What is the meaning of Custom Android
ROM :
It includes anything from making
changes to the custom codes in such a
way so that the Android device starts
running better. Basically here the original
software provided by the manufacturer is wiped out or overwritten with the
customized Android system so that it
would include a change in the home
screen, default screen and even
background services. Users who are not
satisfied with the Android software provided by their manufacturer can check
the Custom ROMs mentioned below.
The device needs to be “Rooted” .
ROM interchange is easy: Once the
device has been rooted for one
custom ROM you can always
change the ROM.
Top 10 custom roms are:
1. CynogenMod :
CynogenMod (CM) supports almost 70 devices
hence it is most famous among all
the Android ROMs. Installing
CynogenMod is also very easy as it
provides an Interactive User
Interface. Due to its vast features and customizable UI it has gained
wide popularity. The CM receives
frequent updates as many
developers are working on this and
hence some of the new devices are
installed with CM when they are shipped to the customers.
CM provides an in depth hardware
level customization which helps to
increase the speed of the phone
and some of its simple inputs
also fixes stock Android’s lack of inbuilt battery. CM is of the most
stable ROM which is supported with
security updates and gets easily
installed by a click of a button,
hence even those who are not
much proficient in the use of technology can easily get the CM
installed in their Android device.
Some of the best features of CM
includes Trebuchet app launcher,
the Ambient display and Live
display, quick settings and status bar customization. To get more
information about CM and to build
CM ROM user would need to go to
this link.(link for CM is bellow the post).
2. Paranoid Android:
The Paranoid Android ROM is fast, stable, just like
CM it also supports many devices
and it gets frequent updates as
well. Though it is much similar to
the stock Android users get certain
additional features like customizable app privacy settings,
dynamic system bars, users can
also hide all the system bars when
they are viewing the app and so on.
In addition to the performance
tweaks given by Cynogen Mod, Paranoid ROM also provides
a feature known as hybrid mode;
which would allow user to change
the size of the elements on screen
i.e. make them bigger or smaller.
The next important feature of this ROM is that it allows theme color
change in the settings menu
wherein user can match their phone
to their outfit. It also provides a
multi window feature in beta. There
might be occasional crashes when users are using this Paranoid
Android however it has been seen
to perform much. To get more information about
Paranoid Android and to build
Paranoid Android ROM user would
3. AOKP (Android Open Kang
Project) : A custom ROM for several high end Android devices.
This ROM adds magical unicorn
bytes to the original firmware which
was installed in it during its
shipment. Certain unique features
of AOKP are: It is light weight and free of the bloatware, as it
supports a horde of toggles it helps
in quick flipping a lot of phone’s
settings, using Ribbons user can
even launch the apps quickly from
any screen. “Navigation Ring” is a particular feature which has 5 slot
rings and user can add shortcuts to
any of their favorite apps. User has
the freedom to change anything in
the OS including the looks and the
functions. So if user is truly creative and wants to experiment with
customization of the system, the
AOKP is the right answer. Various
other features of this ROM are :
customized vibration feature,
customized LED control. For users using a supported device and want
to go for the latest lollipop version
then if they can patiently wait for a
new build they might soon get a
new build from AOKP. Official
4. Slim ROMs:
This is the lighter version of the stock Android and it
is very simple to use and can be
further customized by keeping the
OS bloat free. The SlimPIE feature
of this ROM has been derived by
CM’s PIE and Paranoid’s PIE and it has been used for menu control in
the Slim ROMs. The Privacy Guard
feature is simply fabulous as it
disables the unnecessary
permissions set by the developers
and hence gives full app control to the user. Various other unique
features of this ROM are:
Users can
invert the whole ROM just by a click
including Gapps. This ROM has a
feature which helps user to replace
the AOSP recent screen and hence aids in multitasking by marking the
favorite apps.
Further the official
Slim dialer, Shake events which
helps to launch the app or even
protect it on the lock screen,
various other features have been incorporated in the Slim ROMs.
To
get more information as well as to
build the Slim ROM user would
5. Omni ROM:
Major feature of this ROM is the OmniSwitch which
provides the navigation and
application switch that would help
user to go from apps to system
areas and vice versa. This ROM
provides the stock Android with some additional features like the
user can just slide the notification
bar and change the brightness of
the screen; a notification counter
can be added to the status
bar; Time and date apps can be launched just by tapping the
notification menu. This ROM
supports many devices and also
regular nightly builds are released
that includes the latest features for
the users. Official website to know more about this ROM and to get it
6. PAC-man ROM:
It is all in one solution and has a mixture of
features from the various ROMs like
CyanogenMOD, Paranoid Android
and the AOKP. PIE feature has
been incorporated in this ROM and
though it is a combination of various features from different ROMs it runs
smoothly on a variety of devices
except for some stability issues in
the newer builds. The Lollipop build
have already started to roll out.
Users who want to know more about PAC-man ROM and also
7. MIUI:
This is Xiaomi’s custom Android firmware. The ROM has
been designed to boost the
performance and it also provides a
number of customizable features to
the users. The MIUI ROM is packed
with many striking features: “Phone calls” this feature by default
identifies the unknown numbers
and hence gives users a chance to
reject these phone calls, Home
screen: the MiSpaces has a new
global operation gestures that includes personalized themes and
lock screens with the facility of
showing the new notifications, anti
virus, anti scam under its security
features, also there is Permission
Manager and an improved app switcher. A redesigning has been
provided to the Mails which is now
more smart and helps users to
manage their important mails in a
more organized way. MIUI ROM
supports a variety of devices, users interested in knowing more about
the ROM and also to get this build
8. Vanilla RootBox: This ROM is a combination of some of the great
features of CynogenMOD, Paranoid
Android and AOKP ROMs. Some of
the features packed in the RootBox
of this ROM includes Per App UI,
Per App colors, Per App Expanded mode, change of the Navigation bar
height, Per App DPI, various CM
and AOKP’s features, also various
camera features and various
general screen settings. The
updates in this ROM are provided via OTA Updates through GOO
Manager which is the striking
feature of this ROM. Carbon ROM
is still updating the builds for
Android 4.1 and this is the main
drawback of this ROM. However, overall with all its features Carbon
ROM is surely an answer for users
who are looking for something new
and fresh. Users can get more
information about this ROM and
9. Carbon ROM: This is again a custom ROM which has used some
of the best features of the other
ROMs that are available in the
market. There are various attractive
features packed in this ROM. Some
of them are as follows: Carbon Fibre helps users to organize their
Tabs in a neat way, Color theme in
navigation bar helps users to give a
personal touch to their phone,
various customization of the
software and hardware keys have been built in this ROM wherein the
status bar and the icons can be
customized also recent apps can be
swiped off with just a click including
the LED light options. There is
Trebuchet for CM10 option that offers various other features. The
ROM also has a Quick launch
feature wherein user can launch
upto 4 applications and shortcut in
this. Enabling of the desk top by the
PIE mode is also one of the great features of this Carbon ROM.
Modifying the permissions of the
Apps, controlling brightness are
among the other features of this
ROM. Carbon ROM is currently
working towards releasing its Carbon Lollipop built and
hence KitKat-based nightly builds
would be released only for stability
improvements and for fixing any
bugs. For more information and to
10. AOSB:
(Android Open Source Bam Project) :
This is a CynogenMOD
based ROM and it also has also
taken some of the features from
other custom ROMs which includes
the dark UI from SlimROMs,
OmniSwitch from OmniROMs, OTA updates. It also provides various
customization features for settings
and layout like the Incoming call
dialog, App Side Bar, Recent App
iPhoney, Active Display, HALO,
advanced key board options and many more. The ROM does not
have any builds for Lollipop as of
now. However, to get a list of
various customizable features users
can check the link given here and
Now, if users want to get away from their
stock Android firmware and want to try
some new features, try these custom
ROMs and enjoy flashing your custom
ROM.
cyanogenmod
