Rooting, ROMing, WTH?

[grlnmybfITworld]

I just purchased the 8G Nexus 7 and am wondering rooting it makes any sense for me at all. I am trying to be tech savy here, so help me understand.

1) I plan to use my N7 primarily for web browsing, tweeting, reading books/magazines, and the occasional movie watching while traveling.

2) I DO NOT plan on using my N7 for gaming, to hold music, or for long term movie storage.

3) I would, however, like to download movies and books from my personal collection in order to add them to my N7 when traveling or when I expect to need them.

4) I hate doing updates and checking for bugs on my electronics. I like to set those programs up and to let them block as needed.

From these important facts I wonder should I root my device? Also, does my N7 come with some sort of AVG or the like to keep me safe? Additionally, how do I even get the content from my hard drive over to my N7 when I want to store it temporarily?

(Sidebar: Galaxy SIII or the New HTC Evo?)

Thanks for your help!

 

[anon(847090)]

I dont think you need to root... rooting is for tech people who need more from device like wiping the stock Android and install custom rom... It can do many other minor things with stock too but from what i can see you dont need to root.

If you need to learn about rooting read this What is rooting? | Android Central
there is no harm in learning about rooting and its a good start understanding your device.

4. if you hate doing updates manually set it to do it automatically... i recommend doing that because it will reduce crashes/gives better performance & battery and also make the user experience better. go to Play store-->menu-->Settings-->check Auto update

 

[Unicorn Rancher]

From these important facts I wonder should I root my device?

Additionally, how do I even get the content from my hard drive over to my N7 when I want to store it temporarily?

1. No

2. USB cable or dropbox are easiest

 

[ratseven]

I would totally root yours. I am not not tech savvy either, I've never owned an Android device and the Nexus 7 is my first tablet. My use is pretty much the same as you listed and if watching movies from your own library is what you want to do, root it.

It took me about 10 minutes to do using the sticky thread "how to root" or whatever. I ran into some problems, I read the troubleshooting (I think it in was post #3) and found the answers. It is really really simple to do. And if things go wrong, they even have a "how to make your N7 stock cuz you f'd it up" sticky thread here to put it back to stock.

Having rooted my N7, I can now plug in a Sandisk Cruzer 32GB drive (the size of a penny) that's loaded with 25 movies from my DVDs. It is a great feeling to choose from two dozen+ movies instead of from just two or three. Drive was $23, USB OTG (On The Go) cable was $1,- both from Amazon.

I don't plan (not saying it'll never happen though) to run any custom ROMs or Kernels or whatever but just being able to use the Stickmount app to have expandable memory is worth rooting.

 

[grlnmybfITworld]

Thanks folks for your help!

 

[dsuppa]

Other than for USB storage access I would say no.
On the other hand if you decide you want to root, def look into Titanium Backup