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Rooting without installing a rom?

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NiceButWise

Lurker
I've never used an android phone. I'm planning on buying the LG Optimus one p500. I know that rooting your phone will grant the ability to take full control of the phone but that is the only thing I know. Are we required to download/install a rom on the phone? All I would want to do with the phone is just enhance it abit and ADW Launcher or Launcher Pro will do that. I would also like to increase the cpu of the phone and theres an app for that. But all of this can be done without installing a rom right? Just root and that is it?
 
For example, faster releases. Updates are often leaked before they are actually released to the public. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S froyo rom was leaked almost 2 months before the actual release.
 
NiceButWise said:
Can I ask why people install roms? What's the purpose? Doesn't it just change the interface or something
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Plus, it's an easy way to get rid of stuff you don't want. For example, if you don't like HTC Sense, you can install a "vanilla" ROM. Or maybe you like Sense, but hate bloatware. You can find a ROM that mimics Sense but has stock crap stripped.

FTR, I am rooted, but don't have a custom ROM yet.
 
NiceButWise said:
Can I ask why people install roms? What's the purpose? Doesn't it just change the interface or something
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In addition to reasons given above: features that aren't in the stock ROM. There are a number of reasons. You're thinking of themes, not ROM's.
 
Tre Lawrence said:
Plus, it's an easy way to get rid of stuff you don't want. For example, if you don't like HTC Sense, you can install a "vanilla" ROM. Or maybe you like Sense, but hate bloatware. You can find a ROM that mimics Sense but has stock crap stripped.

FTR, I am rooted, but don't have a custom ROM yet.
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Also, there are some enhancements available for the phone's operating system.

I'm still stuck with a Samsung Moment, and there are roms with JIT processing, enhancements to the kernel to allow tethering, upgraded video drivers, upgrades to the camera video recording quality, remapping some hardware buttons, etc etc.
 
LaFlavor said:
Also, there are some enhancements available for the phone's operating system.

I'm still stuck with a Samsung Moment, and there are roms with JIT processing, enhancements to the kernel to allow tethering, upgraded video drivers, upgrades to the camera video recording quality, remapping some hardware buttons, etc etc.
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Oh okay. Thanks. I don't get how the rom can improve the camera quality though? If they built the phone with a specific camera spec/lens and stuff, it should always stay the same and can't be enhanced? And I wish to overclock the phone, increasing the cpu to be higher with the app called SetCPU. Apparently I need a kernel or something? At the moment, all I know is that you can just root the phone with z4root and then download SETCPU and Launcher Pro.
 
NiceButWise said:
Oh okay. Thanks. I don't get how the rom can improve the camera quality though? If they built the phone with a specific camera spec/lens and stuff, it should always stay the same and can't be enhanced?
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I wish I understood how that worked as well, to be honest. I'm sure there's a description somewhere, but I just haven't had the chance to go looking for it.

And I wish to overclock the phone, increasing the cpu to be higher with the app called SetCPU. Apparently I need a kernel or something? At the moment, all I know is that you can just root the phone with z4root and then download SETCPU and Launcher Pro.
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I don't think you need a custom kernel, but you definitely need to be rooted. Some phones are more easily overclocked than others. For example, the last I looked the moment becomes very unstable when overclocked and setcpu doesn't even offer the option. I think the optimus is far more capable in that arena, though.
 
LaFlavor said:
I wish I understood how that worked as well, to be honest. I'm sure there's a description somewhere, but I just haven't had the chance to go looking for it.
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I think at the simplest level, hardware manufacturers sometimes put restrictions on hardware. Sometimes, it may be to maintain a certain level of specs, or conform with a particular OS... for whatever reason, they might throttle a feature. We see this all the time... you get an upgrades OS or firmware, and boom... all of a sudden you have video recording with the same hardware. This happened on RIM all the time.

Of course, there is only so far you can go on the same old hardware, but enhancements can be tangible sometimes. The HTC EVO fps issue comes to mind.

Again, very simple explanation, but hopefully it makes sense.
 
ROMS are a great way to start off without the factory (or sometimes service provider) bloatware. They also modify core features and themes.

However Root and Superuser access, lets you delete or freeze the bloat and if you have plenty of memory space, this is just about as good.

Roms also streamline the software base so that it works better for some things. Think, removing the compromises so the device doesn't have to be all things to all people.
 
NiceButWise said:
Oh okay. Thanks. I don't get how the rom can improve the camera quality though? If they built the phone with a specific camera spec/lens and stuff, it should always stay the same and can't be enhanced? And I wish to overclock the phone, increasing the cpu to be higher with the app called SetCPU. Apparently I need a kernel or something? At the moment, all I know is that you can just root the phone with z4root and then download SETCPU and Launcher Pro.
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For setvpu to overclock your phone you have to have a kernel that is overclocked. Setcpu just basically lets you set the cpu the way you want it.
 
andygu3 said:
Some roms will have a kernel as a default kernel that you can oc without flashing a new kernel
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How will I know which rom will have this kernel? There are so many different ones to choose from. And is it hard to install a rom on the device? That's all I'm worried about haha. Choosing which rom and how to install it. I don't want to stuff my device up.
 
NiceButWise said:
How will I know which rom will have this kernel? There are so many different ones to choose from. And is it hard to install a rom on the device? That's all I'm worried about haha. Choosing which rom and how to install it. I don't want to stuff my device up.
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What phone do you have? My suggestion is to go to your specific phone section and post these questions there in the 'all things root section';)
 
With rooting comes an image backup ability called a nandroid backup. Use that, tinker, if something gets borked, restore to previous in minutes and it's as if you never tinker. Easy, works great.

Camera performance can improved, on occasions when a better codec or higher bitrate can help things. Not universally available or needed in all cases.
 
I also haven't seen anyone mention battery life. I know I have been much happier with my battery life using a custom rom and fa few other tweaks.
 
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