I'm Scared!

[Sting23ray]

On the table in front of me is a Fedex box next to my BlackBerry. That box has a brand new Droid Charge in it. I've been looking at the box for the past 30 minutes. Its like I'm almost afraid to open it.

I am a loyal CrackBerry user. Ive been on that stuff for years and love it to death. But I just wanted to experience something new so ordered the new Charge. Believe it or not, but I have never even played with an android phone before.I don't know what to expect out of this puppy?

Any pointers for a freshman? Any Do's? Any Dont's?
Like Do run some sort of a backup immediately? OR Dont do some OTA upgrade on first power up?

Well one obvious 'Do' would be to tear open that box and activate this bad boy....

 

[Halo]

Follow the link in my signature. Step-by-step. This phone is awesome. No other way to describe it.

 

[Droid800]

On the table in front of me is a Fedex box next to my BlackBerry. That box has a brand new Droid Charge in it. I've been looking at the box for the past 30 minutes. Its like I'm almost afraid to open it.

I am a loyal CrackBerry user. Ive been on that stuff for years and love it to death. But I just wanted to experience something new so ordered the new Charge. Believe it or not, but I have never even played with an android phone before.I don't know what to expect out of this puppy?

Any pointers for a freshman? Any Do's? Any Dont's?
Like Do run some sort of a backup immediately? OR Dont do some OTA upgrade on first power up?

Well one obvious 'Do' would be to tear open that box and activate this bad boy....

Take your time and don't get discouraged. Its going to be very, very different at first, but you'll learn to love it.

 

[vols fan]

Hey man i was in the same boat Tuesday. I upgraded from my 8830 to a Charge. It was the best move i ever made, you will not be sorry.

 

[Sting23ray]

Thanks for the encouragement guys...

@ Halo - I have never used Android before. However I am pretty familiar with building and loading Hybrids in Blackberrys. Would you recommended me to play with the Stock OS for a few days? Or should I just go ahead and root this puppy from the get go?

I don't mind rooting at all, cause I hate bloatware with passion. Will that give me mobile hotspot too?

That reminds me, I better take insurance on this thing before going to town on it.....

 

[Halo]

The only Android phone I've ever used before my Charge was my Motorola OG Droid. And it was nothing like the Samsung OS. I played around with the Charge for a bit, debating on whether or not I wanted to root it. I followed the exact same steps that are in the link in my signature and had no issues at all. It was very simple and I'm glad I did it. Phone runs fantastic now. And you can still have mobile hotspot, but there's an added bonus that comes w/ rooting your phone... And this is just my opinion, but insurance is a waste of money.

 

[Sting23ray]

@ Halo - Rooting it is brother! I will report back on how 4G life looks like

Feel free to shoot more gotchas and FYIs at me if you think they might help-out a noob....

 

[Halo]

@ Halo - Rooting it is brother! I will report back on how 4G life looks like

Feel free to shoot more gotchas and FYIs at me if you think they might help-out a noob....

Just remember: if things (happen to) go wrong, DON'T PANIC!! There is more than enough info on this site. Chances are, someone has made the same mistakes and there's always a fix. But more than likely, you should have no problems at all. Just follow the steps my friend.

 

[vols fan]

Halo-what is the big advantage of rooting? What is the biggest gain and the biggest draw back?

 

[Sting23ray]

Quick Question - Does Verizon push an automatic OTA OS Update right after activation that I should perhaps look out for and not do? I'm guessing EE4 is the last Rootable OS?

 

[Halo]

Halo-what is the big advantage of rooting? What is the biggest gain and the biggest draw back?

Biggest advantage? - You can remove all the stupid crap that comes pre-loaded on your phone and runs in the background. Slows down your device and drains the battery. You can install custom ROMs and kernels (that's a bit more advanced, but not much)

Biggest drawback? - You void your warranty and you can screw up your phone (but that is very hard to do unless you're a complete idiot)

 

[Halo]

Quick Question - Does Verizon push an automatic OTA OS Update right after activation that I should perhaps look out for and not do? I'm guessing EE4 is the last Rootable OS?

Take the EE4 update. It is completely rootable. If that's even a word. Again, just follow the steps provided in the link in my sig.

 

[randomizzer]

Take the EE4 update. It is completely rootable. If that's even a word. Again, just follow the steps provided in the link in my sig.

I went from a blackberry as well, got my phone the day before I was to go to a conference. I am glad I went with it and am not looking back.
A couple of things were different, but I am really liking the OS overall.
One of the things I missed was sync of outlook notes, I am using a program called Catch for notes and am happy with it. Also use Touchdown for email and Secrets to replace password keeper.

 

[AndroidXTC]

Quick Question - Does Verizon push an automatic OTA OS Update right after activation that I should perhaps look out for and not do? I'm guessing EE4 is the last Rootable OS?

Yes as soon as the phone activates it will push an OTA update/fix. It might ask you if you want it first always accept.

 

[Sting23ray]

@ AndroidXTC - Yup.... got it activated this morning and it automatically flashed it with EE4 I believe.

Mannnn the screen on this thing is awesome! From now on.... I will be the guy ruining everybody's experience in a dark movie theater

 

[Sting23ray]

Guys... So if I got this right -

1. Rooting will only give me the access to trash the bloatware, which I will have to to do one by one.....

2. If I install a custom ROM after rooting, that will get rid of all the bloatware automatically? Do custom ROMS come with bloatware too (Developers Choice)? If yes, which is the best one (least amount of bloatware wise)?

I like my phones as bare as possible, then I just put a few apps that I want.

 

[Halo]

Guys... So if I got this right -

1. Rooting will only give me the access to trash the bloatware, which I will have to to do one by one.....

2. If I install a custom ROM after rooting, that will get rid of all the bloatware automatically? Do custom ROMS come with bloatware too (Developers Choice)? If yes, which is the best one (least amount of bloatware wise)?

I like my phones as bare as possible, then I just put a few apps that I want.

1) Not just access to removing bloatware, but you can also install various other apps that require super user access ie: Titanium Backup, SetCPU, Wireless Tethering, etc...

2) A custom ROM will generally have all the bloatware already removed for you. And no, the Dev's do not put bloatware into their ROM's.

 

[Sting23ray]

@ Halo - Thanks for the advice bud... I appreciate it.

 

[KiboeTheDog]

Halo-what is the big advantage of rooting? What is the biggest gain and the biggest draw back?

biggest draw back is that is does void your warrenty

biggest advantage is custom ROM's
removing the bloatware that most verizon phones have (ie. apps you will never use and you can't remove them)
acess to multiple apps
being able to bypass the verizon 3g hotspot and make your own tether for free.
Custom UI's (ties in with number 1)

 

[MrTruckincowboy#AC]

dont feel alone dude i came over from the storm2 and im never looking back this thing is light years past the storm in my opinion