I'm a smart guy, been in the computer biz a long time, probably like a lot of you. I admit though that I've only had two smartphones. On the 1st I loaded new ROM often from the get-go, dorked with tons of stuff different ways, and in the end found I never really got anything I was really happy with, all vers had issues. You add two cool things and get one less cool side effect. The 2nd phn is the Inc. It too is not perfect, but damn close. If you really want a different phone because you can't dork with an un-rooted Inc today, it sounds like you like dorking with phones more than actually having and using the phone (warts and all). Don't be impatient. Buy the one you like best and worry about the dorking later. My small smartphone experience sample size as already told me it's no fun living in a house you are rebuilding, so pick one that you feel needs minimal remodeling and then go slowly.