So with the help of Zane Lee on XDA Dev site, I was able to get the official 2.1 on my Singapore hero without losing the ability to root later on, I went from build 2.73.707.9 stock 1.5
Pros: Seems stable, battery life and speed is about the same as 1.5 stock, graphics are better, more settings, new icons, has a in call touch button for speaker, new market, if you have the default htc clock/weather widget if you unlock your phone and your on that screen then it will do a quick full screen weather animation (really cool)
Cons: In the dialer it shows both sim and google contacts without a way to only show one (anyone know a fix?), no AK notepad by default, calculator sucks in portrait mode (can only get advanced buttons in landscape unlike in 1.5), camera is still garbage with new interface, you still cannot edit your saved dictionary words (turns out its just mine, singapore version), weather app does not let you add new locations so if it doesnt know your city then you cant save it
By the way, flashing the new radio does make a diff in getting better reception and maybe (not as noticeable as reception) better wifi signal as well
I have to say although its very useable, i am quite disappointed with the long waited update, in my personal opinion the cons outweigh the pros since the pros are mostly based on visual improvements
Here is my review of VillainRom12, everything is compared to the above official 2.1:
Pros: Im using it without overclock and it is noticeably smoother and more responsive, battery life is just as good as official 2.1, everything works (alarm, camera, apps2sd etc) except for sms vibrate notification, faster boot time, has user dictionary
Cons: No sms vibrate notification (tried wiping and restoring) but not a big deal, read that some ppl also have this problem while others dont
All and all very similar to official 2.1 but optimized and better, will definitely choose it over official stock 2.1
May do a review of kimera 2.1 next or any other sense 2.1 by request
Pros: Seems stable, battery life and speed is about the same as 1.5 stock, graphics are better, more settings, new icons, has a in call touch button for speaker, new market, if you have the default htc clock/weather widget if you unlock your phone and your on that screen then it will do a quick full screen weather animation (really cool)
Cons: In the dialer it shows both sim and google contacts without a way to only show one (anyone know a fix?), no AK notepad by default, calculator sucks in portrait mode (can only get advanced buttons in landscape unlike in 1.5), camera is still garbage with new interface, you still cannot edit your saved dictionary words (turns out its just mine, singapore version), weather app does not let you add new locations so if it doesnt know your city then you cant save it
By the way, flashing the new radio does make a diff in getting better reception and maybe (not as noticeable as reception) better wifi signal as well
I have to say although its very useable, i am quite disappointed with the long waited update, in my personal opinion the cons outweigh the pros since the pros are mostly based on visual improvements
Here is my review of VillainRom12, everything is compared to the above official 2.1:
Pros: Im using it without overclock and it is noticeably smoother and more responsive, battery life is just as good as official 2.1, everything works (alarm, camera, apps2sd etc) except for sms vibrate notification, faster boot time, has user dictionary
Cons: No sms vibrate notification (tried wiping and restoring) but not a big deal, read that some ppl also have this problem while others dont
All and all very similar to official 2.1 but optimized and better, will definitely choose it over official stock 2.1
May do a review of kimera 2.1 next or any other sense 2.1 by request