Android noob needs help and sure others do too!

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Hi guys,

Im new to the Android scene, and thats because of the N1 got my nexus on order and should arrive shorty in the following week. Been reading the threads here over the last week or so, but alot of things aren't quite clear to me. Especially because im a Android noobie (previous WinMo )

Anyways reading about the Unlocking bootloader and Rooting the device seems pretty straight forward. I understand the consequences of each part and thus appears to be pretty easily done.

The things that i am unclear about are the addon packs and the things it comes bundled with?

- What are the current benefits from flashing these "addon" packs?
- They aren't ROM's just kind of expansion packs right? so no lost data after?
- Wtf is adb? lol i keep seeing it but no idea what it is, thus confusing for noobies like me.
- In cyanogens thread here it says backup using Nandroid, and when i find Nandroid in google i get this. But it says for G1? will it still work fine?

Thankyou for any answers as I believe you will help me to NOT mess up my new phone. I'm sure alot of other people would be thankful for your answers.

Thankyou again!

Hello,

First off welcome to Android, second, get the fire suit on for the "wrong forum" flames.


What are the current benefits from flashing these "addon" packs?

Not a *ton* but there is Tether and other goodies that you can start using.

- They aren't ROM's just kind of expansion packs right? so no lost data after?

Yes to 1st, and there will be lost data when you unlock the bootloader.. if you unocked the bootloader, and then used the phone for a week or so, THEN flashed this addon pack, then no data loss.

- Wtf is adb? lol i keep seeing it but no idea what it is, thus confusing for noobies like me.

Android Debug Bridge... its used for debugging. lol....

- In cyanogens thread here it says backup using Nandroid, and when i find Nandroid in google i get this. But it says for G1? will it still work fine?

No, the Nandroid backup will be an option AFTER you unlock the BL and install Amon_RA's Recovery image..

Good luck man!!

thanks for the reply.

I'm trying to gather as much as i can before i get the phone in my hands. Maybe because i want to start right away when i get hold of the phone lol You have enlightened me on many points.

I was just wondering also,

I've read about apps such as Nexus Torch and SetCPU which require rooting. Are these apps aquired simply after I unlock + root from the market place? because i read about reinstall su and similar.

Sorry for the noobiness, as i've mentioned im a android beginner and not too familiar with the terms used.

I just want to install some cool apps and convert those iphone users......(my gf )

No they're not required. Rooting is really only for the hardcore phone nerd (which is probably why you're on this site!) I personally am holding off on rooting my N1 until it's fully understood on if it can be re-locked etc. If this is your first Android phone I would recommend doing some reading around on the G1 forum and understand the full capabilities of rooting your device and some neat apps.


**edit

mis-read what you said. Those apps can be obtained from the "Makin Bacon" add on somewhere on this forum. Cyanogen posted it up.

Originally Posted by SystmDcln

No they're not required. Rooting is really only for the hardcore phone nerd (which is probably why you're on this site!) I personally am holding off on rooting my N1 until it's fully understood on if it can be re-locked etc. If this is your first Android phone I would recommend doing some reading around on the G1 forum and understand the full capabilities of rooting your device and some neat apps.


**edit

mis-read what you said. Those apps can be obtained from the "Makin Bacon" add on somewhere on this forum. Cyanogen posted it up.

I'm doing the same thing as this guy. I'm super hardcore about customization so I have no doubt that I'll root my phone eventually but not quite yet. Things are still a bit too new and right now there really aren't that many reasons to root (outside of tethering support IMO). If you can live without tethering for a month, then you should wait to root.

welcome

addon packs do a few things to your phone. the biggest things, i think, are the busybox and the dropbear installations, and the tethering apps. some modders also like to "optimize" android too. whether or not it actually works, i can't personally tell, but i take their word for it.

busybox will allow you to run some common linux commands on your android (with a terminal app i guess...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BusyBox
dropbear is an ssh server so that you can access the command line (and push files to your android) from your computer

tethering means share your cell connection with a computer to give your computer internet. i've used it in many airports, and it's sweet.


like the other dude said, the initial root will require a data wipe, but not the addons. i'm not sure if it's true for EVERY rom (i think it is) but when you first install a whole rom a wipe is required, but when upgrading to a newer version of the same rom no wipe is required. if you like to keep your sms and mms's then it's good to have some of these linux tools so you can move and replace the sms and mms databases manually.


adb is android debugging bridge. it's a part of the android sdk (software development kit) that google gives out for free and is meant to develop apps. with it you can plug your phone into your comp via USB and run all sorts of commands on it from your computer. droidexplorer is basically a GUI for the adb commands, so with ADB you can do all that droidexplorer can do. http://de.codeplex.com/

nandroid is kind of like "system restore" for android. you need to root the phone, then flash Amon_RA's recovery thingy (in one of the threads). once you're in recovery, you can create a nandroid backup (kind of like an image of your current android phone) that you can restore later. then restoring it is as simple as going back into recovery and clicking "restore".

Originally Posted by m00moo

Hi guys,

Im new to the Android scene, and thats because of the N1 got my nexus on order and should arrive shorty in the following week. Been reading the threads here over the last week or so, but alot of things aren't quite clear to me. Especially because im a Android noobie (previous WinMo )

Anyways reading about the Unlocking bootloader and Rooting the device seems pretty straight forward. I understand the consequences of each part and thus appears to be pretty easily done.

The things that i am unclear about are the addon packs and the things it comes bundled with?

- What are the current benefits from flashing these "addon" packs?
- They aren't ROM's just kind of expansion packs right? so no lost data after?
- Wtf is adb? lol i keep seeing it but no idea what it is, thus confusing for noobies like me.
- In cyanogens thread here it says backup using Nandroid, and when i find Nandroid in google i get this. But it says for G1? will it still work fine?

Thankyou for any answers as I believe you will help me to NOT mess up my new phone. I'm sure alot of other people would be thankful for your answers.

Thankyou again!

wow thanks vmuch for the kind replies!

i feel like i understand the previous things i've read around in the forum alot more now!

So the question to root or not root, rooting the device would prob be the option for me as:

1) dont really want to do a wipe after a week or two
2) want cool apps such as SetCUP/Nexus Torch

One thing im wondering is whats this about paid apps and rooted devices in the market? After rooting some people cannot see paid apps or something?

Once again thankyou for the kind kind replies and i hope some other noobies like me are learning

If I buy an app (I'm thinking of the Exchange Calendar sync app) and then end up rooting and installing another ROM (say the EU ROM if it has multitouch) will I be able to get my purchased apps working again - or do you have to rebuy them?

If you buy an app it'll always show as purchased on the marketplace so you can redownload it - all the ones I bought on my G1 were still available when I setup the N1 for example.

Originally Posted by m00moo

wow thanks vmuch for the kind replies!

i feel like i understand the previous things i've read around in the forum alot more now!

So the question to root or not root, rooting the device would prob be the option for me as:

1) dont really want to do a wipe after a week or two
2) want cool apps such as SetCUP/Nexus Torch

One thing im wondering is whats this about paid apps and rooted devices in the market? After rooting some people cannot see paid apps or something?

Once again thankyou for the kind kind replies and i hope some other noobies like me are learning

Wait to root. Right now it's still too unknown on the "ins and outs" of this phone. When I first started rooting on my G1 and MyTouch I wiped a lot while learning things about it. Research while you wait. An OTA is supposed to come out to fix some bugs, and nobody has released any ROMs anyways. And on paid apps, Google Checkout keeps a record of what you purchase, no matter how many times you wipe Market will always have them listed in the "Downloads" Tab as "Purchased" to re-download at no charge.