Cell Phone Discussion

[b_beau_09]

ok, I'll wait for froyo to root then hmppff.   dolphin sounds awesome, i'll get it when I get off work today, reception in here blows.

oh jeff, awesome background btw.

[Mike]

For what purpose do you want to root your phone?

[CrackerTeg]

Because he can.

[b_beau_09]

I'd like to get rid of Bing, and all of the other VZW apps that I'll never use (VZW navigator, vzw apps, need for speed, etc.).  They loaded it up with a bunch of crap is just taking up space and RAM.  Not to mention, most of that stuff is on when you turn the phone on, thank god for app killers.

[Mike]

I'm just not sure what your expectations are. Rooting the phone provides you with super user access. Super user access paired with the Android Development software allows you to make changes by changing file extensions or deleting files. Just so your aware it doesn’t allow you to just click on the VZW stuff and make it go away. It’s not overly complicated to do you just have to be very very careful.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

I would recommend waiting until Froyo comes out. I forgot what phone you have, but until then, use LauncherPro. LauncherPro lets you hide apps that are in your app drawer to unclog things up a bit. It's not as good as uninstalling them, but at least you don't have to look at them again.

For me, the best advantage of rooting is backing up all my apps in case I have a problem and need to restore my phone. It's a program called Titanium Backup. After that there's the free wireless tethering. Also another cool root app is Drocap2. It lets you take screen captures of the phone. Right now I'm running on a custom rom called FlyX whiched is deodexed (allows themes). I hated the stock light gray status bar on the Droid X, so I got a theme that makes it black, along with other eye candy.

the battery widget that I'm using is called Gauge Battery Widget. Also Mark, to add gesture actions to your dock icons, just long press them and hit swipe gesture action.

[b_beau_09]

yea I know, I just really want to clear it all off.  I want the hardware to actually come to it's full potential with no carrier bloatware on it.

[Mike]

For some reason I can find LauncherPro Plus in the Market place. Any ideas?

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

You have to download the free version, then go to the preferences and unlock it via paypal.

[timot_one]

I'm going to need a lot of help with this shit when I get my new phone.  I'll have to order it later today after I wake up.

[Mike]

I can hook you up Tim... Jeff helped me alot LauncherPro Plus is a must!

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Another sweet app to buy is Beautiful Widgets. I'd definitely recommend it if you like big fancy clocks on your homescreens with weather information.

[b_beau_09]

What's the benefit to Launcher Pro? does it replace touchwiz?  I really like all the stuff Jeff was talking about with the LauncherPro Plus...

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Here is what I PMed to Mike about what I love about LauncherPro:

• Custom dock backgrounds. Go to http://launcherpro.droidicon.com they have a ton of shit there... I am actually rocking no dock background right now
• Customizable dock. You can put whatever the hell you want in the dock. You can also make swipe gestures to open other apps when you swipe up on a dock icon.
• LauncherPro widgets. There are a bunch of Widgets that Fede (the creator) has made for LauncherPro Plus, and he is still making more. They are pretty awesome.
• Custom homescreen apps. This is a new feature... when you long press your homescreen to add an application shortcut, it will let you change the name of the app, as well as change the icon.
• Custom number of homescreens and docks. Right now I have a total of 5 homescreens. You can also have up to three docks that you can slide to. I only use one, but it's a nice feature if you want to remove clutter off your homescreens.
• 3D app drawer & hide apps. You can choose to use a 3D app drawer that has a neat fly in effect. You can also hide apps that you don't use in the app drawer.
• Previews. You can set it so that when you press the home button, it opens up a "preview" of all your screens. From there you can tap a screen and it'll take you straight there.
• 5 icon rows in homescreens. The default is four. I wouldn't recommend doing this because it may look worse on other phones. I modified the LCD density on my phone, so that things are slightly smaller. That way I could enable the 5 icon rows and not have any problems.

I'm not sure what TouchWiz is, but if it's your home interface app, then yes, it will be replaced.

[Mike]

It replaces TW.. It's alot faster