Got this rom from Redy Basuki, from whom he got the rom for port base, please find it on his page. From whoever it is, thank you for both of you, and credits goes to them, i’m only re-porting it against my before 4.2.1 custom rom modules, slimming it down, remove all bloatware and some sony in-house applications, tweak it a little bit and added some language.

The overall performance is very good, the audio is superb, and i really likes the stock wallpaper and the launcher, it’s looks nice and elegant. See for yourself, it’s all yours, and here is the features list :

Features :

  • Android 4.2.2 with 3.4.5 kernel
  • Rooted, busybox, fully deodexed, zipaligned
  • rooted boot.img
  • init.d support + busybox run parts
  • gps, bt, hsdpa tweak
  • more languages
  • Superuser by Clockworkmod (thanks to Koush)
  • entropy generator tweak (thanks to lambgx02)
  • Xposed framework (thanks to rovo89 and Tungstwenty)
  • GravityBox customization module (thanks to C3C076)
  • Xperia rom base (thanks to Redy Basuki)
  • … something i forgot to list

Known issues :

  • the sony xperia rom was designed to use the pc companion to communicate between mass storage with the desktop pc. I cannot try this since i’m on linux, and i’m experience difficulties mounting the internal storage and the external sdcard at the same time, and this is annoying for me. However, there always a workaround for this issue by using ESExplorer file manager apps and transfer the files across network.
  • WiFi and Network location menu is missing from the Location access settings menu for some reason. However, when i’m logging in to my google accounts, then i enable Access Location option when maps asking to enable it, the feature seems working normally. maps can found my location abruptly even the gps icons still blinking try to find my precise location.

Here we go the custom rom :

Download : PICOpad_GDS_Xperia_signed_112113_143443.zip

MD5 : 4585c995167563a34c4b4e42f303b887

EDIT 27/11/2013 :

I fix the system-ui resource not showing up and added 1080p h264 omx codec for better fullhd video playing :

Download : PICOpad_GDS_Xperia_signed_112613_162054.zip

MD5 : b8ffff5dbab75f110ea2e408fd5a6360

And here is the steps to flash this custom rom :

Requirement and Preparation :

  • Read this thoroughly :
    Your warranty is now void !!!
    I am not responsible if you brick your phone, get stuck in a bootloop, or if your phone grows arms and tries to kill you. Flash at your own risk!
    Please do some research if you have any concerns about risk of flashing a custom rom before continuing! YOU are choosing to make these modifications, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will laugh at you!!
    If you have any other objection, don’t bother to comment, just close this page!
  • This custom rom need a custom recovery to flashed into the device, if you haven’t got it, get it here : cwm and twrp recovery for PICOpad GDS. Both are working good for this device, get it whichever you like.

Flashing Process :

The steps to flash this custom rom is pretty straight forward :

  • Download the custom rom from link above and copy it to the root of your sdcard, you may check it first with your file manager to confirm it was there. There are two sdcard storage on this device, so you must know it’s at the internal sdcard or external sdcard. I prefer you to put this on external sdcard to avoid any difficulties.
  • Boot into recovery mode by turning off your phone, hold down Volume + button then press power button, hold them both until you see axioo logo on screen then release it. Wait a sec or two … then you’ll be in recovery mode.
  • BACKUP your stock rom and data using BACKUP feature, make sure you use external storage as destination because this backup is relatively big.
  • Choose Wipe Data / Factory reset and execute it.
  • Choose Wipe cache partition and execute it
  • Choose Wipe Dalvik Cache and execute it
  • Go back to main menu, and choose Install
  • It will open a list of file on your sdcard, choose the custom rom zip file that you put on step 1 and flash it.
  • After the installation completed, choose Reboot System
  • Done

Here is the result after flash :

Enjoy your PICOpad GDS