Which Sony Xperia Ray ROM?

[Anonymous]

My wife's Xperia Ray seems to have slowed down recently, and the the memory is so full she can't install any more apps (could that be why it's slowing?).

I've moved as many apps that would allow onto the SD card, but some won't move, and others need to be on the phone memory.

If I unlocked the phone from O2, backed everything up, and did a factory reset, would that make any difference?

Could I unlock the phone, install a stock 2.3.4 version of Gingerbread, then do another factory reset, would that make any difference?

She doesn't use any O2 apps, She uses it to make calls, text, read and send emails, take photos, occasionally surf the net, listen to music on journeys, and communicate to friends and family using Viber & WhatsApp.

Definitely don't want anything to do with ICS, as I don't think the phone is up to it. I've also heard cyanogenmod 7.2 has a camera bug, Is cyanogenmod 9.1 based on ICS?

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a noob where android is concerned.

[MI5]

I'm not fully up to speed with Sony products but I do know they lock their bootloaders (at O2's request) so if you had a branded phone you would find any custom ROM's difficult to install. I'd just back up any photos/vids that are needed then do a factory reset. After the reset only add the important apps you use on a daily basis. Try and keep the phone as lean as possible and it should do fine for your intended usage.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can root your Xperia and remove all the apps that you don't use that you currently cannot delete to free up space.

I can point you in the right direction if you wanted to do that (Be aware you void your warranty).

With regards to extra space with custom ROMS. You're not going to get more storage space doing that.

However, with some ROMS they do use less RAM so the phone will run smoother.

There is lots of information over at XDA Forums (Don't know if that'll be modded, If so PM me and i'll pass on the link) that will give you lots more information and step by step instructions.

If you need anything else just give me a shout through here or PM me and I'll do my best.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

I think two of the most annoying things with the phone are the inability to either move almost all apps to the SD card, and the fact you can't delete all the ones you don't actually use.

Locking the bootloader isn't very user friendly either.

I'll bear in mind your advice while I consider my options.

I'm not bothered about having a custom ROM, just a standard version of Gingerbread would do. I'd like to be able to delete unused apps though, so I (the wife) wouldn't have to put up with the annoying bloatware.

Basically I'd like to get control of the device, rather than suffering the strait jacket the providers create on their phones.