Warning Newbie, upgrade advice wanted

[C90-Go]

Hi All,

Just dipped my toe into the world of android a few weeks ago by buying a HTC Wildfire.

I can't see a Wildfire forum, only one for the Wildfire S.

As my question is (at least 2 part) I guess it'll be ok to ask it here.

Pt1) controlling software - The initial learning curve felt quite steep, especially as I had problems with market (apparently commonplace) and I was quite surprised by the variety of permissions the installed programs take for themselves - is there any way to combat this ? Maybe some sort of program firewall governing access ?

Pt2) rooting ? - I'm very new to android and I'd been led to believe it was 'open source' - however it all seems to be tied up as tightly as any MS software I've ever come across, apparently I need to 'root' the wildfire to gain control of it ?

Pt3) upgrade or upgrade - If I manage to root the Wildfire, I can clock it somewhat, possibly use live wallpaper ?, Gingerbread if it's advisable ? and generally have a better android 'experience' - taking this into account, should I persevere with the Wildfire or perhaps buy a more powerful phone ? - I'm not looking for an all out 3D games machine, neither do I want a monster the size of a tablet PC - what reasonable size android phone would be a good step up ? ie. enough difference to justify the outlay

Any help/advice greatly appreciated....

TIA..

 

[C90-Go]

Oops, meant to post in "General Help and How To"

Sorry !!

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Oops, meant to post in "General Help and How To"

Sorry !!

Moved...

 

[Moscow Desire]

Welcome to AC

1. All apps will generally need access to different areas depending on the app. The "warnings" you see, are only there to let you know what it may possibly need to do at times, depending on how you run the app. ex, a game may require permissions to access the internet. A contact manager needs access to the phone, sms, mail etc. Stay away from things like "Premium sms" and similar.

So there's no need to be alarmed.

2. As with rooting, in an effort to keep people from mucking around in things they have no knowledge of, the manufactures provide protection to certain areas. Also, the carriers like to put their "bloatware uhhh... useful bonus apps, and disallow the owner permission to remove them. Root give you access to this area in most cases. Is also a prequisite to flashing a custom rom.

3. There are simple root methods for your wildfire, also, CyanogenMod supports your device for a custom Rom. If you don't wish to go custom, you can get a stripped version of Android (no bloatware). So you're pretty much ok with your device.

As always, read the instructions several times, and then 10 times more until you know them by heart. Do your backups before you start, after you root, and after you flash a rom. Know how to boot your device to Recovery before doing anything.

And, if you run into an issue, post us a note BEFORE you do someting silly

 

[C90-Go]

Welcome to AC

"Also, the carriers like to put their "bloatware uhhh... useful bonus apps, and disallow the owner permission to remove them. Root give you access to this area in most cases. Is also a prequisite to flashing a custom rom"

And, if you run into an issue, post us a note BEFORE you do someting silly

Ok,

I'll give it a go and I'll try not to do anything too silly...

I looked here: AlphaRevX - Rooting For FroYo and HTC's Stubborn HBoot Has Arrived for the Wildfire | Android.AppStorm

"The reason is that Android 2.3 does run slowly on that device (Wildfire) is that it?s filled up with HTC?s own resource-stealing software that most people never use"

Can anyone tell me what the HTC resource-stealing software that most people never use that the Wildfire is filled up with actually is ? (just in case I actually use it)

TIA....

 

[Moscow Desire]

It's not so much HTC's software, but more the apps that carriers seem to think people want. For example, Blockbuster app, silly games, maybe some community software designed to connect with other wildfire users. Who knows. But on unrooted devices, you usually can't remove them.

Usually, the core HTC sense apps are ok. Yes, there are alternatives. For example, I never had Sense long enough to know if I really liked it, before flashing a custom Rom.

When they talk about resources, this usually means internal memory usage, and not so much as ram resources, although Sense apps do require a little more. And be careful uninstalling system apps. Like the stock sms app. If you do, you'll find yourself reflashing your rom again.

This is why people flash custom Roms. And yes, it does make your device respond faster, as the system generally is optimized (missing a lot of the bells and whistles). For example, Moto-blur. Now there is a resource hog

As far as a specific list, you may wish to check the development forum at XDA Developers for your device. That site is more geared towards hacks and roms.

 

[C90-Go]

Ok,

I've been reading and re-reading the root guide (not all of it makes sense yet).

So far I've backed up 'people' and SMS.

I'm not sure there's much else I need to back up atm, as I don't mind freshly installing apps I need (which weeds out ones I've installed but don't really need).

I guess I'm nearly ready to brick the wildfire...

:-!

 

[Moscow Desire]

By People, you mean Contacts. Usually you can back these up to the google server. I prefer to back them up locally. Old school mind you. Remember, your SD card is not effected. So fotos will still be there.Hell, you can export your contacts to sd also.

Root..... come to the dark side.... (usually helps to have some alcohol)

 

[Moscow Desire]

Make sure you read everything Alpha rev has written. Everything. If something seems not right, like a version number. Stop. Never think you're smarter than the folks who developed these things.

Also, you can use this;

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=788776

Seems a lot easier.

 

[C90-Go]

Hell, you can export your contacts to sd also.

How ?

 

[C90-Go]

I have CM7 installed, not HTC sync won't work ?

How do I sync, now ?

I'd very much like my contact list (from my pc) back....

Any ideas anyone ?