how often do you pull the stylus out? I almost forgot that it had one.... :(

[rkeenan]

Stock ROM and Touchwiz never appeals to me so I rooted, unlocked, took out the bloatware, did the SD card swap, and activated the mobile hotspot, etc. (Among other things)

Yeah, WIFI hotspot is really the only feature I used in custom roms and now that it is included in the stock rom, I don't see any point in me rooting a phone.

 

[universeand]

I use the stylus frequently to swipe the keyboard to enter text for text messages, email, web text field entries. Often I use my pointing finger to swipe enter text while I hold the phone in the other hand, but often it's easier to use the stylus to enter text. Especially for long messages. I plan on drawing more with the stylus soon. SketchBook from Adobe is an excellent, really fun app to draw with using the stylus. And the stylus is good for card games and games like Solitaire, Sudoku and Othello.

 

[universeand]

Yeah this is the first Android phone I have bought and have not rooted. I have yet to find anything appealing in the custom rom area besides on screen buttons like on nexus devices.

I'm rooted and while I'm skeptical of custom ROMS in terms of bugs and hiccups, I am contemplating unlocking the bootloader to flash mods for things like putting any app on the multi-window bar.

But just having root privileges offer a lot of customization even with the stock ROM. You can modify your features.xml file through which I enabled continuous looping home windows (like on other non-Verizon carriers) and silent camera shutter.

 

[rkeenan]

I'm rooted and while I'm skeptical of custom ROMS in terms of bugs and hiccups, I am contemplating unlocking the bootloader to flash mods for things like putting any app on the multi-window bar.

But just having root privileges offer a lot of customization even with the stock ROM. You can modify your features.xml file through which I enabled continuous looping home windows (like on other non-Verizon carriers) and silent camera shutter.

Yeah, I know of all the customization options, but I just don't have the time or want to to do it. The only thing to me that was appealing to it was the hotspot being backed into the rom, but since it isn't I am not the least bit interested. I am not knocking those who do it but I would rather be playing guitar or doing voice lessons than playing with my phone in my free time.

 

[Droid_Evo_8]

Yeah, WIFI hotspot is really the only feature I used in custom roms and now that it is included in the stock rom, I don't see any point in me rooting a phone.

But with the wifi hotspot in the custom rom, I don't have to pay for tethering. One of the reasons why I root.

9 Reasons to Root Your Android Device

 

[rkeenan]

But with the wifi hotspot in the custom rom, I don't have to pay for tethering. One of the reasons why I root.

9 Reasons to Root Your Android Device

Verizon no longer charges for WIFI Hotspot unless you are on unlimited data....which I am not. I read your 9 reasons to root and none of those appeal to me. I have rooted devices in the past and I see no reason for me to do this one. I check all of my bank and brokerage accounts on my device, so I want something locked and secure. It is not that I am uniformed of what root capabilities are, it is that I do not need or even want those capabilities. I have a rooted Galaxy Nexus to play with if I want a custom rom or other features/apps. I have bought many root access apps but I am fine not using them. It is fine if you want the newest version of Android, but personally I do not care what the new version is. There are not any features I find the phone to be lacking. I do not care about multiwindow for any app. I actually do not use that feature at all. I understand why people root their devices, but you guys should understand why some people do not care to root. I look at XDA and see some great things they are accomplishing over there, but I have no desire to tinker with this device.

 

[Droid_Evo_8]

Verizon no longer charges for WIFI Hotspot unless you are on unlimited data....which I am not.

I still rooted my phone for those same 9 reasons. Just like my car, my phone is not gonna stay stock.

 

[universeand]

Yeah, I know of all the customization options, but I just don't have the time or want to to do it. The only thing to me that was appealing to it was the hotspot being backed into the rom, but since it isn't I am not the least bit interested. I am not knocking those who do it but I would rather be playing guitar or doing voice lessons than playing with my phone in my free time.

You don't have to get into or be deep into phones to derive value from having your phone customized to suit your needs. Most everyone customizes their phone to some degree to make it more of what they want or need. Of course root and custom ROMs give you greater ability to customize. And someone may or may not desire or need that greater level of customization. Some who are not really "into" phones may nevertheless need or desire customization that is not possible from stock. I can see where perhaps some art app gives an artist more features if the phone is rooted. Or a disabled person can have needed features if their phone is rooted or on a custom ROM.

As I said although I'm rooted, I don't see a need for a full custom ROM myself. Also I have computer science degree so naturally I look for more control and flexibility than the average person. Given you're aware of what's possible and you're happy with the stock ROM and unrooted that's a good thing for you.

 

[Josphe72]

I use it at work almost everyday doing estimates. I write measurements down and make notes for jobs. I can email or text them to the office.
But I try to have fun with it too. The other day I drew a picture of my boss to set as his contact photo.

 

[Casey Cheung]

I hardly use mine. I used it often when I first got my Note 2 phone to practice drawing mustaches on people's faces on their pictures, but after that I rather lost interest. I still think the stylus pen is a very cool feature and I love having it. I simply don't use it too much nowadays after the newness of it wore off. It's great for impressing others who don't have a Note 2 phone though, especially iPhoney users, haha!

 

[universeand]

I use it at work almost everyday doing estimates. I write measurements down and make notes for jobs. I can email or text them to the office.
But I try to have fun with it too. The other day I drew a picture of my boss to set as his contact photo.

Hilarious!

 

[ncscrnwrtr]

I have used it quite a bit and, now that I just got the new Photoshop from the Play Store, I will use it even more.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2

 

[J2DABIZO]

I bought the phone a few days ago and thought the stylus was gimmicy but today I used it to outline a picture and crop it perfectly then save it to the phone. Then I used the cropped picture in another app...one point on the usefulness.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2