the phone as I have been doing it for a couple years with the Diamond.
The next best option seems to be the Nexus 1. I really don't know what to do !
Comments ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read here you will se many complain. But its not many that has this problem.
I do have a sgs phone without lag and gps do work.
My girlfriend did buy one yesterday. Well that has no lag either. Have nite tested hers gps yet.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
GPS is fixed with JPK.. it locks in less then 3sec. even got a look inside in about 5sec.. big improvement.
Problem is not the fix but the accuracy.
Keep in mind, everyone is testing with beta releases. The final release might change everything..
mike.sw said:
GPS not fixed in JPK.
here is my galaxy track recorded with My Tracks:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...d=103378720844078541500.0004925e3286cfa0ab46b
here is same track recorded with nexus one (in same car):
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...560353618778776094.0004925e5d7a76db22a6e&z=14
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To me, it looks like a software issue rather than gps hardware
mammenj said:
To me, it looks like a software issue rather than gps hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But realistically, we have no way of knowing for sure..
GPS works like a charm on jpk here, I've been to several addresses this week already!
Lag, .. what lag? oh the occasional 1 or two second waiting for an app to open that happen once or twice the week? Not a real turn-down though =/
And within the -4 weeks of abusing jpk i had maybe twice or trice that it was very sluggish, pretty much locking up or freezing up,.. while acting normal later on.
Happy about it, but it's missing the finishing touch i had in the original rom (certain options)
jpk+oclf
Thank you all for your interesting comments. Mike, your GPS tracks convinced me. I understand that not all SGS have the GPS problem but I don't want to take the chance and get a bad one. I ordered a N1, which is back-ordered for about 2 weeks - if a fix comes for the GPS before I receive the N1, I'll cancell the order to get a SGS.
Regards
Jules
Hey guys, as far as the Nexus One and CM 7 goes, what are the optimal settings to keep checked in CM settings, and what's the best kernel/settings for speed, but great battery life? I downloaded and installed Pershoot's kernel. Please let me know because I need the phone for long periods of time for two weeks, but I can't get an extended battery. I'm new to the N1, hence why I ask you all and can't test on my own. Thanks!
CM7 is pretty well pre-configured for great battery life and great performance. I don't know if there is much you could change that would show any benefit within the install.
I think redstar has been creating some of the most popular kernels as of late. Great performance and battery life (from what I read).
Also, if you aren't running the nightlies, I can highly recommend it. There have been some substantial performance enhancements and battery savings that have been a result of some major bug fixes. Build #87 has been working great for me.
bassmadrigal said:
CM7 is pretty well pre-configured for great battery life and great performance. I don't know if there is much you could change that would show any benefit within the install.
I think redstar has been creating some of the most popular kernels as of late. Great performance and battery life (from what I read).
Also, if you aren't running the nightlies, I can highly recommend it. There have been some substantial performance enhancements and battery savings that have been a result of some major bug fixes. Build #87 has been working great for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much, but could anyone else please provide me with further/specific/good cyanogen mod settings for the N1, such as what to check, how much VM heap, etc?
I'm gonna stick with pershoot for kernels, as i use him for the G2, and before the G1.
I freakin' love nightlies, BUT, the reason I'm running stable is because I'm leaving the country for two weeks, and I won't have access and the freedom to change my ROM due to not having a computer all the time. Hence the stable version - I do love nightlies though!
To reiterate, what are the best CM settings for CM7? Thanks in advance, guys!
Well, if you are going to run stable, do a search for the "wonk fix" and flash that zip. It is one of the major fixes in the nightlies that improves battery life.
I'm still not sure that there are any settings you could really play around with that would show any tangible benefit.
And with build #87, it has been rock solid for me. I thought the ADW EX transistions in the past were smooth. You don't need to constantly update the nightlies if you can find a good one. Just sit it out until you feel like updating again. And #87 is a great one to be at.
bassmadrigal said:
Well, if you are going to run stable, do a search for the "wonk fix" and flash that zip. It is one of the major fixes in the nightlies that improves battery life.
I'm still not sure that there are any settings you could really play around with that would show any tangible benefit.
And with build #87, it has been rock solid for me. I thought the ADW EX transistions in the past were smooth. You don't need to constantly update the nightlies if you can find a good one. Just sit it out until you feel like updating again. And #87 is a great one to be at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds good, man. Thanks for your help and telling me about the wonk fix! Although I'm not 100% sure what it's for.
Should home and messaging in memory be checked?
One more issue, when I nees to press the capacitive home, menu, back, and search button, I always have to tap a bit higher than where thee keys are actualy located on the screen.everything else about the touch screen is fine. what's the reason for this?
isikh said:
Sounds good, man. Thanks for your help and telling me about the wonk fix! Although I'm not 100% sure what it's for.
Should home and messaging in memory be checked?
One more issue, when I nees to press the capacitive home, menu, back, and search button, I always have to tap a bit higher than where thee keys are actualy located on the screen.everything else about the touch screen is fine. what's the reason for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The wonk fix was an issue that plauged CM for quite a while on the N1. It caused hard lockups of the microphone and the screen. Also, because of it, the microphone was never able to enter its low-power sleep state. With the wonk fix, you won't have any issues with the mic, and the phone will reach its low-powered sleep state.
I have never enabled the keep in memory options. My understanding is these settings were more for devices that had limited RAM (like the G1), because Android would dump these programs to free up memory for other apps, so when you went to them, it would take a while for the system to restart them. I haven't ran into a need to do this on the N1. The heap size limits the amount of ram that an app can use. Unless you are running some crazy memory intensive apps, there is really no need to adjust this. It won't help most of the apps that are out there.
As for the capacitive buttons, welcome to the wonderful world of the N1 digitizer (touchscreen). I don't know of any way to adjust this, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
bassmadrigal said:
The wonk fix was an issue that plauged CM for quite a while on the N1. It caused hard lockups of the microphone and the screen. Also, because of it, the microphone was never able to enter its low-power sleep state. With the wonk fix, you won't have any issues with the mic, and the phone will reach its low-powered sleep state.
I have never enabled the keep in memory options. My understanding is these settings were more for devices that had limited RAM (like the G1), because Android would dump these programs to free up memory for other apps, so when you went to them, it would take a while for the system to restart them. I haven't ran into a need to do this on the N1. The heap size limits the amount of ram that an app can use. Unless you are running some crazy memory intensive apps, there is really no need to adjust this. It won't help most of the apps that are out there.
As for the capacitive buttons, welcome to the wonderful world of the N1 digitizer (touchscreen). I don't know of any way to adjust this, but you get used to it pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay - I'll keep those disable then, and yay digitizer. Also, I don't know if it's the wonk fix, but my camera is force closing now
isikh said:
Okay - I'll keep those disable then, and yay digitizer. Also, I don't know if it's the wonk fix, but my camera is force closing now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the wonk doesn't affect the camera. What is your radio version (aka baseband)? With the N1s we usually just refer to the two sets of numbers after the underscore "_" (eg 5.08, 4.06, etc). The 5.08 is the version that google sent out with the Gingerbread update and overall seems to be the best consistent performer for the phones. The 4.06 seems to crash the camera and/or camcorder. The 5.12 seems to be really hit or miss. Some phones it runs great, others they get all sorts of issues. I usually recommend the 5.08.
bassmadrigal said:
No, the wonk doesn't affect the camera. What is your radio version (aka baseband)? With the N1s we usually just refer to the two sets of numbers after the underscore "_" (eg 5.08, 4.06, etc). The 5.08 is the version that google sent out with the Gingerbread update and overall seems to be the best consistent performer for the phones. The 4.06 seems to crash the camera and/or camcorder. The 5.12 seems to be really hit or miss. Some phones it runs great, others they get all sorts of issues. I usually recommend the 5.08.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, and my apologies, with college I've missed and forgot key things about android - how do I find my radio version? Boot into fastboot or the bootloader?
EDIT: Under basband version, on the about phone menu, it says:
32.24.00.22U_4.03.00.21_2
Is that baseband 4.03?
Yes, the radio on your phone is 4.03. I would highly recommend updating it to 5.08. There is a basic guide in the wiki for it, or you can hit up the N1 wiki on xda for a more in depth guide.
the wonk fix and and kinda directly related to that fix greatly fixed some battery issues which kinda makes running the last stable version not worth it. the newest nightly is so much improved on battery idle current draw that its something needs to be emphesized. its that good where you can be unplugged for 8 hours and lose 3% battery idle standby, wifi on. 3-4mA current draw.
that aside, pershoots kernel is great, redstar too. there's not much i do anymore with settings on cm7 cause its so good lately.
bassmadrigal said:
Yes, the radio on your phone is 4.03. I would highly recommend updating it to 5.08. There is a basic guide in the wiki for it, or you can hit up the N1 wiki on xda for a more in depth guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is said wiki located?
I'd like an in depth, detailed noob guide as to avoid messing up the phonee
Also, thanks for the info Roger. I'm gonna stick with nightly #87 since peeople are saying the battery life is great and it's stable.
isikh said:
Also, thanks for the info Roger. I'm gonna stick with nightly #87 since peeople are saying the battery life is great and it's stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's the perfect choice, you will be very happy.
isikh said:
Where is said wiki located?
I'd like an in depth, detailed noob guide as to avoid messing up the phonee
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on my phone so it is hard to do links, but if you go into the Nexus One General forum, I think it is one of the first few stickys in there.
Wiki:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nexus_One
Hi there,
im new on the Optimus X2 and i am trying to figure out what you can do withit.
i got several questions and hope you can tell and or help me withit.
My first action on using Android was to put version 2.2.2 i think, on my HD2 Leo using clockwork and NAND. Had no experience to do stuff like that before, but great forum here helped me trough it.
so...
1.
I´ve heard about problems with the battery, that lifetime is not displayed right.
I think i may have something like that too. sometimes battery run out after only about 5-9 hours (using web and/or games)of course i am using it in that time but that seems to be a little bit too fast. In standby sometime it is turning off after 12-18 hours, of course using it with calls and sms sometimes.
2.
There normally should be an update or something, i thought the X2 is beeing delivered with android 2.3.? or will be updated soon after selling?
Are there any official information?
3.
I thought X2 will be out with 512mb ram?
when i start 3-4 apps and close them down, sometimes the advanced task killer shows before closing programs only 50-60 mb ram (is it ram?), after closing goes back up to about 180.
its not that nice when you want to take pictures or record video in F-HD is not working properly. have to close down everything before.
4.
What is this Cm7? i read alot about it, but i still dont know exactly what it is?
I`ve allready rooted my phone, whats a good app for deinstalling systemstuff and preinstalled games and apps?
5.
What are the 10 most useful and must have apps/programs to configure, style, and use youre phone?
6.
Are you guys using different roms? are there faster ones, more stable, less battery using?
7.
I got an 8gb external sd card, system only is showing , 4,9gb of 5,9gb free, maybe an sdcard bug like HD2 Leo had a time ago?
phone specification:
phone is rooted
I am using android 2.2.2
Baseband version 1035.21_20110405
Kernel version 2.6.32.9
Build number FRG83G
LG Version LGP990-V10d
Vodafone Germany Branding
answer in english or german
antworten gerne in deutsch oder englisch
thx for help and best regards
kingleroy85 said:
1.
I´ve heard about problems with the battery, that lifetime is not displayed right.
I think i may have something like that too. sometimes battery run out after only about 5-9 hours (using web and/or games)of course i am using it in that time but that seems to be a little bit too fast. In standby sometime it is turning off after 12-18 hours, of course using it with calls and sms sometimes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is a bit of an issue with the stock rom, since, on Froyo, there apparently is a problem with idle power consumption. This is much better on some of the custom roms based on Gingerbread, e.g. CM7.
kingleroy85 said:
2.
There normally should be an update or something, i thought the X2 is beeing delivered with android 2.3.? or will be updated soon after selling?
Are there any official information?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "official" rumours are, that there will definatelly be a 2.3.* update, though when is not clear, we will possibly have to wait until fall to get it.
kingleroy85 said:
3.
I thought X2 will be out with 512mb ram?
when i start 3-4 apps and close them down, sometimes the advanced task killer shows before closing programs only 50-60 mb ram (is it ram?), after closing goes back up to about 180.
its not that nice when you want to take pictures or record video in F-HD is not working properly. have to close down everything before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ideally, Android should be managin the RAM for you. The device does have 512 MB RAM, but mind that there is alot of stuff on the stock rom. You can have more available to you by
deleting or disabling widgets on the stock rom
installing a custom rom
kingleroy85 said:
4.
What is this Cm7? i read alot about it, but i still dont know exactly what it is?
I`ve allready rooted my phone, whats a good app for deinstalling systemstuff and preinstalled games and apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is called CyanogenMod7, and is a very popular custom rom, which exists for a lot of different Android devices, including the LGOS. It is also based on 2.3.4, so it basically already is a Gingerbread Rom, but I think it still has a Froyo kernel and/or userspace, so not completely native.
kingleroy85 said:
5.
What are the 10 most useful and must have apps/programs to configure, style, and use youre phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not gonna call out 10 apps here, but living in Germany, you should definatelly check out "Öffi" (free). I also find Maverick (payware), GPS Essentials (Free) and Dropbox (free) to be quite handy.
kingleroy85 said:
6.
Are you guys using different roms? are there faster ones, more stable, less battery using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This depends on how happy you are with modding your phone and flashing things on it. There can be quite a bit of work necessary to get a custom rom running on your phone, but it might be worth your while. I've used custom roms mainly for the fact that they can have massively lower battery consumption when the phone is idling (e.g. display off, standby). When using the phone actively, I've not found differences to be that big regarding battery life.
kingleroy85 said:
7.
I got an 8gb external sd card, system only is showing , 4,9gb of 5,9gb free, maybe an sdcard bug like HD2 Leo had a time ago?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are probably confusing the internal sd card with your external one. Keep in mind that the LGOS has a 6GiB internal sd card.
ok
thank you for this detailed answer.
i will take a look on the other Roms and will try it i think.
The problem with the sd card is not from confusing with the internal one.
Using the App, App 2 SD Free phone memory is showing me 1,45GB, on SD Card which must be the internal one shows me 5,51GB and on moveable which seems to be the external sd card it shows me 1,45GB again instood of my 8GB SD?
thx for help
Hi guys, as you can see from my sig I owned a few HTC in these years and I moved on from WM to Android about 2 years ago.
I'm writing this post as a request of suggestion from you as I don't have any experience with how Android behave on Tytn II and it's not for me but for my dad..!
He's been using his Tytn II for quite some time so far and I wanted to know if you would suggest me to flash for him Android on his device.
Please before answering considere that it's not for me, it's for a man of a certain age (around 60) that doesn't want any complication and doesn't have any time to dedicate to solve any issue that my come from the process.
So if this would bring him an increase of its device performance and usability I would definetely go for it, but don't want to hear him complaining all the time bout me having ruined his phone because of FC or random reboots or whatever ...
Is there any ROM free of issues and stable enough?!
I enjoy changing kernels, roms and radios of my devices, but you got what I meant before right? Once again: it's not for me..!
Thanks everybody in advance for your suggestions
First of all, before recommending anything.
I understand that your dad is as you say "a man of a certain age (around 60)". Is he savy on learning how to use new things? Meaning navigate his way around using things. IE: with his WM.
As far as if problems will arise, these things will happens (IE: FC, etc...) Depending on how he use it too. But it can be control to the minimum.
From my experience all ROMs are pretty much the same as far a being stable. It will depends on features and a few other things.
BeenAndroidized said:
I understand that your dad is as you say "a man of a certain age (around 60)". Is he savy on learning how to use new things? Meaning navigate his way around using things. IE: with his WM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well..he use his Tytn II as he would have used any "old style phone". No app or whatsoever installed a part from a navigator (which I installed..) ....and once that something was not working properly he didn't anything for about 6 months till I discovered it, PIM backupped everything and made a hard reset to get it back to its functionality...so I'd say: yeah if he need to he will learn, but he won't search by himself any workaround..
And the main problem is that we don't live anymore together, I'm currently at them just till Feb and then I'll b back to Athens where I live...so I won't be here to help him out..!
That said, he's quite tech friendly, he's on his PC all day long and part of his job is to build different sites for various committents...
But from your words I can understand it need far more attentions than I think my dad would like to give to this thing..
Best way is to ask him.
my 2 cents
Well, as far as I can see,
my TyTn II with android is faster, more reliable and overall most usable.
The touch screen feels more like a capacitive touchscreen rather than a resistive one (wich is actually what the TyTN has).
Regarding the "age" of your father, I think it's not a problem.
mine has the same age of yours and he's arguing with Samsung Bada Os every day...so I showed him how "easy" is Android regarding Bada and he was amazed.
the counterpart is that, if he want to move to Android, you have to set up the whole thing in every little piece:
Android version, htc overclock, hiding "dangerous" icons from the drawer (such as the root app ) so he can't cause any "damage" by hitting something wrong.
I'm currently running under Froyo on mine, and it's pretty faster as I said BUT...
sometimes it FC (well, I'm like an addicted to customisations, so it's pretty normal... xD), it freezes for a while, Launcher Pro will FC (I personally hate ADW), my battery drains fast (but again, is because I put all kind of custom on it...IE: live wallpapers, custom lockscreen etc etc)
IMO if you go to a pretty simple version (such as 1.6 or alike) it won't have any kind of problems...
I give you a tip:
google for simosoft project...
he developped an Android "emulator"... install it on his device and see his reactions... from there you can do everything: phone calls, text messaging, emailing (because it basically uses the WinMo programs ) and it's not a flashing rom, it's just a installable .cab file.
try and see
I think this is the best thing you can do to avoid any kind of "stress"...
otherwise, for instance, you can make a huge backup, flash a rom, make him try
and then, if in few days/weeks he can't go on with Android (wich IMO is impossible) you can revert it back to the useless WinMo
let me know :-D
Thanks for all the advices..I'll think about it & I'll let you know
Sent from my brain with Beats Audio using my psychic powers
I'd suggest leaving him with a good stable WM ROM. There are still newer ones but I my favorite was an old one by shifu. You might look for a WM rom that has not a lot of extras, good stability, and updated versions of any "aftermarket" apps.
Or, give him a haret install. If he likes it but complains that it is too slow, you can get more speed by installing nand. But don't do that until you know he likes it.