Posts: Computers and Technology / Root your Android phone!

I have an HTC Hero that came with Android 1.5 (with SenseUI, if you know what that is). It was all well and good, but I was waiting for 2.1 to come out. Since Sprint and HTC kept pushing back their vague release dates, I got fed up and rooted the phone to install a custom ROM made by some dudes on the interwebs. It's based on the leaked 2.1 ROM, which introduces multi-touch support for Maps as well as other compass/GPS related Maps features such as turn-by-turn navigation through Google (my phone already had one from Sprint, but others won't).

But to me, the most important thing was the bump in speed. I don't know whether the boost in performance was due to 2.1 being optimized or due to the ROM developers cutting out unnecessary crap, but the speed increase was noticeable and rooting the phone was worth it for that reason alone. Most custom ROMs also include tethering support so you can use your 3G coverage as a wifi hotspot for a laptop, supposing you were in the middle of nowhere.

Additionally, I've been able to flash new lockscreens and keyboards such as Swype. If you haven't tried Swype, look to see if your phone supports a rooted version and try it. I easily type twice as fast and I've only used it a short while. Alternatively you can check out some Youtube clips of other people using it on officially supported devices.

Rooting is really easy and provides you with the ability to backup your original ROM in the event that you ever want to change it back to default (I don't know why you would, though. Maybe a warranty thing.). So if you have an Android phone (and if you don't, why?), look into rooting it. It could give your laggy phone some new legs.

its actually not sprints fault (for once)



android has a habit of coming out in almost proprietary releases.  the hindrance of supporting legacy hardware being the issue. they might as well just forgo using numbers and just call each new version based on the hardware it was designed for. 



i have android 1.6 which i like to call android g1 final.



that said. i have no problems with the speed of my phone or anything else for that matter.  ive rooted my fones before and patted myself on the back for following instructions and whatnot, but in the end, i just want my phone to make calls and play coloroid.

How many G1 ROMs have you checked out? I don't believe that you only want phone calls and Coloroid (is that the same as Flood-it?). You're paying for data services plus the cost of a pricey phone. Why not get a DS and a cheapo phone without data, then?

ultron: How many G1 ROMs have you checked out? I don't believe that you only want phone calls and Coloroid (is that the same as Flood-it?). You're paying for data services plus the cost of a pricey phone. Why not get a DS and a cheapo phone without data, then?

because i can ssh to my machines from wherever if i need to. need a smart phone for that and has been at the core of my choice to own one since my first treo many moons ago. 



i will futz with the internet occasionally and maybe some maps when necessary, but ultimately, i don't attempt to do much with my phone. the last thing i want to do when i get away from the computer is try and do computerish things with a phone.



i dont know if coloroid and flood it is the same, but flood it sounds like it could be another name for the objective of coloroid so i assume they are somewhat similar.



its a great way to kill time in waiting rooms and such.

1. I enjoyed reading this because I understood it
2. I was horrified reading this because I understood it
3. Historically speaking, very few people in the past or future will probably understand this.

nicole: 1. I enjoyed reading this because I understood it 2. I was horrified reading this because I understood it 3. Historically speaking, very few people in the past or future will probably understand this.

Hahahaha.