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We bought my dad, who isn't tech savvy, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (model GT-P5113). He was in the market for a new laptop so he could view his foreign streaming channels and check emails. Thats all he does on his computer. Being nosy and curious, I checked out the Tab 2 so see how well it performed. The Tab 2 came preinstalled with Android 4.0.4 ICS. It is an interesting device but after the release of the Google Nexus devices, I felt like it had some features I didn't want. What I didn't like about the Tab 2 is Samsung's UI and preinstalled apps, though tablet touch wiz is not that bad of an UI. I just prefer a stock OS; Nexus OS running stock Jellybean 4.2.1 was perfect. That's what I wanted for my Tab 2 my dad's Tab 2. Luckily, the tablet can be rooted and installed with a custom rom.
The process to root and install a custom rom should not take a somewhat experienced rooter more than 15 minutes to complete. It took me 2 days 2 hour (granted, most of the time I raged quitted from mere frustration). I installed the cyanogenmod 10.1 rom which is based on stock Jellybean 4.2.1. The moment I loaded up the Tablet and the cyanogenmod load screen came on, that was the happiest I have ever been sadly enough. The custom rom installed correctly and the Tab 2 was running stock Jellybean 4.2.1.
Cyanogenmod 10.1 is not a perfect Jellybean 4.2.1 rom. There will be bugs and kinks. So how does the Cyanogenmod 10.1 rom fare on the Tab 2 10.1?
Without Samsung's UI, it runs a lot smoother. Almost buttery smooth. The removal of bloatware from Samsung helps tidy up the main screen and application drawer. I tested the wifi and the touch keyboard to make sure it works. Older versions of Cyanogenmod have rendered the touch keyboard useless requiring an external keyboard. The Wifi connected to my router just fine and the keyboard was functional. I did not notice any improvements to the front facing and back camera. Camera function and speed is just slightly faster compared to android 4.0.4 ICS. Some notable exclusions of function was that Google Voice search will not work. Since this is not an official 4.2 update from Google, they probably restricted access of their sever so that google voice won't be able to connect. I was not able to test the built in IR since I did not re-install Samsung's media app or any media app from the Play store.
Overall, this build from the Cyanogen Community is pretty stable. There are a few bugs and some features that aren't supported. I can say that this build is very useable as a daily. If you want to install this build on your Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, you can check out my guide HERE
