I've had an Android phone for about 2 years, first a G1 (1st Google phone) and now the G2 (ver 2 of the Google phone on T-Mobile).
I love Android! I love my iPad, but have zero desire to get an iPhone. Androids rock.
You'll only need root if you want to tinker (which could make your phone less stable) or you want/need a specific function that's only available with root. I believe you can tether via the USB without root, but if you want to turn your phone into a wifi hotspot and tether wirelessly, you MIGHT need to root. If you want to VPN into your company, and your company uses a Cisco IPSec VPN with a group user/pass and an individual user/pass then you'll need root. Lots of apps and games include ads. If you root, you can install an ad blocker to block them.
I've rooted both of my phones (for the VPN and wifi tether, plus, I like to tinker). My current phone is essentially stock (as stable as any unrooted phone) but is rooted.
must have apps.
I'll list some great games first.
Air Control Lite -- free version of Air Control - simple but addictive
Air Attack -- simple but addictive
Angry Birds -- great game, and free (not free on the iPhone)
Atomic Bomber -- simple, and ok, but you won't write home about it
Bonsai Blast -- nice time waster
Classic Tetris -- ok
Duck Hunter -- kill the zombie ducks, ok, but not great
Hungry Shark Free -- tons of fun, control the shark, eat fish, birds, people, stuff
idemolished lite -- free, fun
Labyrinth Lite -- free wooden ball in a maze simulation game
Meteor -- a nice version of a BreakOut style game (good enough that I bought the full version)
Orbs Knockoff -- nice diversion, sort of like pool, but not
Robo Defense -- good tower defense style game
solitaire -- decent free solitaire game
Tank Recon 3D -- great fun, I may buy the full version of this one too
Trap -- decent
Winds of Steel -- lots of fun 1st person flying shooter, I may buy this one as well.
Some apps that I find useful
AdFree (root) - ad blocker
ADW Launcher -- Awesome! Adds enhancements to your desktop, and changes the way some parts of your home screen work. (some folks like Launcher Pro, it's ok, but I prefer ADW)
Bar Control -- allows you to add apps to the status bar
barcode scanner -- use your phone to scan bar codes (and search the net for prices, etc....)
Anycut (free version of bettercut) allows you to make different sorts of shortcuts on your desktop (I purchased bettercut)
If you're running Froyo (Android 2.2) then you probably won't need a task killer. I've found that they seem unnecessary with the newer software
Bubble -- it's a handy bubble level with lots of extra features (uncluding a calibration)
Buzzoff -- allows you to turn off your ringer for a specified period of time (like 2 hours if you're going to a movie, or 30 minutes for a meeting or an hour if you're in a restaurant) I find this useful because I used to forget that I'd turned my ringer off. I have Buzzoff in my status bar (via Bar Control) so I can get at it quickly
Catch -- nice "notes" app. You create a logon at catch.com, then when you create a note on your phone, you can also access the note via the web.
Contacts GroupU -- allows you to more easily create and control contact groups in your phone. For instance, I have certain family members in the "Family" group, and I have a specific ring tone applied to that group so when the phone rings, I know it's a member of the group. If I wanted to do that without the app, I'd have to edit every members ringtone individually.
Flash LED Torch -- my phone has an LED "Flash" for the camera. This app (actually a widget) allows me to use the LED as a flashlight. There are several other similar apps
Flightstats lite -- checks flight stats
GPS Speedo -- just what it says, check the accuracy of your speedo
GPS Tracker -- create a login at instamapper.com. "My Tracks" has replaced some of the functionality of this app, but what you also get is the ability to send a text to the phone, to turn on the GPS and then find your phone on a map (assuming that GPS is getting a signal). We used it to find my wife's phone when she lost it. We tracked it to a garbage can in a parking lot.
Handcent -- better than stock texting app
Linda Manager -- file manager much like "Astro File Manager"
Meebo IM -- if you want to use IM on your phone (does several different networks)
My Tracks -- if you run, ride a bike, rollerblade, or want to create driving "courses" you can track/record your course and get stats like top speed, average speed, time spent moving, total time, etc...
Navigation -- free turn-by-turn nav using google maps.
Orienteer -- compass and/or GPS
Quote Pro -- simple stock ticker app
RPN Calculator -- if you like RPN...
Scan2PDF Mobile -- take a picture of a doc and then email it to yourself as a PDF
SHazam -- hear a song on the radio or TV or in an elevator and wonder what/who it is, just let your phone listen and tell you. Works AMAZINGLY well.
Signal Generator -- make a tone at different volumes and frequencies (good for screwing with your dog)
Star Contact -- Adds some enhancements to the way you see your contacts and call logs
The Weather Channel -- nice weather app
WiFi Scanner -- allows you to see all of the signals that your phone sees (more than you see normally)
Wikinotes -- nice cross linked notes app
Quote:
Originally Posted by RAYMONDPORSCHE
Correct...'xda-developers' is a key part of owning an android device....
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Absolutely. That's where you need to go to learn about rooting your phone. Most phones have a slightly different "root" method. XDA has separate forums for each phone.