There are thousands of great apps on the Android Market and it seems that if you think your phone should be able to do something, there’s already an app for that.
Unfortunately, there are still a few apps that you can’t get on the market that will only work if you have a rooted phone (click here for rooting instructions for most phones). Here’s my list of 7 best apps for rooted Android phones.
(Disclaimer: Rooting your phone voids the warranty and could damage or permanently brick your phone – consider yourself warned and tread carefully)1) Wireless Tether – As far as I’m concerned this one app alone should help you make up your mind if you’re undecided about rooting. Sure, most of the new phones from Verizon and Sprint no support wireless hotspots but they charge you a bunch of extra money for the privilege. Also, this app will work on the original Motorola Droid which as you probably know, didn’t get the wireless hotspot feature when it got it’s Android 2.2 Froyo update.
2) SetCPU – Anyone who has ever built their own computer probably knows about overclocking. Did you know that there are several phones that can be overclocked as well (like the Droid which tends to get a little bogged down at times)? SetCPU allows you to do just that (800mhz on the Droid tends to be stable and safe if you’re curious). Not only that, it allows you to underclock your phone when it’s not being used which saves battery life.
3) Titanium Backup – While there are plenty of backup apps on the market, there is a limit to what they’ll actually backup. Titanium Backup, on the other hand can do a backup of everything, including the operating system. That means should you ever need to do a complete restore of your phone (which if you ever install Custom ROMs can happen from time to time) you’ll be able to do so.
4) ShootMe – No, it’s not a game. It’s a program that allows you to take screenshots of what’s on your phone’s screen. It seems silly that you need to root to get this kind of app, but if you do root your phone, it’s worth having.
5) Juice Defender – One of the biggest enemies of any battery powered device is running out of power. This program does a great job turning off programs when they’re not needed and does a far better job at saving battery power than anything you can get without rooting your phone.
6) Cachemate – Don’t you just hate it when your phone slows down and runs like molasses in winter time? I sure do. SetCPU helps by providing more power. Cachemate, on the other hand, works by clearing your cache so you don’t have to restart the thing so often.
7) ROM Manager – ROM Manager makes it easy to flash new ROMs, add themes, fonts, and create backups of your current ROMs. If you like to play with new ROMs or change them often, this will make the entire process a whole lot easier.
Related posts:
- How To Record Calls on Android Phones
- 10 Must Have Android Apps
- 10 Best Android Apps That Use GPS
- 5 Good Reasons To Root Your Android Phone
- Never Lose Your Droid – Tracking A Stolen Android Phone
About Gary Ruplinger