Review: AdyScorpius MIUI v2.3.31 For SGS2

It's been a while since I used AdyScorpius MIUI (first known as MIUI Fresh). The custom ROM even made headlines on several Android websites and that's where I found out about it. The latest version is v2.3.31 and as always, combines CM9 and original MIUI. 


Perhaps the biggest reason why I like MIUI despite its iPhone-ish feel is that it looks clean and professional. Everything is easy to access too with AdyScorpius MIUI. More importantly though, it's more stable than the original MIUI ICS for SGS2.


Version reviewed in this post: AdyScorpius MIUI v2.3.31 (Android 4.0.4 ICS)


Developer: @AdyScorpius

What works & Pros

• What works: WiFi, autorotate, messages and calls, camera, video capture (1080p), USB debugging mode (I am unable to check 3G and tethering. Please confirm)
• Lockscreen: Slide to unlock interface which offers direct access to messages, camera, and phone dialer. Can be changed to Pattern, PIN, and Password for added security.
• Expand notifications bar on lock screen by going to Settings > Status Bar > (check) expandable under keyguard. This only works for non-secure lock screen.
• Update: Change lockscreen wallpaper. First create /data/system/theme folder. After that you can change it by going to Themes. The theme needs to be MIUI ICS compatible which is hard to determine. 
• Dock: Place up to 5 icons. Can be changed.
• Home Screen
• Smooth scrolling.
• All apps are accessible on home screen, just like in iOS. The icons are beautifully styled and placed in equally-shaped squares to make them look balanced and proportional.
• Add widgets like any Android home screen. Long press on empty space or go to Menu > Edit widgets.
• Organize apps in folders. Add folders and rename them. Each folder could hold up to 12 apps so you could better organize everything on your home screen.
• Add more than 20 home screens. Don't know the limit exactly. I got tired at 24 lol. Updated: Unlimited home screens!
• Change transition effects: Class, Classic, Crossfade, Falldown, Page, Cascading, Rotation, and 3D Cube.
• Easily add/access pages and assign main page. Go to Menu > Preview.
• Change wallpaper. From the home screen go to Menu > Wallpaper > Desktop wallpaper. Choose from pre-installed wallpapers or your gallery by selecting "Others" on the bottom screen.
• Status Bar: Semi-transparent status bar with white icons. Even if you used a white background, icons are still visible because of its semi-transparent nature.
• Edit battery status indicator by going to Menu > Settings > Complete Settings > Battery > Battery indicator style.
• Notifications Drawer
• Separate views for notifications and toggles. Swipe left to right to easily switch between the two. You can also click "Notifications" and "Toggles" on bottom of Notifications Drawer.
• Swipe to remove notifications individually. Click X on upper right to remove all of them at the same time.
• Long press on toggles for quick access to settings. For example, long-pressing on WiFi toggle will take you directly to WiFi settings.
• Customize toggles on display, layout, and arrangement by clicking "More" from notifications drawer or  going to Menu > Settings > Complete Settings (top right) > Status Bar. You can only place a maximum of 10 toggles. And there's a lot to choose from! 
• Adjust brightness from Toggles.
• Recent apps view when long pressing home button. Also features:
• Swipe to remove notifications individually.
• Clear all recently viewed apps by selecting the icon on the bottom left.
• Access running apps by clicking icon on the bottom right.
• Apps and interface: Combines CM9 and stock MIUI apps and interface.
• CM9 apps: Camera
• Stock MIUI: There's to many so I'll just mention the ones I like most :-)
• Browser (automatically syncs to Google account). Learn to sync it to your Google Chrome here.
• Music Player - Really cool interface. See screenshots below.
• Gallery - organizes your photos very well. Shows your favorite (or most used) folders on bottom half of screen. See screenshots below.
• Sound Recorder - this could come in handy... when ghost hunting. erm. And interviewing people.
• Torch - turns your LED flash to a flashlight. Shortcut from lockscreen: Long press menu button while your phone is on standby.
• Monitor - monitors data usage
• AntiSpam - for blocking messages/calls from specific numbers)
• News and Weather - location based
• Gapps pre-installed: GMail, GTalk, Google Search, Google Maps & Navigation, Google Places, YouTube, Play Store
• Other pre-installed apps: Superuser and Titanium Backup. AWESOME.
• Other things I like.
• Popup message notifications. Reply to messages easily even when using an app.
• Adjust text size by going to Menu > Settings > Display > Font Size
• Option to disable touch button actions though they'd still light up. As far as I know the option can only be accessed via Toggles of your Notifications Drawer.

Bugs & Cons

Note: Most bugs are caused by the limitations of MIUI ICS and CM9 which are still under development.

• Each time your phone turns on, the "USB storage not in use" notification always shows up. Just press the back button to get rid of it.
• When installing .apks (and installation from outside sources is allowed), it will tell you the app wasn't installed - BUT IT WAS.
• Most themes won't work. Only those compatible to MIUI ICS do and there are very few. I was unable to find one. Still, you can change home screen wallpaper.
• Unable to view external SD card using File Explorer. FIX: Use Astro Manager. From the /mnt/sdcard view select "Up" and then "emmc" to see files in your external SD. You can use other third-party file managers as well.
• No option to turn off touch light buttons.

Verdict

Unlike previous versions, AdyScorpius MIUI is now beginning to resemble MIUI ICS more than CM9. The simplicity of its interface is what draws me most to it. To tell you quite honestly, too much tweaking gives me a headache and this custom ROM gives me a break from all that. If you want a simple and everything-ready interface like iOS, I recommend this one over original MIUI for SGS2 (which is based on those buggy-as-hell Sammy ROMs). It's stable, reliable, and works great as a daily ROM.

For downloads and installation guide, please check the original XDA thread :-) And don't forget to check out the screenshots below!

Screenshots