New phone, what can I do to it?

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xj0hnx

I wanna be sedated
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So being a tinkerer I can't just leave anything well enough alone. I've had an iPhone for a while now, and just today got a new Pantech Burst Android phone. It's running 2.3.5 Ice Cream Sandwich. I used Cydia alot to customize the iPhone, and now get to start all over. What can I do with this Android stuff? Does it have lots of third party shit like iPhone? I know there's the Market, but is there anything else? Theming? Ringtones? Other apps?

Yea, yea, I know, n0ob
 
Theres way more customization for Android phones, as someone new to Android you should go here and read as much as you can!
Pantech Burst - Android Forums

I'm no expert but I have installed custom ROMs on my phone and so I can at least answer some questions. It looks like your phone isnt supported very widely so i dont know if you'll be able to change much
 
Theres way more customization for Android phones, as someone new to Android you should go here and read as much as you can!
Pantech Burst - Android Forums

I'm no expert but I have installed custom ROMs on my phone and so I can at least answer some questions. It looks like your phone isnt supported very widely so i dont know if you'll be able to change much

Awesome, thanks!

Check out XDA Developers. Tons of info there.

O cool, I used them to mod my wifes 2.2 tablet


Nice. Now, what's the object of rooting a device? Absolute control? like jailbreaking an iPhone?
 
I guess its about the same, although im not sure since ive never had an iphone... but rooting your phone will let you do a ton more with it, like modifying system file which would other wise be hidden in your file explorer. theres alot of stuff you can do though, thats just one example
 
rooting is similar to jail breaking yes. in linux terms, rooting lets you run stuff as 'su'
 
Ok, so I am not quite getting this part ...

Once you've done that, execute the following commands:
adb reboot bootloader
Allow the phone to boot into the bootloader before continuing.
fastboot boot prestoroot.img
At this point, just wait for the phone to do its thing and reboot. Once it's fully booted, reboot it once more. After it's ready to go again, install SuperUser from the Play Store, and you're done.

I know how to run the command, but do I need to install the whole Android SDK to get ADB? Or do I need to install just that part?

EDIT: Ok, I think I found a site for Android nubs like me ...

How To: Install ADB and Fastboot on your Windows computer for use with your Android phone | dotTech
 
Wow, ok, that was retarded easy. Once you figure out what to do it's pretty silly that it was confusing a moment ago.
 
I was gonna point and laugh, but you figured it out :(
 
I was gonna point and laugh, but you figured it out :(

:p

btw, this phone kicks some ass. All the little things like how you navigate through it are so much better than iPhone. Not that I don't like the iPhone, but this one is just that much better.
 
Well everyone else beat me to it. XDA developers is pretty much your one stop shop for all things Android. Always fun to play with new stuff.
 
Well everyone else beat me to it. XDA developers is pretty much your one stop shop for all things Android. Always fun to play with new stuff.

Yea, I didn't even think about them originally, I had used them to mod my wife's 2.2 tablet a while back.
 
If anyone needs/wants instructions to root their phone ...

Step 1: Preperation -

Download this Root tools

Extract the folder (it's called 'Android') somewhere you can find it. Inside are all the tools you'll need to root.

Then the prestoroot image ... Prestoroot image

Put that image into the previously extracted folder.

Insure you devices drivers are up to date by right clicking "Computer" > Properties > then Device Manager > **Android Phone > Pantech Android ADB Interface Ver1** > Right Click > Update Driver Software > Browse Computer for driver software > Browse > C:\Program Files\Pantech\Android USB Drivers Ver1

Step 2: Execution -

Once done then open folder with rooting files in it. Make sure all three files, adb.exe, fastboot.exe, and prestoboot.img are in the folder. Then hold "Shift" and right click inside folder, then select "Open COmmand Window here".

First, enter ...

adb reboot bootloader

CMD window will say daemon starting, and you phone's screen will turn white, and say "fastboot mode".

Once this happens, enter the second command ...

fastboot boot prestoroot.img

CMD window will say "downloading 'boot.img' ... OKAY" then "booting ... OKAY" then "Finished". Then your phone will restart, congratulations, you now are root. Manually restart your phone one more time to complete the process.

Step 3: Confirmation -

Once you are rooted, go to Google Play, and download "Superuser", and "Root Checker". Use Root Check to confirm root, and the then uninstall it. Now, go do some root shit.

**this is what my device is in Device Manager, yours will be different.**

This was based off the Pantech Burst, research and plan accordingly for you device, and if you brick your shit don't cry to me, enjoy.
 
and what can you do now that you couldn't before?
 
so many stupid programs i will never use.

I never understood why people wanted to "root" their phones so bad until I realized that^...

So many retarded programs on my phone that I can't get rid of, it's fucking annoying. I'll be getting a new phone in a few months and I will most definately be rooting it.
 
My Wildfire S was a piece before I rooted it. I literally could only have like 4 apps on it and it would be super slow. Now, I don't even know how many I have and it's fast as hell.

Every phone root is going to be a little different. Hell, mine was different from the regular Wildfire S because it was technically a pre-paid phone.

A word of warning when rooted. Be careful what you delete. Some system apps are completely necessary, some are just bloat. I found it after the fact, but on one of the forums you should be able to find a "safe" list, of what you can and can't delete. What you can and can't move to the SD card. It'll save a lot of headaches to search for that list first. Super User access allows you to improve the phone a great deal, it also allows you to completely screw it up.

My advice
-Root.
-Find safe list.
-Delete user apps you don't want/need.
-Do a factory reset(The reset will clear up a lot of your memory).
-Enjoy.
 
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