HTC Announced not long ago that they will not support GB in HTC Desire. I figured that my 1.5 year old phone will not have a chance in reaching the level of Ice Cream Sandwich. But I had a tiny bit of hope when MIUI and other custom ROM makers introduced Gingerbread (Android 2.3) to my old smartphone. Now Android 4.0 is around the corner and I can't seem to feel the excitement as my phone has no chance in catering this wonderful version. Here comes a ROM developer with a vision of ICS for my phone. They did successfully port the Operating System but it has its bugs.
The first minute I saw ICS, it was pure happiness. Who knew that this old phone can handle such OS. But to my dismay, the animation when going to the app drawer was frame skipping. I was a fool to imagine such silky smooth animation to come to my phone. But it's bearable to the least.
The scrolling of screens were actually not bad, although it has minor frameskips. The browser was fine and the suggestion bar when typing searches is silky smooth. The notification bar is smooth and some of the applications were moving quite well but when you get to the launcher homescreen it gets that small laggy feeling again. The market and email were scrolling well and I love the animation it produces when you enter an application. One thing I love in Ice Cream Sandwich was the gallery and the camera. Even in an old phone, the gallery was buttery smooth and the pictures the camera produces were quite amazing to say the least.
Perhaps it was too early for me to take on Ice Cream Sandwich for my device. The minor kinks can be bearable but I am missing the snappiness of my old operating system.
I commend Google for taking notice of the design and the feel of the operating system now. I feel that 2012 will be the Year of the Android.
As for my trusty HTC Desire, it may be old but the functionality it has given me through the years has been the most amazing experience of my life. I hope that sooner or later Android 4.0 will be ported completely so that I can pass this device down to my brother and he too will enjoy Android just like I did.
If you want to try out Ice Cream Sandwich to your HTC Desire try these links here(for the MIUI ICS) and here (for the stock one). Remember, you have to be rooted, if you do not know rooting, start here.
