MIUI ROM

So much have happened in the time that I left this place to gather dust. I am now the owner of a Google Nexus One phone.

Officially the first Google Branded phone built by HTC. Confusing? Simple, Google wants to have the control over the updates of the phone software but they don’t produce phone so hence HTC comes in. You can also check the new Google Nexus S by Samsung. Shall talk about it next time.

Today I would like to talk about a custom interface called the MIUI for several devices such as HTC Desire, Google Nexus One, HTC HD2 (yes it’s available for this Windows phone!) and so on.

First thing first

To obtain the custom interface, you first have to go through a process called rooting. Similar but unlike the iPhone, this process basically means you are hereby declaring you might void your warranty to gain more control over your phone. Difference is that Google did not outright say that this is WRONG but to say this is their right. HTC, Motorola, LG that make the phone would obviously say this would make your phone explode so they do not encourage it. Rooting requires some technical knowledge and some courage to do so please refer to your friendly neighborhood Android geek for all the details or visit XDA, the heaven of info on modifying your smartphones.

About MIUI

Here’s how it looks like, this is 3 of my home screens that I placed. As you can see there is no longer the app drawer like typical Android would have. Instead, they would all appear on the homescreen. iPhone users would be like hey that’s so familiar but for Android users it would be a pain to see all their apps on the screen. I would say this is a small price to pay since there are much more functionality in MIUI. As for the gazillions of icons? You can either use a home replacement like Launcher Pro or use a folder. Fear not, our Android folders is bottomless so to speak :P

When using MIUI you will realize several similarity between iOS and this Chinese-developed interface such as icons, menu style. As you can see from below, the interface is simple and clean like the iPhone and when you swipe a message to the right, the delete option would appear. This adds value to default sms app that Android has. Within the thread of messages, you are also able to swipe to delete. Not sure about the iPhone on this one. The most right screenshot is the menu of MIUI which resembles the iPhone itself. This actually complicate things as there are similar options that are repeated in the “common” tab and “personal” tab.

Here’s the lockscreen of MIUI. Notice the three symbols? MIUI enhances the functionality of the locksreen more than most of the software in the market. When you unlock the screen by dragging down the phone icon, you access to the phone dialer right away and similarly with the messaging icon. When you double tap the lock icon, you bring up the music player controls and play your favorite tunes right away.

MIUI as shown below has a very beautiful music player out of the box so you don’t have to look for alternatives.

Upholding the essence of Android being very customizable, have their very own theme manager and a wide range of themes to choose from. The ROM comes with a theme manager app and a theme downloader app. In the app, you are able to preview the theme before applying it. Applying a theme is as easy as install and rebooting your phone. If you look at the top left screenshot you will be able to see the main menu of the theme manager. You are able to even change the animation when your phone starts and what sound it makes when it starts. LOL. Before this, Android is also able to make this happen but it has to go through the scary recovery mode that new learners are afraid of to be applied. As for the theme downloader, it’s also as simple as select and download :)

What makes me choose MIUI?

So here’s the biggie(s) that attracted me to MIUI. First of all is the attractive and clean interface. No doubt that it pirates from Apple’s interface but I would this takes it to a whole new level. Here’s a few reason. I am a person who wants to get access to my system settings quickly and effectively. The first screenshot is the notification bar dragged down. They are not just 4 shortcuts but scrollable from left to right… as in a lot of shortcuts. Wait, it’s not just shortcuts, when you long press an icon for example the wifi icon, it jumps into it’s settings directly. When I go to an area that I never been to, I just turn my wifi down, long press the icon and check if there’s any free wifi straight away :P

Secondly, MIUI has many built in functions that Android users previously need to download an app to have. App manager is one of them. In MIUI, you simple hold the home button and you are able to kill the apps immediately. File manager is another one but hey they included a nice basic one as well. It indicates your file size usage at the bottom according to type.

So what say you? My girlfriend calls this iDroid. :)