general questions about aria and android

[judicious]

i'm new to android..yes it's been awhile since I upgraded, I'm still using my winmo. I'm planning to get the aria, but had a few questions.

I noticed a few folks are complaining about no side loading apps, but this won't be an issue if you root the phone right?

About rooting, it's equivalent to unlocking the phone? What happens if you root it? Do you have to flash it with a rom or does it still operate the same way? Does it downgrade to something else other than the eclair?

Do you need to have the 'gold card' on the SD card while rooting the Aria?

I'm totally new to this, so unsure of all of the 'rooting' activities. I'm used to the flashing and HardSPL stuff.

Thanks!

 

[modest_mandroid]

You don't need to root the phone to sideload applications. You can actually get around it easily with the developer's tools (developer.android.com, download the sdk, it'll have a directory called 'tools' inside and a program in there called 'adb')

There's a guide on how to do it in the development forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=706887

As for rooting, it's basically the same thing as jailbreaking an iphone. It gives you admin privileges to your phone, so you have the option of flashing a custom rom, or removing att's crapware.

 

[panda703]

i'm new to android..yes it's been awhile since I upgraded, I'm still using my winmo. I'm planning to get the aria, but had a few questions.

I noticed a few folks are complaining about no side loading apps, but this won't be an issue if you root the phone right?

About rooting, it's equivalent to unlocking the phone? What happens if you root it? Do you have to flash it with a rom or does it still operate the same way? Does it downgrade to something else other than the eclair?

Do you need to have the 'gold card' on the SD card while rooting the Aria?

I'm totally new to this, so unsure of all of the 'rooting' activities. I'm used to the flashing and HardSPL stuff.

Thanks!

I completed the rooting process without a gold card, also sideloading apps is stupid easy with the guide that's posted in response

 

[judicious]

You don't need to root the phone to sideload applications. You can actually get around it easily with the developer's tools (developer.android.com, download the sdk, it'll have a directory called 'tools' inside and a program in there called 'adb')

There's a guide on how to do it in the development forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=706887

As for rooting, it's basically the same thing as jailbreaking an iphone. It gives you admin privileges to your phone, so you have the option of flashing a custom rom, or removing att's crapware.

Do I need to set up adb? I've been browsing through few forums, and some phones require it, but not sure if Aria does. Is adb requirement dependent on an app, rom, or the actual phone itself?

What exactly is a gold card for? I heard that some Rom flashes need it and also needed for rooting the Aria. Do I just leave the gold card inside the phone while rooting?

 

[judicious]

I completed the rooting process without a gold card, also sideloading apps is stupid easy with the guide that's posted in response

Did you follow the same steps in the guide? I wonder if it will brick the phone without the gold card.

 

[panda703]

Did you follow the same steps in the guide? I wonder if it will brick the phone without the gold card.

yes I followed the guide step by step and this is my first android phone as well so it was all new to me and the guide made things easy. the only frustrating part was getting the phone to recoverymode with adb.

 

[judicious]

yes I followed the guide step by step and this is my first android phone as well so it was all new to me and the guide made things easy. the only frustrating part was getting the phone to recoverymode with adb.

I hear a lot about 'recovery' mode..what exactly is it? is it like hard reset? when you rooted your phone, did you have to install the rom again? or you used it as-is how you bought the phone?

 

[kudvu002]

recovery mode is just like your hard spl but you have a recovery image on the phone that allows you to flash roms and other zip files. android is alot diff than that of windows and the way that you go about flashing roms and themes. Overall you will like android tons more because winmo is outdated and slow.

 

[mcaxrb71]

This will be my first android phone, so obviously it will be my first with sense ui. Can you use user-defined images as background images? And what would make for a good resolution for such images so they look normal when panning left/right.

 

[jbizz]

This will be my first android phone, so obviously it will be my first with sense ui. Can you use user-defined images as background images? And what would make for a good resolution for such images so they look normal when panning left/right.

I would probably use a 640 x 480 wallpaper. If you are creating your own wallpapers, and want a crisp looking image, it wouldnt hurt to use 300dpi. There is also an Android App you can get from Zedge.net, they have some really nice wallpapers.

 

[modest_mandroid]

This will be my first android phone, so obviously it will be my first with sense ui. Can you use user-defined images as background images? And what would make for a good resolution for such images so they look normal when panning left/right.

if you want to make it span across all 7 screens, it'd have to be 2240x480.

 

[mcaxrb71]

I would probably use a 640 x 480 wallpaper. If you are creating your own wallpapers, and want a crisp looking image, it wouldnt hurt to use 300dpi. There is also an Android App you can get from Zedge.net, they have some really nice wallpapers.

if you want to make it span across all 7 screens, it'd have to be 2240x480.

Thank you both. I'm sure I'll have a fun time messing with it next week when I pick up my phone. I was debating on saving some extra cash for an iPhone 4 or the new Samsung galaxy/whatever, but I'm really not impressed with the user interface of either of them. They both kind of have that "endless pages of icons" thing going on, which is pleasantly absent from the Sense UI from what I've seen from other HTC phones.

 

[drjim]

What is a gold card?

I've seeing lots of mentions of gold cards, but haven't seen any explanation of what they are.

Can someone enlighten (and others) or send me a link to learn about it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mh333]

I think its how you format the sd card is why it dosen't work, not the fact of it being a gold one. Can someone confirm? Does the sd card have to be formated in fat32 or something?