This was my main source of help on the rooting

Here’s the basic run down to get a sure thing:

1. Make sure phone is not plugged into USB
2. Turn off phone
3. Turn on phone in recovery (Hold Power + Home at same time)
4. Phone loads with simple green menu
5. Go to Wipe >
   * wipe data/factory reset
   * wipe dalvik-cache
   * wipe sd:ext partition
   * wipe battery stats
   * wipe rotate settings
   (important for things to load right, especially if you had a custom ROM before)
6. Go to Partition > Partition SD card (Swap = 0, Ext = 512MB, FAT32 = Remaining)
7. Plug phone into computer via USB cable
8. Go to USB-MS Toggle > Enable
9. On PC: Drag your ROM .zip file on to SD card *
10. On PC: If you want Live Wallpapers – drag that file on to SD card as well **
11. On Phone: Disable USB
12. Flash .zip from SD
13. Reboot phone
14. Before you do anything else – Press Menu > Settings > Manage Applications > HTC Sense > Clear Data (This gets the clock to show up on the home screen)
15. Go to town on downloading apps and happiness

* Find a ROM that automatically enables Apps2sd if the SD card is partitioned.

* I use DamageControl 2.09.01 – Stable and fast 2.1 rom, especially when running apps from the SD card

** Live Wallpapers file

Read the info page on XDA Developers Forum

Unless you are not an iPhone user or do not know anyone who is, then you’ve probably heard complaints about AT&T and their iPhone support (or lack there of). Shortly after the iPhone exploded on to the mobile phone scene and changed everything (kudos Apple), it had competitors trying to catch up. It took a long time before any other phones were even in the same area code as the iPhone because of it’s apps that could do anything and the smoothness by which it is operated – a staple all Apple products have become synonymous with. Really, the Achilles Heel of the iPhone, since the beginning, has been it’s exclusive carrier, AT&T.

Exclusive contract

I’ll hand it to AT&T for getting the exclusive contract to carry iPhones. I’m not sure what they did or how they convinced Apple that it would be in their best interest, but somehow they did. I know that Apple is all about “exclusive” – their software is proprietary, their machines are closed, they’re not “compatible friendly” in general. Still, to limit their phones to one carrier that has some of the spottiest coverage of all the major carriers and limits the extensive abilities of their power product by capping data usage and adding huge charges for basic features (ie – texting), well, it leaves me confused.

But then it happened again. AT&T’s initial contract with Apple for the iPhone ends this year (2010), but they are in serious talks to get an extension and remain the exclusive iPhone network carrier through 2011. Which would get them to their projected 4G network availability date.

4G will change the game

Apple recently had a couple leaks of their new iPhone 4G (once on accident, once on purpose, I think). There are two 4G networks in the US right now… and AT&T is not one of them… yet. Sprint has already launched it’s 4G network and word on the street is that it is screaming fast. HTC (maker of the Hero for Sprint, an Android phone) has the first actual 4G phone on a 4G network available now – the HTC Evo. Verizon has plans to have a 4G network up in the next 2 years.

I expect that when AT&T exclusive contract extension is up in 2011, iPhone’s will go multi-carrier and release their iPhone 4G on Sprint and Verizon stay exclusive except move to Verizon as their carrier. Just a hunch. If you trust me, sell AT&T stock late this year and buy Verizon.

What do you think?

Are you an iPhone user? What has your experience been with AT&T?

Any HTC Evo users out there? How’s that working out for you?

If you advertise “get more followers” you can be sure that you will only get more followers that are just like you – trying to get more followers. There is no substance in that.

Case in point: @pyra_bang

2. Tweet links that go to any sort of multi-level marketing

Multi-level marketing, don’t get me started. Aside from that though, you can’t expect to get sales out of impersonal follow-at-random strategy. At least learn about hashtags, trending, and other social media tools that can help direct you toward people with money that don’t know how to spend it on good things. First tip: Search hashtags for #ispendmoneyondumbstuff

3. Have links that go anywhere other than where they say they will

Dirty tricks. Enough said.

4. No tweets

Either fill in your bio blurb or at least put an inaugural “Trying out this twitter thing” tweet

5. Duplicate your own tweets

We all have accidents or program glitches that duplicate posts something. But when I see:
XYZ is the best new supplement on the market
XYZ is the best new supplement on the market
XYZ is the best new supplement on the market
… ad nauseam, then I know that you’re a loser.

(This includes when you go to someones twitter page and see an @reply to 20 people with the same message)

6. Retweet your own tweets

see #5, it’s the same thing, really… thinly veiled Einstein.

7. Tweet at a “relevance ratio” higher than once every 15 minutes.

“Relevance Ratio” allows for more than the 1 tweet/15 mins from someone that tweets about things worth reading… or stuff that’s funny.

8. Every tweet is a link.

If I wanted to just “browse the internet” I have a BROWSER to do that. Get with the times, I don’t want just links, I want YOUR TAKE on the links. Sum up a story in 140 characters for me. To me twitter is a way to get EVEN FASTER information on the lightning speed internet.

9. Have an auto-responder Direct Message that sounds like a used-car salesman when I follow you.

“Thanks for following! I think we’ll be able to find you something to buy via my tweets very soon!” OR “Thanks for the follow! DM me any time if you have questions I can help answer!” – If you’re using an auto-responder when people follow you, chances are you don’t have time (or won’t take time) to respond to messages or mentions.

10. Chain many tweets together to encompass one thought.

They limited it to 140 characters for a reason… and that reason was not so you can see how many tweets you can overlap onto. If you can’t say it in one tweet – consider blogging! They go great hand-in-hand.

This is the short list, “for advanced users,” you might say. This is simply for “rooting” only, not flashing ROMs.
Detailed How-To

Rooting my Sprint HTC Hero

Get Android SDK
- [FILE] http://developer.android.com/sdk/download.html?v=android-sdk_r04-windows.zip
- [LINK] http://developer.android.com/sdk/1.6_r1/index.html

Get proper ADB drivers
- [FILE] http://www.anddev.org/download.php?id=449
- [LINK] http://www.anddev.org/debugging-installing_apps_on_the_g1_windows_driver-t3236.html

Setup ADB
- [PROCESS] http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/06/how-to-set-up-adb-usb-drivers-for-android-devices/
- [ADVANCED]
- Start > Run > cmd
- cd\
- cd AndroidSDK\tools\ (or where ever your AndroidSDK directory is)
- adb devices
- if a serial number shows – you’re good

Got PicMe App for Screen Capture
- Takes it via PC (USB hookup)
- Creates an IP address to view live or static feed of your screen

Click to Enlarge

There’s a lot you can do as far as customizing the 7 home screens with your own style and productivity tools. This is my home screen, the “1st String Team”, if you will. Has the stuff I access and use most. Clock As much as I liked the big clock that the Hero is shown with in all the media photos, I felt like it was taking up more space than I wanted it too. As a good widget should, it offered configurations for smaller sizes and formats. So I shrank’er down. Weather The weather widget is great, nice interface, slick graphics. Punch in your city and you’re golden. Also offers several different sizes to suit your home screen layout. Smooth Calendar Here is where I had to go with a different app than the native app offered by HTC, but that’s the beauty of the Android Market. Smooth Calendar still had a nice interface (important to me), but allowed for showing more than one event at a time. I keep my calendars pretty full, so only being able to see the immediate next item was very confining. Apps Android Market Facebook Update: Replaced by gTasks Peep (Twitter) People (Contacts List) Messages (Text) Gmail Update: Using Gmail Unread Count Widget. Native icon didn’t show this Browser Update: Replaced by Gowalla Camera

Cons

Sometimes it reacts slowly
I’ve been having a lot of problems with the battery just completely draining out on minimal use after only 15 minutes or so.
Picmail sometimes gives me a “Media size exceeded” and I have to go back and retake the picture (if I’m able to) on a small resolution

Apps & Functionality

Text messaging
Easily the thing I use the most. I thought the touchscreen would really hinder my texting abilities (especially speed), but the word-prediction and auto-correct work REALLY well. So usually I’m still pretty quick on the draw with texting. I will say this though, it’s not quite the same as having a more tactile 10-key. I can’t text without looking nearly as well while I’m driving now. So text messages take a lot longer.

Android Google Connection
I wish that my gmail account was my main email account. Android automatically syncs with your gmail contacts. I’m still working out the merging of duplicate entries and getting everything sorted out properly, but it’s amazing
Update: Got all my old numbers & other email account contacts synced to my Gmail account and, thus, my phone!

Facebook Connection / Import
Connect contact profile pic and birthday
Update: Used a program by @koush to sync my Facebook Friends info with my Google contacts automatically.

	gTasks Google Task List works like a charm
	Gowalla (m.gowalla.com) With the native Android app coming soon, the mobile web version of Gowalla has been working great! It’s such a fun game that you can play in a moment when you arrive somewhere or make a day of it. They’re very responsive to their users and always working on new functionality and fun additions. Be Gowalla friends with me! Update: Gowalla BETA App is out	Coming Soon!
	Backgrounds Phenomenal app for backgrounds. Well categorized, easy to set your background, high quality designs and photos. Top notch, really.
	Facebook It’s ok… actually, no, it’s crap. Aside from the fact that I don’t use facebook a lot these days, you can’t click on links in this version of facebook. So you’ll get notifications about being tagged in a photo, but you can’t click to see the photos! Dumb.
	Peep It’s usually pretty slow, but it works. I’m open to other options. Update: I’m trying TweetCaster, but not sure if it’s much better. I wish TweetDeck would just make an Android App
	Monkey Kick Off
	Shot
	Brain Genius Deluxe
	GeoQuiz

Thanks to Cyrket for the images and barcodes.

I’ve long been on the hunt for what my next phone will be. I keep up on my social media, so a decent smart phone was really the only category I was eying. But with all the advances in smart phone technology and offerings from all the different carriers, how was I to narrow it down and make the best choice? Well, here’s a brief look at some of my findings…

Really, BillShrink.com does a great job putting together the specs. Check it out below.

Personally, I’ve ruled out the iPhone because I wouldn’t be able to get a plan I liked for less than $100/mo – too much.

Palm Pre seemed nice for a while, but got nixed because of their lack of apps (although it is growing, it doesn’t have the potential of growth that Android does)

So then the HTC Hero came out – Ooo. Android OS. Full touch screen (which actually worried me because of texting ability).

The inability to have tactile keys for texting worried me enough that I started considering the Samsung Moment (slideout keyboard and full touchscreen). But my colleague at work Mike Merrell told me that the Moment was crap. And I trusted him. He even said to wait for the Google Nexus One.

So I waited til the next day – the unveiling of the Google Nexus One – Ooo Ahh. An iPhone killer if there ever was one. But the Nexus One killers, at least for me, are that it is currently only available on T-Mobile at a ~$80/mo plan. I’m sure it’s awesome, but that’s maybe more than I want to pay each month.

In the end… I think I’m probably going to be getting an HTC Hero… though, I am still eying that Nexus One. Hmm.

Find the best cell phone plans and more graphics at BillShrink.com