The Android Thread

[AYHJA]

Good general info thread coming up, feel free to ask questions..!

I got my first smartphone (Evo 4G via Sprint) in January of this year, and love it...And, for those that know me, its not a shock to know that I went in immediately and started hacking away...Here are a few apps and things to know without reading a ton of tech talk on other sites about some things you can do with your droid...

Rooting

Should start off by saying that your phone service provider would probably rather that you not do this, and it will probably void your warranty...The good news is that its reversible...I won't go into depth about rooting because its phone specific. Just know that if you have questions or need help with rooting your device, start a separate thread.

Rooting basically unlocks the power and potential of your phone. You can install and uninstall whatever you want, and unlock features...For example, my device has the ability to act as a hotspot, sharing its data connection with other Wi-Fi enabled devices like my laptop or my PSP. Many phone companies have a charge for this feature (It's $30 p/month w/Sprint) or have a separate device that you pay for in addition to your phone that does the same thing...

I rooted my phone because I like this feature, but adding an additional $30 to my bill for something I may or may not use is crazy...With a rooted phone, you can download an app (I use this one) and activate it when you need it without paying out the ass...

Most apps are free, but they run ads...Rooted users can install an app that removes these ads...Now, I'm all for supporting developers, shit, most apps cost $2 or less..I would rather pay that than see and deal with ads any day...But if a dev. doesn't offer a paid version, I do what I gotta do...

I could go on and on, but basically, if I were to get a brand new smartphone, the first thing I would do is root it...It was a relatively painless procedure, very easy, and best of all, it can be reversed if you need to take it back to the phone store for some reason....But, again, I must say...If you are not tech savvy, get help...You can seriously fuck your phone up if you screw up a root...Which brings me to my first app sugestion!

[AYHJA]

ROM

A ROM is essentially your phone's operating system. Android is a Linux based OS for smartphones. And like the real life Linux, there are tons of options for customizations. The stock ROM or OS for my Evo is Android 2.2, also called by its codename "Froyo"...I am now running 2.3, aka, Gingerbread.

But, because I'm a rooted user, I can install dev. or custom versions of my ROM...Custom ROM's allow for you to do a variety of things...They can change the way your phone looks, how it acts, what is installed...Gives you complete control..! There are ROM's that more offer a more effective way to charge your phone...ROM's that are game oriented...

Check out XDA to find your Smartphone and browse the list of ROM's for your device. Here is a list of apps and things to do FIRST...

:laff:

[AYHJA]

Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=c ... android.su
Cost: Free, donate version available
Root: Yes

Once you are rooted, you will need this application to grant other apps the ability to act as the root user. Install this, its necessary!

[AYHJA]

Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=c ... rommanager
Cost: Free, w/paid version available that has more features
Root: Yes

If you have successfully rooted your device, before you do ANYTHING, you need to make a backup. You don't want to find out after the fact that you shouldn't have uninstalled that "useless" app...Consider yourself lucky if you have rooted your device and it still works like it used to...Install this application to make a full aka nandroid backup of your device. If something goes wrong, you can always use your phone to restore your backup....

This application will also allow you to manage and install other ROM's easily...If you get the paid version, it will provide a list of ROM's you can use right from within the app...At $5 or so, its a little too pricey for me, but...It's a great app...

[AYHJA]

Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=c ... niumBackup
Cost: Free, with paid version offering more features
Root: Yes

Now that you've got your ROM backed up, you can use this handy app to make backups of all your apps and app elements (like your bookmarks and contacts) to your phone's SD card and restores them if there are issues...The paid version is also a little pricey for me, $6, but it is worth it...

[AYHJA]

Link: https://market.android.com/details?id=m ... .vplayer.t
Cost: About $5
Root: No

When I first got my PSP, I had to dedicate many hours of my life to converting video to play on it...I decided that doing the same with my EVO just wasn't going to cut it...Android will natively support some media types, but not very many...For anything except audio, I use this...Clean and fast, its the best multimedia player that I've seen and used...And I've tried quite a few...Again, this costs, but if you want to be able to play your avi, flv, wmv, etc without a hitch, grab this...