Credit: Cyanogenmod.com
Have a smartphone? If you don’t, you should have one by now. It is 2012 after all. If you have an Android, you know by now that it tracks everything you do and is managed through your Google account. Don’t have a Google account you say? Well, you must be an iPhone, Crackberry or Windows phone user — that’s not necessarily true. It is true that you can’t run an Android phone without a Google account though.
No matter if you love or hate Google it is just a part of life now. Ever wanted to know something and someone suggests you “Google it”? Don’t act like you don’t know.
I will just focus on what I know and that’s Android.
I’ve had an Android phone for nearly two years now. It’s been fun, aggravating, even more aggravating and rewarding. The phone is so useful. I can do nearly everything I can do on my computer, just slower, but at least I can do it.
One of the coolest things about having an Android phone is the ability to gain superuser access to your phone’s files. You can’t access the files by default. You have to “root” your phone in order to do it. This is somewhat of a controversial subject though. If you bought a warranty from your wireless provider, then you might want to wait until that warranty expires before you attempt to root you phone. Rooting will generally void your warranty.
Rooting the phone will allow you to access every file that was not available or hidden on your phone. Much like accessing files on a computer. Unfortunately, phones are not exactly like computers, but that’s why the good Lord made some people hackers.
The root process is different for each phone. The biggest concern for people when they root their phones is that they will do it wrong or there will be a glitch in the process and you “brick” your phone. If you brick you phone, it becomes completely useless (kind of like a brick). If done successfully, you open up a whole new world of possibilities for customization and overall phone usefulness.
AT&T puts a lot of their proprietary software on their smartphones. Normally, you wouldn’t be able to uninstall their software. Their software is commonly called “bloatware.” Why? It takes up precious space on your phone. It bloats out…bloating… Anyway, if you don’t use it (which you likely won’t) then you don’t need it on your phone. Rooting solves this issue. Rooting allows you to uninstall this junk.
Another nice advantage is you can replace the stock software on the phone, also known as the ROM. My phone is a HTC brand, so it comes with HTC’s ROM named Sense. I hated it, so installed a custom ROM. The custom ROM I installed is named CyanogenMod. It is much more user-friendly and leaves a smaller footprint on my phone that Sense did.
So, without stating anymore boring information, I will link you away to some useful sites.
XDA Developers — This site is a huge forum that addresses nearly any and all questions surround Android smartphones.
Android Central — This site has the latest news on all things Android. You will also find useful forums fed by other Android users.
CyangenMod — Learn all about the CyangoenMod custom ROM on this site. Donate to the cause if you feel led to do so.
There are multiple resources available, but the top two sites are ones I frequent on a weekly basis.
If you successfully root you phone, please leave a comment and let me know how the process went and if you were successful or unsuccessful.
