Googling Google

Christopher Dawson, Sam Diaz and Matt Weinberger

That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

By Christopher Dawson | September 9, 2010, 6:21am PDT

Summary: Verizon, like every other US carrier, is hobbling their awesome phones. Enough already.

So I finally got the Android 2.2 OTA update this past weekend on my Droid Incredible and, although I noticed an immediate improvement in battery life and application performance, my ear speaker died. It was probably coincidence, but after a couple of hard resets, Verizon ended up sending me a “certified like-new replacement.” Great. The replacement came in yesterday and, after I activated the phone, I started reinstalling apps and exploring Froyo in more detail. And was, as usual, disappointed by Verizon’s limitations on an incredibly (no pun intended) capable phone.

In particular, I’d been looking forward to using my Incredible as a wireless hotspot. This support came automatically with Android 2.2 (along with draft-n wireless support and limited Flash support via Flash Player Lite, among other things). This was a feature I needed and I had avoided picking up yet another device and data plan, knowing that the capability was on the way. As most people have discovered, though, connecting any device to the phone when it’s operating in hotspot mode brings you to a Verizon web page that forces you to pay $20 a month for the capability.

Because the $30 a month I’m paying for the data plan and $50 a month I’m paying for the phone service aren’t enough. Guess who doesn’t need to pay this, by the way? Users with root access to their phones.

Guess who can actually get Adobe Flash Player 10.1 instead of the unstable, limited Flash Player Lite (despite original Verizon claims of support for full Flash Player and native support of Flash in Android 2.2)? That’s right: rooted Froyo users.

And if I want to get rid of the crappy HTC Peep and Mail clients, I need root as well.

I’d held off rooting my phone to ensure full Verizon support, to make sure that I didn’t brick an expensive phone, and because I just never had the time to deal with it. Now that there is a 1-click root for the Droid, as well as several command-line walkthroughs that are well-documented and frequently used, the time issue is no longer a problem. And full Verizon support? The only thing Verizon seems to be supporting is their bank account.

I paid a premium to get a phone that I knew was on a relatively quick upgrade path to Froyo and that would have all the capabilities I would need for the duration of my 2-year contract with Verizon. I also bought an Android because it was open source, customizable, and powerful. If Verizon is going to insist on hobbling some of the best features that Google has put into its mobile OS, then it’s time to take back my phone, root it, and enjoy the full benefits of Froyo on the only network that is reasonably reliable in my area.

I’ll let you know how it goes - Share your Android rooting experiences in the talkbacks.

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Google Android 2.2, HTC Droid Incredible, Engineering, Christopher Dawson

Chris Dawson is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.

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Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson is the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., by day and a freelance writer and educational technology consultant by night. Well, most of his colleagues at WizIQ are based in India, so really he's working with them whenever he can stay awake. He has worked for his local school district as a teacher and technology director, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and for Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen-IDEC, Inc.). He has also consulted with STATNet and Cytyc Corporation and retains close ties with X2 Development Corporation (now owned by Follett Software, the supplier of the student information system he administered for several years). Follett is paying him a monthly honorarium to act as a presenter for their "SIS Voices for Student Achievement" community (he produces occasional blog posts and hosts a monthly webinar on the use of student information systems to inform data-driven instruction and school-wide change. He regularly purchases and/or recommends Dell hardware. This is because Dell makes good hardware and has truly committed itself to education in innovative ways, particularly with their "Connected Classroom" initiative. It isn't because he has dealings with the company through his role at WizIQ (which he does) or because they have provided him with long-term loans of a variety of equipment for in-depth testing (which they have). Intel (reference designer for the Classmate PCs he has implemented in his local schools) has provided him with long-term loans of Classmate PCs for testing, as have Dell and Lenovo with their educational offerings. He may report on any of these companies as his experiences with them have direct bearing on educational technology; positive reports are not necessarily an endorsement and he receives no direct financial compensation from these companies or any others. Intel paid all expenses for his attendance at the 2009 Intel Classmate PC Ecosystem Summit which he attended as the sole representative of the technology press. He was invited to attend in 2010 but his wife would have killed him if he spent 3 days in Vegas geeking out and left her home alone with a new baby. Acer provided him with a 50% discount on an Aspire One netbook in early 2009 after he tested it for 30 days through their educational seed program. He liked the netbook at the time but it has since broken and sits unused in his office. Canonical sent him Ubuntu lanyards, t-shirts, and mousepads for his kids. He stole one of the lanyards and proudly hangs his keys from it and occasionally features his 8-year old wearing an oversized Ubuntu t-shirt on his Facebook profile. Gunnar Optiks sent him a pair of computer glasses to evaluate for a holiday gift guide. He is wearing them now as he types this because they never asked for them back and they rock out loud. Seriously - they work brilliantly and make it much easier to spend 20 hours a day staring at an LCD. If they ever asked for them back, he would fork over the $99 and buy a pair. Microsoft gave him 2 free copies of Office 2010 professional, a desktop clock, and a useless book on Office 2010 when he attended the launch of Office/Sharepoint 2010. He occasionally uses the SharePoint lanyard they gave him instead of the Ubuntu lanyard for his keys, but feels dirty afterwards. Adobe provided him with a pre-release version of the CS5 Master Collection for evaluation and ultimately provided a full, licensed copy for ongoing testing of educational applications of this admittedly expensive software. Like the Gunnars, if the license expires or they come out with CS6, he'd actually go out and buy it himself. Which is saying something, because he's actually pretty cheap. Any other companies wishing to send him cool things to evaluate, wear, or otherwise adorn his kids are more than welcome to; he promises to disclose it here if he keeps any of the stuff. Finally, because WizIQ is a virtual classroom and learning network provider, Chris, as VP of Marketing, frequently interacts with, seeks out deals with, and directly or indirectly competes with a whole lot of LMS, SIS, and other Education 2.0 companies. In general, he'll limit his reporting about these companies to news that does not impact his relationship with them or with WizIQ. If he reports on them, it's because what they are doing is newsworthy or worth the attention of his readers and not because he's trying to broker some deal, damage competition, or otherwise advance his position in his day job. LMS and SIS companies, along with other online learning communities, are a pretty important part of Ed Tech. If he stops reporting on them completely, there won't be a whole lot left. He'll be sure to call out any overt conflicts of interest if they are unavoidable. Finally, Follett Software Company pays him a little tiny honorarium every month to present on their SIS Voices webinars and to write the occasional blog or discussion thread for them. Since Follett recently bought X2 (maker of an awesome web-based SIS that Chris just happened to have used, served in advisory groups for, and frequently reported on), this is probably also worth disclosing.

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Talkback Most Recent of 53 Talkback(s)

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What's this? I thought not having to Root your

phone is what was one of the selling features of Droid, that all ABAers point as a reason to stay away from Apple.

Now where is NZ to measure that double standard...
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh
9th Sep 2010
- Reply to
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@JM1981 Buy an Android phone outright (not from a carrier) and you have all its capabilities without restriction. Then get no-contract service T-Mobile, with unlimited Internet (plus free Internet calling via Google Voice), unlimited texting, and 450 standard calling minutes. All for $60/month... $20 less then a contract with a subsidized phone. You'll save money over two-years (the standard contract period), even when buying a $529 phone.
Spatha
9th Sep 2010
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- Flag
I do fully realize that...

@Spatha... Just layin on the sarcasm.
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh
9th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@Spatha
The issue is that the best android phones are the cdma versions and Tmobile is a sim service and has limited coverage nation wide still so your solution is only a maybe . I do like the HTC HD 2 setup to dual boot android along with windows which works well on Tmobile but Id never pay full price for any phone contract or none. I kept at it til i got my new evo 4G sealed in the box no contract for $225. A root is a must though it allows so much more as far as using more outside the market apps. I rooted my evo 4G thats on 2.2 took about 10 minutes. Wasnt a one click root but involved a few steps before using UnRevoked. first had to downgrade to 2.1 then root then unzip the 2.2 upgrade again after and loving it.
Fletchguy
9th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@Fletchguy

And I'm sure we'd all like to know, how in the he!! did you get a sealed evo 4G for $225?

I have Tmobile and am quite satisfied with their coverage, support, and cheaper unsubsidized plans. But I don't want to spend $500 for a top shelf Android phone. I'd be quite willing to spend $300 or a little more though.
colinnwn
9th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@Spatha Did you read his post? Verizon is the only carrier in his area that gives him adequate coverage. so T-mobile isn't an option.
zclayton2
9th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@JM1981

I didn't need to "root" my Nexus. NO ONE argued that Android was carrier proof. Android is in fact delightful. It does nothing to change the fact that the carriers are scum. Nor is rooting illegal. Unlike Apple, no one is trying to make rooting illegal. Apple is actively trying to block and deter people from jailbreaking, and trying to sue/criminalize people if they succeed despite Apple's best efforts.

The only reason AT&T didn't "mess up" the iPhone over Apple objections is that Apple COLLUDED with AT&T to reduce it.

In summary, it's not a double standard when comparing Android to iOS, and because everyone agrees that all of the carriers suck more or less equally.
tkejlboom
9th Sep 2010
- Reply to
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@tkejlboom here here!
bobjones2007
10th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@tkejlboom

Apple tried to sue people for jailbreaking? Any references to that? Jailbreaking was never "illegal" just immoral.
jmiller1978
10th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@tkejlboom colluded? sue?
proof dear boy. all well and good you can type it correctly but that really doesn't add much to your argument. some proof would. i'll wait here.
sportmac
12th Sep 2010
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

I'm at the point of considering a vendor neutral small Android tablet/slate and a Virgin MiFi hotspot with Skype.

$300-600 for the device, $150 for the hotspot, $30/yr for a number from Skype and $40 a month unlimited with no contract for the 3G access... Might not be a *perfect* solution, but breaking away from Verizon's desire to cripple my devices and charge me twice for services is nearly priceless.
dcolbert@...
9th Sep 2010
- Reply to
- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

ive rooted mine and never looked back. I enjoy watching hulu videos and wireless tethering in the airport. This is the way the phone should have been released!
olhandley
9th Sep 2010
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- Flag
RE: That's it...I'm rooting my Droid

@olhandley
What are you using for hulu? i have my rooted Evo but hulu has figured out the work around trick for mobile phone browser so changing the setting to full page instead of mobile page load so hulu blocks all android viewing what did you find to work around it?
Fletchguy
9th Sep 2010
- Reply to
- Flag
Get ROM Manager to make rooting process easy

This is a great app that hooks you into all the popular ROMs and boot images and makes the rooting process more friendly. Welcome to the club.
-Hinano-
9th Sep 2010
- Reply to
- Flag
Cue the WAAAMBULANCE....

Waaah, Waaah, Mommy they want me to pay for a feature. Waaah.

Hint: PDANet - $20 and it lets you "tether".

Note: It May or May Not be a violation of the Terms Of Service for your Wireless to use these programs. Verizon may find out and you may end up with a huge bill. Then we can cue the WAAAMBULANCE when you get that bill.
itguy08
9th Sep 2010
- Reply to
- Flag