ROMs for the Samsung Galaxy Player

[Hook]

I don't know if I'm ready to do this yet or not and there is still not a lot out there yet, but someone posted this information here just today:

These are great and simple instructions. CM9 ICS is actually working now.

Here is the thread to follow:

forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1575147

This looks worth exploring (an a big tip o the pirate hat to exster), so I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread to collect information about ROMs and any experiments I, Raspy or anyone else does. So, join the brick-watch and awaaay we go!

More to come...

[exster]

The link is for the 5.0 USA version.

I think the INTL version maybe different. Didn't get to scan through the entire thread. Also 4.0 may be different as well.

I'll probably flash it once I get to getting Titanium Backup working ....

[Adama D. Brown]

Depends on what you mean by "international version." There are two different devices sold under similar names. There's the Galaxy Player 5.0 that's available in the US and most of the rest of the world, with 8 GB of memory and standard buttons. There's also the "Galaxy S WiFi 5.0," which is only available in limited areas, and is similar but with an optical trackpad and the option for 16 GB of memory.

The international versions of the Galaxy Player 5.0 will probably be able to take the same ROMs, but it's highly unlikely the Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 would be able to.

[Hook]

Depends on what you mean by "international version." There are two different devices sold under similar names. There's the Galaxy Player 5.0 that's available in the US and most of the rest of the world, with 8 GB of memory and standard buttons. There's also the "Galaxy S WiFi 5.0," which is only available in limited areas, and is similar but with an optical trackpad and the option for 16 GB of memory.

The international versions of the Galaxy Player 5.0 will probably be able to take the same ROMs, but it's highly unlikely the Galaxy S WiFi 5.0 would be able to.

I always thought of the Galaxy S Wifi as the international version. I think the version of that sold in the UK may still have Froyo, which is what convinces me that CM or some other ROM is our only hope of seeing ICS.

I'm going to look through the XDA thread in some detail and explore the possibility of doing this. I'm not certain I will, but I want to at least go as far as figuring out how to do it if I want to. I'll only do it if I am sure I clearly understand the procedure, I think the ROM is reliable and if I decide what ICS offers is better than what I have. However, I will post here what I learn.

[Hook]

Okay, I've now been through the XDA thread once, will need to go through a couple of more times and I'm going to keep following it, but it's not yet at a level of maturity where i am going to be comfortable trying it soon. However, it does give me hope. I'm really hoping for a official CyanogenMod support.

[Adama D. Brown]

Personally, when it comes to device customization, I've never done that much with custom ROMs on Android. It always has seemed to me that you get much more bang for your buck by rooting a device rather than ROMing it. One of the few reasons I'd see to change ROMs is to improve app compatibility, although for most devices that's almost a non-issue.

Case in point, right now I've got one device next to me running Gingerbread and one running ICS, and the truth is that I can't think of anything yet that I can't do on Gingerbread.

[Hook]

Personally, when it comes to device customization, I've never done that much with custom ROMs on Android. It always has seemed to me that you get much more bang for your buck by rooting a device rather than ROMing it. One of the few reasons I'd see to change ROMs is to improve app compatibility, although for most devices that's almost a non-issue.

Case in point, right now I've got one device next to me running Gingerbread and one running ICS, and the truth is that I can't think of anything yet that I can't do on Gingerbread.

I agree in Gingerbread versus ICS, but the CyanogenMod ROM gave me so much more functionality on my Nexus One. Particularly important was that it gave me the ability to power on using the trackball and other greatly needed work-arounds for a nearly dead power button. It also gave me better implementations of some Gingerbread features sooner than stock ROM did. Finally, honestly, if I had a carrier ROM, I'd want to be rid of it. CM was always more stable than stock.

For very little trouble, Flashing a ROM on the Nexus One saved me so I have mostly positive feelings about ROMs.

[raspabalsa]

There's also the "Galaxy S WiFi 5.0," which is only available in limited areas, and is similar but with an optical trackpad and the option for 16 GB of memory.

Optical trackpad? Maybe you mean with a capacitive Home button instead of a physical one?

The naming scheme Samsung uses with the Player is very confusing. As I understand it, the "Galaxy S WiFi 5.0" (model YP-G70) is sold in Europe and South America (I saw one at a show room last month), this is the model with the physical Home button, with either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, and this is the one often called "International model". The "Galaxy Player 5.0" (also model YP-G70) is sold in North America, has capacitive Home button and 8GB of internal storage. The "Galaxy Player 70" (model YP-GB70) is sold in Korea, it has physical Home button, 16GB or 32GB of storage, HDMI output, and telescopic antenna for TV and radio.

I'm still very much not ready to customize the ROM of my Player. Frankly, I don't feel the need to do so. I'm still fairly new at Android, and from what I read at XDA, the ROMs currently available for the Player are still not as polished as, say, those for the Galaxy SII or even my Galaxy Mini. I'd hate to lose any functionality while adding an ICS look to my device.

What I'm seriously considering is installing a kernel with overclocking. I've been reading at XDA, but I still don't feel confident enough to start playing with them.

There's a thread at XDA reporting that on some European countries the Player has recently received an upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3.6. I've been checking with Kies, but the upgrade is not yet available to my device. But this leads me to agree with Hook: chances of getting ICS on the Player are very slim, and our best bet is to install a custom ROM with it.

[Hook]

I agre, I really don't feel a compelling need to ROM this baby,but I would only do so under the same conditions under which I flashed a ROM on my Nexus One:

1. The ROM must be very stable (which essentially means, I need to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt it is stable)

2. I must be convinced I fully understand exactly how to do it from beginning to end with a very low risk of unrecoverable mishap. Hook is Slow Sometimes, so this takes awhile.

3. I must have more than one source that both convergently convince me of #2.

4. I have to perceive that there is something really useful to be gained by flashing the ROM. "Because I can" doesn't count.

Until those conditions are met, I will not flash a ROM, but this thread will be a fun place to track the progress on those conditions. Obviously, it's not going to be soon.

As for ICS, what I would really like out of it is better screen resolution. That might require new Hardware, so suspect I'd have to wait and hope they eventually bring out a Player with higher specs and ICS already on it. Would I trade up in a year? Maybe, but it would have to be compellingly better. All the stuff that got short changed on the current Player like screen technology, CPU, etc., would have to be in place. Then I could give this one to my wife, who steals it often anyway.

[Hook]

What I'm seriously considering is installing a kernel with overclocking. I've been reading at XDA, but I still don't feel confident enough to start playing with them.

I haven't played with it, but the free version of ROM toolbox has CPU and kernel tools for overclocking and underclocking and even setting up profiles.