Several weeks ago I posted my bad experience attempting to update my LG Optimus 2X (P990) Android cell phone from CyanogenMod 7.2.x to 10.x. It ran incredibly poorly, and was a bad experience, so I went back to CM7.2.x.
I have now managed to get it running much better. The trick being two fold, I waited for a newer and better build with less bugs, and doing a factory wipe as well as a dalvik cache wipe. I may not have done the factory wipe before the original attempt, something important to do when moving to a completely new ROM version.
This time round it was a better user experience. It ran smoothly and didn’t crash, plus made and answered calls. But at this point, on this phone model, there are still several things left to be desired. Mostly battery life. Version 10 burns through battery usage fast enough to see it happen while using the phone for even a few minutes. The battery dies at least twice as fast as with CM7, with the same apps, the same settings and same sensors turned on. And on top of that, CM10 will charge so slow that it will take a full day to charge completely, unless you reboot the phone with the power plugged in. The last noticeable and painful thing is that the in-call phone screen will not rotate. Now I believe this in-call screen rotate to landscape issue is an Android problem, and may not be a CyanogenMod problem. I know for a fact it was on Android 2.x. I know many factory Android phones have this same dumb issue. Google seems to leave it to the manufacturer to “fix” this. CM7 was modified to rotate this screen in later builds. Google tends to suck on consistent finishing touches.
CM10 is prettier, shinier and flashier, and it looks like the OS in my Asus Transformer Prime. Fonts look nicer in the OS, and you feel like you have a new phone again. So if that does it for you no matter what, then a current build of CM10 on the Optimus 2X will do it for you. But apps will look the same when they are running (no matter what version of Android you are using) you will run out of battery power long before the day is done, and remember to reboot your phone after you plug it in to charge it up twice a day. Oh ya, and if you use a landscape car-kit mount in your car, turn your head when you want to see your in-call screen and press the buttons.
Needless to say after 1 day of use, I restored from backup and went back to the last build of CM7 available.
