My adventures in a phone upgrade part 2 the root and apps

I wrote about my phone adventure recently here so I won’t go into WHY I needed a device that I could ‘completely control’ and have full access to. Suffice it to say I must be able to have complete access to the system I own without artificial limitations from the manufacturer or service provider. I want to use my hardware and software to its fullest potential. Humor to illustrate:)

I chose the Sprint Epic 4G Touch as my device. I loved the technical specs and knew from research that it would be easy to root and customize.

With Android devices there are so many different options to customize, tweak and really make the device your own, that it can be overwhelming. There are dozens of ROMs available and even subcategories of the main ones!

But there are some basic and simple tools to at least give you root access enough to be able to install ‘non-approved’ or custom applications and get a taste of freedom from the hardware manufacturer and service provider (ATT, sprint, Verizon etc.)

One of the most important things for me was the ability to be able to totally and completely back up the device – operating system, applications and settings; the WHOLE thing. I need to know that my system is backed up nightly (to the SD card AND the ‘Cloud’) and can be restored in a matter of minutes. I do not want to have to take a trip to a ‘corporate store’ or have to send my device away to be ‘reloaded or reset’. If an update – pushed from my carrier or other application, locks up or otherwise makes my device unusable. I have only one phone so I cannot be without it for any extended period of time.

So my quest led me to first just ‘root’ the stock ROM. Essentially giving me full root access but keeping the rest of the original Stock Sprint ROM. This way the only really operating system customization I was messing with was the actual ability to install and use non-approved applications or ones that require more system access than the carriers want to give you; like the ones for full system backups!

I must give credit here to the folks at these sites; XDA Developers, PPC Geeks and ACS, have a plethora of options, files and techniques for customizing your phone. Full access to these sites and their links and files is free with simple email sign up. I would recommend spending a few weekends just ‘looking’ through their sites; read the FAQs and poke through the different topics, tutorials and guides. You will learn a lot. I have spent years going through XDA and PPC Geeks learning so much about phones and systems.

I used the method and files found here: Stock root or Epic 4G

[Take note that you may need a new GOOD USB cable. I have had SO MANY USB devices report as ‘failed’ or ‘not fully connected’ when it turns out that all that was needed was a better cable! I have spent hours with clients trying to connect printers, phones, cameras etc., installing driver after driver, tool after tool etc.. When all that was needed was a good cable. DO NOT TAKE THIS TIP LIGHTLY! GET A FEW GOOD CABLES!]

OK so after flashing/rooting your device all will still look the same except you should now have a new application called ‘Superuser’ installed; this shows that you now have root access. You can download it here if it does not show up. It will only install if you do indeed have full access to your system.

After insuring that I had root access to my phone, the first application I installed was Titanium Backup AND I bought the Pro Key ($6.00 well spent!). This allows for full backups to the SD card(s) AND to Dropbox ‘the cloud'[I only use Dropbox for this purpose]. I have it set to back up my system nightly to the SD card and Drop Box. Now if I want to experiment with another ROM I can load it (via one of many methods from those great sites; probably ODIN) and if it doesn’t work out then I can reload the Stock ROM as above and reload my full back up and I’m good to go!

I then loaded and installed AppBrain Android market app here. Account is free and easy to set up.

Since I am an IT guy the most important app for me was my LogMeIn application. It was also my most expensive but well worth it. It is an amazing tool! After that the next best application I paid for was iSync. It allows me to sync iTunes playlists and libraries to my phone! AND it works better than I have ever seen iTunes work with any iDevice either.

So below is a list of all the applications I have currently on my phone. Many came pre-installed (Sprint) and some I got on the Android Market ‘daily deals’ for only $.10. I included the links to the applications (as they are on AppBrain; most can also be found in the official Android Market too). Check them out – or don’t but have some fun!

Device: Samsung Epic Touch 4G

Apps: 73 total, 60 free (82%), 13 paid (17%)

Total Size of installed applications :183MB

Total value (at current prices – note that many apps were purchased on specials for only 10 cents U.S.):