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Image via CrunchBase16-Jan-2012I did it last week.
I mean, I've not been doing anything with the iPhone 4 when my wife got hers, since I'm not really enamored with the iPhone, even when it was only 3, then 3S. And when my wife got hers, it was already 4, and I was simply ignoring that small device which has captivated millions (is my estimate correct?) all over the world. And it still does, but I will never be in the statistics.
You see, when I got my Samsung Galary R over a month ago, I felt it was a very good deal, unit price promo-ed at only $11 at the least plan that will have data access, not to mention that the SGR was already a dual-core device, albeit a toned-down version of the Samsung Galaxy S II.
Anyway, I was immediately introduced to the already huge world of android freebies, primarily through the Android Market, and then to the all-free spree being done in all of the major android sites - always. And this is something that I enjoyed on what the web has to offer - freebies!
Anyway, I also immediately found that many of the stronger apps out there (and yet still free) are requiring the device to be 'rooted' - a limitless, all-access, superuser account category - that would be able to control the device from the very core.
Then I found that to root a device, it will void the warranty, and that the process of rooting, if done wrongly, may render the device unusable, 'bricked' so they say, ending up simply as a beautifully-formed glass and metal (and plastic) artwork.
Furthermore, it is a cat-and-mouse chase: while you may succeed rooting your device, phone manufacturers will eventually release a firmware update, which will unroot your device and clear any superuser accounts, and reinstate the device to its unrooted state. So hackers (developers to be precise) who are not content with that will again try to develop rooting methods and programs that will again be able to 'root' the device even with the latest firmware. Then manufacturers will release a firware update... it just never ends!
So I had my hesitation... take note, I had...
But the best of me yielded to the 'risk-taking', and on the 12th of January, I did my first rooting business - and I succeeded.
What made it all too easy is that I found several articles that offered help by laying down the process step-by-step, so I was fully familiar with that I should be doing, but finally, I found that I only have to click a button, and wait, and watch, and it's done. Is it too good to be true?
Well, it was. I used SuperOneClick. With all the hesitation in my mind, my finger steely clicked the mouse button, and I waited, and I watched, and it was a success! SU was created, and I had superuser access to the rooted device! That finally gave me the privilege to install those free apps that will help me take control of my small device from the very core.
So that's it. My small, yet very fruitful, new adventure: rooting my android device. And I showed my phone to my wife, and she wanted an exchange...
See, not everyone who gets the iPhone are really iPhone fanatics. My wife is one who would prefer the 'better' deal. She thinks the iPhone is outdated. I think all the more that it is outdated. It is like the IBM story, closed, proprietary, unaccommodating. Then PC came. Android has come, but devices will still be rooted. The limits and boundaries may be set and defined, but there are many who just can't be boxed and enclosed.
Android is freedom, and the exercise of freedom makes android users freer.
Till then!
Hey can you post link to the guide you used to root your galaxy R? I just bought one and would like to root it as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Hi lanuk, too many to name. Just look for SuperOneClick, and you are good to go. Primary site would be the xda-developers forum, and you will surely find a good link there. Otherwise, just Google it, and you'll have a selection where you can take your pick. What I got is v2.3.3.0. So far, my SGR is quite stable even after Kies was updated (mine was done yesterday, the others, as I read from the forums, were since somewhere mid-Jan updated).
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Hi lanuk, to be fair, I went back and searched, and I came to the publisher's site, and it is here: http://shortfuse.org/. I have also updated the link in my post, so you can click there, or you can copy-and-paste this short URL to a new page.
ReplyDeleteHappy rooting!
Thanks, Ill try this method. Btw, did rooting wipe your phone's memory? If it did, what data was wiped?
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
I don't think rooting wiped out any apps or media file. Rooting is on a level way down lower than where those items reside in your phone.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't even affect your stock apps. It goes to the kernel...
If you go to XDA Developers site, the forums will have a lot of the same question that you asked me. It was silly of me actually to just do rooting right away, without thinking what could be the impact, other than practically voiding the warranty, but hey, nothing adverse happened. Only afterwards did I learn that rooting doesn't wipe out anything, except of course, the kernel, or what is also commonly termed as ROM.
You'll find out when you root your phone. It is either a confirmation, or a mere fabrication - to get people rooting their phone.
Your experience counts!