Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 So, after owning the phone for just under a year, I have now ground to a halt with my like for it. I love the real buttons to push, the size is great, but the biggest failure is the internal memory. Just tried downloading Virtual City (23Mb), but it can't download as I guess the 31Mb I have left on my phone isn't big enough. I have rooted but is there a safe/decent way to move apps like Maps (14Mb), Facebook (7Mb) and YouTube (4Mb) to the SD card? That would give me loads more space to play with. Although I think the 5Mb Skype is taking up (yes, it's already on the SD card) I could do without too, although I don't want to. I already uninstalled the eBay app as after moving that to the SD card, it still took up 3Mb. Sounds small, but on a phone which has about 30Mb spare, every Mb counts! I don't even know how big the internal memory is or what it taking so much of it up :s Maybe rooting it put some spare thing on the phone? So far, the new app "pixlr-o-matic" has been the best app, 10Mb or something on the phone, moved to the SD card and now a measily 152Kb on the phone. However, the other phone choices are flawed: Samsung Galaxy SII: Don't like the buttons, it's quite big. Although I am sure if I had it, I'd get used to the size. HTC Desire HD: Buttons are rubbish, weary of size too. I want to stick with Android as I do like it. I could come away from HTC but Sense looks pretty (although Beautiful Widgets could be as good). But I don't really want to spend much over £350 (I'd buy the handset out right). Any advice on other Handsets to try? Maybe I should format the phone and start again with a fresh ROM? Is there anything else I can do to increase space on the phone? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I have similar concerns - the "iPhone killer" (sic) was great a year ago but phone tech has accelerated very quickly and poor old Desire has aged quickly. Internal memory problems, however, can be solved with Data2SD which moves the whole data partition to SD card, so you can have up to 2 GB space for apps. There are some good quality Sense ROMs with this already built in: Starburst (2.2) and Supernova (2.3). Otherwise take the People's Choice - Cyanogenmod and install Data2SD manually. It's all very time consuming to toy around, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salty Wagyu Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Custom ROMs are the only way to get the best out of the Desire, and it's worth it. I'm running Oxygen on an Oxygen HBOOT, got 330MB of space on /data for apps!) and I've not had to use any App2SD or Data2SD methods yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Patriot Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I'm going to have to try one of those ROMs on my wife's Desire, if I can manage to get it rooted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hmm, it seems that's the way to go. It might give the phone a new lease of life too, although I'll probably wait for a month when I get a new/renewed contract and look from there. I still like sense though, but then new life = no sense? Might also be worth it so I can get one of the new batches of the next gen smart phones next time around. Plus, if it allows me to get rid of things like Teeter and the "learn more" shortcut, then I am all for it :D Poor old Desire :p Just shows how out of date technology becomes though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmdixon Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I still like sense though, but then new life = no sense? You can still have sense with a custom rom. I use LeeDroid (he has quite a few roms for several devices) and it's probably one of the best Sense roms for the Desire. It's not far from the stock firmware but has many tweaks to improve it, including a2sd or data++. I'd advise reading the intro topics on xda and decide what it is you want/need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlueRaja Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I have the Desire and used to be a Sense diehard, but i moved to Cyanogen Mod, Go Launcher with its Facebook and Calendar widgets (Free), Beautiful Widgets for its super clock and toggle buttons (£1.29 i think) and Dialer One. Its pretty much sense on Stock without the bloat. Its quicker, much more snappy, and I've never looked back and haven't seen the low memory icon in months. I'm going to upgrade soon though, but not because im unhappy with the Desire, i just want a bigger screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbandonedTrolley Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 As may have mentioned, your easy solution here is to install a custom rom with a new HBOOT. This will free up a lot of internal memory and you will no doubt find the phone more responsive than before. As for other handsets, I've got the Sony Xperia Arc a couple weeks ago. Nice beautiful screen, physical buttons at the bottom of the phone and a great camera too. Unfortunately there isn't much in the way of custom roms for the phone though. But as of yet, i've not seen the storage icon appear. I picked it up on T-Mobile for £15 a month 300 minutes, unlimited texts and data. Phone was free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Took a look at some other ROMs on YouTube, but I like the Sense theme (IE, the lock screen, the background pictures / live wallpapers), so I might be looking at Starburst, or their Gingerbread alternatives. Wonder if I can find one with Sense 3.5... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grepus Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Exactly the same problems and I got mine about a year or so ago too. Vodafone UK have confirmed they're not releasing a version of Android 2.3 and the next version of SenseUI for the Desire as it just hasn't got enough space for the OS, Sense and the Vodafone apps. I hate to say it, but I had a play with a friends iPhone 4 and was VERY impressed, especially with the camera quality and the speed at which the OS runs. I might wait for the 5, get that, and then have a proper play with the Desire and get Cyanogen or something onto it. Unfortunately, I need my phone more than any other gadget, it's practically my office - the idea of bricking it without something to fall back on fills me with dread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbandonedTrolley Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Exactly the same problems and I got mine about a year or so ago too. Vodafone UK have confirmed they're not releasing a version of Android 2.3 and the next version of SenseUI for the Desire as it just hasn't got enough space for the OS, Sense and the Vodafone apps. I hate to say it, but I had a play with a friends iPhone 4 and was VERY impressed, especially with the camera quality and the speed at which the OS runs. I might wait for the 5, get that, and then have a proper play with the Desire and get Cyanogen or something onto it. Unfortunately, I need my phone more than any other gadget, it's practically my office - the idea of bricking it without something to fall back on fills me with dread! Very understandable. I've looked at iPhones and been against them all along. They just seem like a row of icons with very little feel or personalisation to them. I love the fact with android devices you can pretty much do whatever you want regarding the design. Have you considered the newer android phones like the Sensation and Galaxy S2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardcore Til I Die Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 The galaxy s2 doesn't take any getting used to. It's so thin and lightweight that it, somehow, feels smaller than my old desire even though it's not. And memory issues are a thing of the past. 13.xx GB usable built-in storage for media, 2GB built-in for apps. Plus a micro SD card slot. It's better in every way. I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thealexweb Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I have a Desire HD, the buttons are great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spikey_richie Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I had an issue installing Google+, so I had a dig... I found syncing Facebook with my contacts list had consumed somewhere in the region of 20mb, do I cleared down the Facebook for Sense/HTC whatever it's called, and that solved my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Well, it seems today is the day to install CyanogenMod, although I don't think I am going to be happy with it. I just want a custom rom that I can make to look like sense, but it isn't. But if all else fails, I can just install the Starburst rom in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Can't edit the last post (forum bug), but I've decided the CyanogenMod has far too many gimmicky options for what I want. I basically just want a sense rom that I can delete apps, OR a rom that I can make to look like sense. A lot of the other clock/weather widgets simply don't look as nice as Sense's. However what is annoying me is to install any rom, I first have to do this, then that, then another job... like the Starburst ROM, I have to format the SD card in a special way? BUt only part of it, to make it two partitions? I don't even know how to do that using the phone. The CyanogenMod is asking me to update the radio which I have heard is where many people face problems. Then I have to install the Data2SD thing anyway. It all seems like a lot of work compared with a simple re-install of Windows or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Agh! I remember why I didn't bother with this before. . . because it's hassle. SO, to install the Starburst ROM, I have to format the SD card into two partitions. But in order to do that, I have to use Linux. So to do that, I will have to partition off part of my current hard drive, install it, then format the SD card, then format linux drive, then merge it back to where it was before... a lot of hassle to partition one measily sd card to be able to install the rom, so I can simply have more space to install apps. Sorry but this kind of stuff annoys me and in the end, I'll just get another phone. But Oh! I can't because HTC phones all have those buttons in the phone (not clickable like the Desire). I'd use a Windows phone but I can't stand the Metro interface, I like the openness of Android, but I guess at the moment, there is no suitable contender for my requirements. What a load of rollocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancedar Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I used to run Oxygen rom, then Redux rom (which is still awesome) but now back to Sense as I really like the 720p cam, which no aosp rom can do atm. Personally I just moved apps to the system partition, then did the sd card ext thing. Problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnporter29 Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Agh! I remember why I didn't bother with this before. . . because it's hassle. SO, to install the Starburst ROM, I have to format the SD card into two partitions. But in order to do that, I have to use Linux. So to do that, I will have to partition off part of my current hard drive, install it, then format the SD card, then format linux drive, then merge it back to where it was before... a lot of hassle to partition one measily sd card to be able to install the rom, so I can simply have more space to install apps. Sorry but this kind of stuff annoys me and in the end, I'll just get another phone. But Oh! I can't because HTC phones all have those buttons in the phone (not clickable like the Desire). I'd use a Windows phone but I can't stand the Metro interface, I like the openness of Android, but I guess at the moment, there is no suitable contender for my requirements. What a load of rollocks! Can't you download a "live" cd of a linux distro and use that to partition the SD card without having to install Linux? I think that would work.......yes seems a lot of work but it seems beneficial from what people are saying.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 I think that might be the option, just install the data2sd thing and forget about flashing roms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Take an USB stick (must not even be empty) and use GParted Live for all your partitioning needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbandonedTrolley Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Try using Swissknife, a free download for partitioning drives/cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Try using Swissknife, a free download for partitioning drives/cards. Second partition needs to be EXT3. Does Swissknife support it? :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grepus Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Very understandable. I've looked at iPhones and been against them all along. They just seem like a row of icons with very little feel or personalisation to them. I love the fact with android devices you can pretty much do whatever you want regarding the design. Have you considered the newer android phones like the Sensation and Galaxy S2? I have, but it's all down to the Pounds/Dollars/Euros/Yen at the moment! Having a good long think about it and will probably get something new in the new year. Agh! I remember why I didn't bother with this before. . . because it's hassle. And this is the issue... yes, there is some "freedom" with Android, but it's a pain in the arse to get exactly what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted September 30, 2011 Author Share Posted September 30, 2011 Decided I can't be bothered messing with the Desire. There's no point in risking messing it up with all this rom stuff, what with booting into Linux to partition my SD card, then having to load it on, risk it not working, freezes, WiFi not working, all that rubbish, I'll just stick with a crappy phone for a few months, then get a new one and leave it at that. I'm happy to sacrifice some apps for a hell of a lot less hassle to go through all the steps to simply be able to install a few extra apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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