Rooting/The Need for Root?

[generationxnothing]

Hey, guys.

I am new to the forum, and relatively new to android. I've only had low and medium-end phones on prepaid--until I can afford contract. I have the LG Optimus Slider. I was wondering if it's worth it, to root this phone. What are the advantages and disadvantages? How hard is it to root this phone? How do you go about editing the themes? I'm really confused about all of it. I'd appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Xavier.

 

[crux]

Benefits of rooting: you have full access to your phone. Want to uninstall those apps that came pre-installed? Go for it. Overclocking? All yours. Backing up apps, wifi tethering, command prompt, the list goes on. The only drawback from rooting I can think of is that it voids warranty. however, it is possible to remove root access and the warranty becomes valid again (not sure if the OS has a warranty since it is a no-contract phone).

It is pretty easy to root. Follow this guide if you're interested.

I have no clue on editing themes/making themes/applying themes. Never really been interested in that.

 

[jcole20]

To be honest the themes are really cool. Creating them can be pretty simple thanks to the ability to port themes now using certain apps available online. But, in all actuality what you'll probably be most interested in are launchers which don't require root access. It really depends on you. GoLauncher, ADW, and ProLauncher seem to be the standards as far as launchers go. They 'theme' your icons/animations/and such without needing to flash anything. I'm one of those people who is like OCD about electronics and if I buy something I want complete control of it. I jailbroke (rooted) every apple device I've had in the last 5 years. And rooting is just something I wanted. I rooted my phone for these reasons. I wanted to be able to install a custom recovery giving me the ability to flash a new rom onto my phone as well as back it up, I wanted to be able to change the font, and I wanted to overclock/underclock my device. I cant overclock yet as there is no kernel for my device that would allow it (and I'm not sure my device can even handle overclocking). But I can make my phone snappier by setting CPU speeds. Good luck...rooting is really based on what you want to do with your phone. And what you feel comfortable with.