While Android is an open source operating system, that doesn’t mean the phone will let you do whatever the heck you want. While it’s not nearly as locked down as the iPhone and iOS it’s not quite as open as some of us would like either.
So in this post, I’ll give you several good reasons to root your phone, one reason not to, and six tutorials for popular Android phones (the tutorials are at the bottom).
- Better Performance – Let’s face it, having true multi-tasking is great but sometimes the phone gets pretty bogged down. Rooted users often find much improved memory management and performance.
- The Latest Updates – Even if your phone is on the fast track for the latest OS updates (Nexus One, Motorola Droid), it can still be months from the release of the newest Android OS and the time it gets pushed to your phone. If you root your phone, you can often get the latest updates in less than a week and get all the enhancements that come with it.
- 3. Overclocking – In addition to getting better performance, you can also get apps that will allow you to overclock the processor on your phone which will help speed up your phone. And the cool part is that popular overclocking apps will actually underclock your processor when it’s not being used in order to conserve the batter and then overclock it when it needs the performance boost so the result is a faster phone when you need it and a battery that lasts longer – best of both worlds.
- Wi-Fi Tethering – While this option is available on most current Android powered phones (running Android Froyo 2.2), it costs quite a bit extra a month to use – not only that, but original Motorola Droid users can’t do wi-fi tethering at all without rooting. The cool thin about wi-fi tethering is that if you’re in an area with no open Wi-Fi and don’t happen to have your USB cable with you, you can still use the internet connection on your phone to power your laptop (or anything else that needs an internet connection).
- 5. More Apps – Using a rooted phone doesn’t mean you have to forgo using the Android Market for apps – you can still use all of them. But there are some apps that are built only for rooted users and you’ll be able to download and use them.
Rooting Your Android Phone
A good reason NOT to root your phone? It voids your phone’s warranty and there is always a small chance you could “brick” the phone (i.e. the phone won’t work at all). I know many people who have rooted their phones without any problems whatsoever, but just keep the dangers in mind.
Here are the specific instructions for many of the most popular Android Phones (just about every Android based phone has been unlocked, though I can’t find one for Garminfone which due to low popularity and a very heavily customized version of Android has proven very difficult to unlock at this point).
How To Root the Droid X [tutorial]
http://gizmodo.com/5598894/droid-x-gets-one+click-rooting-app
How To Root The Droid 2 [tutorial]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=764950
How To Root The Samsung Epic 4G [tutorial]
http://www.gadgetsdna.com/how-to-root-samsung-epic-4g-android-phone/5730/
How To Root The HTC EVO 4G [tutorial]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=690762
How To Root The Motorolad Droid (the original one) [tutorial]
http://theunlockr.com/2010/06/04/how-to-root-the-motorola-droid-android-2-1/
How To Root The Droid Incredible [tutorial]
http://www.droid-life.com/2010/06/14/how-to-root-and-unroot-the-droid-incredible/
How To Root The Nexus One [tutorial]
http://androidandme.com/2010/01/hacks/video-how-to-unlock-and-root-a-nexus-one/
How To Root The Samsung Vibrant & Captivate [tutorial]
http://theandroidsite.com/2010/07/18/how-to-root-your-samsung-vibrant-or-captivate/
How To Root The Droid Eris [tutorial]
http://www.solidblogger.com/root-droid-eris-android-1-5-2-1-download-droid-eris-root-image-file/
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