The first thing I want to say is that my English is not really good. I hope you understand my questions.
I have an idea for a new Android rom, but I'm faced with a dilemma. I want to have as much as possible supported devices, so I also can just build a launcher apk which can be installed through Google Play. In this way all mobile devices with the minimal platform version can use it. The biggest problem is that I don't only want a replacement for the application launcher but also the notification drawer and everything else. Is it possible to replace them also? I don't think so, so I think I'll work on a custom rom.
The next problem is which base rom I would use if I really build a custom rom. It's most likely to use AOSP as base because it's clean. The question is which version of AOSP: Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, or the newest version Jelly Bean. You would probably say Jelly Bean because this is the newest version. The problem is the phone support. Gingerbread is supported on most phones. If I build ICS or JB the phones which are supported by Cyanogenmod are easy to support, because I can use their device files. The only problem is that my phone, the Samsung Galaxy Gio is not officially supported and the unofficial port is not really stable. I don't think it's a big problem to use this device files and just wait till the developer makes it more stable, but I don't know for sure.
The last thing I want to know is if it's really that simple to support multiple devices. If I read tutorials about porting existing roms to your device they all say you just have to add your device files to the source and compile it. But they never say something about the kernel. Most devices need another kernel because their hardware is different isn't it? Please explain me how this works.
I'm sorry about this hazy story, but please help me before I make wrong choices. Thanks on purpose.
Wietse
I have an idea for a new Android rom, but I'm faced with a dilemma. I want to have as much as possible supported devices, so I also can just build a launcher apk which can be installed through Google Play. In this way all mobile devices with the minimal platform version can use it. The biggest problem is that I don't only want a replacement for the application launcher but also the notification drawer and everything else. Is it possible to replace them also? I don't think so, so I think I'll work on a custom rom.
The next problem is which base rom I would use if I really build a custom rom. It's most likely to use AOSP as base because it's clean. The question is which version of AOSP: Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich, or the newest version Jelly Bean. You would probably say Jelly Bean because this is the newest version. The problem is the phone support. Gingerbread is supported on most phones. If I build ICS or JB the phones which are supported by Cyanogenmod are easy to support, because I can use their device files. The only problem is that my phone, the Samsung Galaxy Gio is not officially supported and the unofficial port is not really stable. I don't think it's a big problem to use this device files and just wait till the developer makes it more stable, but I don't know for sure.
The last thing I want to know is if it's really that simple to support multiple devices. If I read tutorials about porting existing roms to your device they all say you just have to add your device files to the source and compile it. But they never say something about the kernel. Most devices need another kernel because their hardware is different isn't it? Please explain me how this works.
I'm sorry about this hazy story, but please help me before I make wrong choices. Thanks on purpose.
Wietse