Quick Impression Questions

Hey guys!  i have a few questions regarding the phone, but as i scroll through the forum, most of the answers i need are dated to mid-2010 and yield no answer because "drivers havent been released yet" or something or another.  So I hate to sound like a douche that doesnt read earlier posts, but i would really like to know the answers to these questions.

Is there a custom firmware released yet?

My biggest issue is the textbug and the slow menu / widgets.  My friend had a droid phone that was slow as balls; but once he did a custom firmware, smooth as a baby's back.

Can I delete the crap-apps it came with?  e.g. stupid widgets, att icons i never use, media player, preinstalled music / games... etc.

and will doing so make the phone all around faster? 

The menu icons are slow as hell to me and when i text with the physical keyboard, sometimes i type faster than the words appear and that kinda peeves me.


if i wanted/could afford a data plan, id get an iPhone.  The impression is an all-around  "meh" phone to me, considering technology in this day and age;  I'm just trying to make my time with it a little  more well spent.

Thanks for reading, and please respond!


EDIT: Also, my screen is cracked.  I cant see anything, but the phone still operates normally.  (i can make calls n such because i know the layout)  But when I touch the phone like i normally would, i feel the vibration response i get when i click a menu button or something.  I already purchased a new LCD screen, but is the digitizer broken too?

If you can figure out whether or not i need a digitizer from the information i gave you, I'd really appreciate it.  If you need more info regarding^, mention it and ill try my best.