What is MIUI exactly? – Well, here we will cover a brief history of MIUI, where it come from and what it is all about.

MIUI which is developed by Xiaomi Tech and pronounced "Me You I", It’s an after market custom ROM firmware for Smartphone’s based upon the Android platform. MIUI is based upon Android 2.3.7 and the CyanogenMod 7.1 source with it’s kernel laying the ground work and base for the system. Originally developed in only the Chinese language by Xiaomi Tech, It is now available in various languages through maintainers and translators across the globe who take it upon themselves to bring it to us with hard work and dedication. On top of the custom ROM, Xiaomi Tech have also developed and added some of their own MIUI native applications which include MITalk, MIBackup, MIMusic, and MIGallery. Updates are quite frequent and normally every Friday they push out an update.

Not originally intended for a lot of devices, it is now available for a whole hosts of devices through ports and independent developers as well. MIUI is fast becoming so big that Xiaomi Tech even released their own device earlier this year called the MI-ONE. The MI-ONE carries itself with a massive spec list and puts itself up their with the high-end front runners in Android today, running MIUI out of the box it’s currently available in China and shipping to various countries as well.

MI-ONE full specifications

That’s MIUI in brief and a little backround, fancy a try and flashing some "Me You I" goodness? Well then no worry as here we have compiled a beginners guide and walkthrough to help you through your first steps. We will be covering MIUI with everything explained and detailed to help you on to the "Me You I" custom ROM without any problems.

Built upon CyanogenMod’s kernel and base, the popular Chinese aftermarket firmware has become one of the most downloaded ROMs out there. Mixing in the pot a touches of TouchWiz, iOS, Android and other influences, MIUI brings a unique taste and feel to your Android device.

Heavily focused on the UI aspect and graphically appealing to the eye, MIUI is a welcome change to some of the old Android ugly looks you get with some ROMs and UI designs. Performance is also top notch, being pretty much bug free and smooth, fluid and slick in operation it brings a breath of fresh air to your Android handset.

Here we will take a look for the first timer and unknown to MIUI with a little guide and walkthrough on MIUI itself.

Where To Download MIUI

Before we start on the experience we need to find you MIUI that’s suitable for you. The links below are maintainers and independent developers who bring us MIUI unofficially in various countries with changes and translations for us all to enjoy MIUI. For the official Chinese release simply go to http://www.miui.com/download.html if you wish.

If you have Rom Manager on your device then you can also browse through the ROM’s on offer where you may find some also for your particular device.

Author : MIUI UK

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://www.miuiandroid.com/

Language : English

Author : MIUI Australia

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://www.miui-au.com/

Language : English

Author : MIUI America

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update :1.11.11

Download : http://www.miui.us/

Language : English

Author : MIUI Scotland

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://www.miuiscotland.co.uk/

Language : English

Author : MIUI Germany

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://miui-germany.de

Language : German

Author : MIUI Italy

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://www.nexus-lab.com/miui-rom-italian-packs/

Language : Italian

Author : MIUI Spain

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://miui.es/

Language : Spanish

Author : MIUI Israel

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://hebmiui.com/

Language : Hebrew

Author : MIUI Russia

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://miui.su/

Language : Russian

Author : MIUI France

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://miui-france.com/

Language : French

Author : MIUI Portugal

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://www.miui-pt.com/

Language : Portuguese

Author : MIUI Czech

Kernel : Android 2.3.7

Latest update : 1.11.11

Download : http://www.miui.cz/

Language : Czech and Slovak

First Impressions Of The MIUI Interface

MIUI is different and that you will notice on your first impressions. It’s first notable thing is the lockscreen difference and then moving onto the homescreens you will notice a lack of an app drawer within the native MIUI launcher. Don’t be alarmed and put off as there is plenty of options to deal with that and we will address that along the way. Initially all the apps are stuck onto the homescreen just like in iOS, there is also plenty of screens to go through, although you can also place them into folders for a more organized feel, you can even create one just for all your apps which would in turn simulate an app drawer as such.

If you decide to delete an app’s icon from a homescreen on a conventional Android ROM you will simply bin it from the homescreen, leaving it installed and intact but with a cleaner set of homescreens. Not so with MIUI: as there is no app drawer, all the apps live there on the homescreen as such and binning them will also uninstall them as well. Widgets do not uninstall if you delete them from the homescreen and behave just like they would on any other launcher, where you can add or remove them at any time without doing anything to the installed app. If you want to edit the homescreen with widgets and more you simply press and hold to open up the editor or simply press menu and select editor, this option will give you access to widgets at the bottom of the screen which can be scrolled left to right and be placed on any screen available. Very much akin to what TouchWiz provides you with and an easy way to customizing your screens.

Moving on we will look around what else there is to show. The Android notifications bar at the top of the MIUI homescreen works in much the same way as other ROMs and launchers with the familiar pull-down swipe menu displaying events in list form. But what is different to most ROM’s is the toggles option accessed from the notifications bar. MIUI has a dedicated aspect called Toggles and it can be customized and changed with different individual system toggle switches that can be added, removed and rearranged to your own preference, giving you quick access to many of the switches that are usually hidden away in the Android Settings menus. Simply go to Settings > Toggle Settings and there you can pick and choose what you want to have in your own Toggles page within the pull-down menu.

MIUI Themes And Customization

MIUI here excels and i mean excels to the top of the class and beats down the rest of the ROM classmates with a cheeky smile and wink. MIUI has the one of the most heavily featured theme engine their is in the world of Android. You will be able to customize pretty much anything from the Homescreen, lockscreen style, fonts, status bar, icons, Text style, dialer style, boot animation, wallpapers, audio, and much more. Each option is able to be changed by itself and of course if you don’t want to do that you can choose a set theme which can be found in theme packages from the online collection found in the MIUI Themes app or through the internet. For the purposes of this we will use the Black Ice theme and apply it as it is, simply run the themes application and go to the online collection, now download the Black Ice theme and apply once downloaded. Now you will see a whole difference with that itself and it now looks very much like Ice Cream Sandwich.

That’s a whole theme set up, but what if you want to personalise it? well here is a quick run through of how to do a simple theme and mix it up a little. I will use my current set up as an example. Now, as Ice Cream Sandwich is here i wanted the look of it and a little mixed in with other flavours. Their is a few ICS themes you can apply as a whole set theme such as Black Ice, but here we will choose bits and pieces to make it our own.

Now lets add some of our own touches and preferences. Simply run the Themes again and tap the edit button where it’ll bring up a screen where you can customize it yourself as seen before. If you like as you can see you can add different aspects of different themes and make a completely unique theme for yourself. I myself chose the Sapphire lockscreen, A set of icons from the online collection that, with my own Ice Cream Sandwich wallpaper and with Desktop Visualizer and Fancy Widgets adding my touches with the search bar. The possibilities are endless and you really can change it to so many different designs you will never get bored. It may look like iOS to begin with, but with a little customization will get you a design of varying different aspects from all wakes of platforms or unique within Android.

Now, another great feature of the MIUI theme engine is the ability to make a backup of what you have created. This can be saved away onto your SD Card and used again or shared with others for use as well with a simple tap of a button.

To use other themes which are from outside the online collection provided then we have to import the theme file. This is achieved by going into the MIUI Theme application and then pressing menu to reveal the option to Import Theme. Done that? Right good, you will then be taken into the File Explorer where you can locate the needed MTZ file (The theme file) and simply tap it to import it into your local collection where you can apply it.

To try this out you can use my current setup as i have briefly shown you already. Grab the MTZ file with the link below.

My current setup theme MTZ file.

Now that wraps up the basic guide of your initial introduction into the world of MIUI, next we will be looking into the native apps and extras MIUI have added themselves to make the experience an even better one. We hope this helps a little to your first steps into MIUI and if we have missed anything or need help don’t hesitate to give us a shout at Land of Droid.

To check out the next step in MIUI with a look around the Applications of MIUI then use the link below to head straight there.

MIUI Applications And Extras Explained