Smartphones have become more and more common compared to a decade ago. Google's Android operating system is riding a wave of popularity that has rapidly eclipsed Apple's iOS. However, despite the relative openness and flexibility of the OS, your Android phone still isn't as powerful and customizable as it could be. To unlock all of your phone's potential, you'll need to root it.
The words “root”, “rooting”, “jailbreaking”, “root access”, and “unlocking” are terms that are used as the same thing. Rooting pertains generally to Android devices, such as Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Droids devices, etc.), while jailbreaking pertains to iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, etc.). Android rooting is
the process in which the limitations are removed and full-access is allowed. Once rooted, the Android phone owner will have more control over many settings, features and performance of their phone. Basically, "rooting" means to get to the root of the operating system and to have the ability to make global changes. (Phelps, “To Root or Not to Root”)
Rooting is often performed with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on some devices, resulting in the ability to alter or replace system applications and settings, run specialized apps that require administrator-level permissions, or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android user. It's similar to running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with sudo in Linux. There are some benefits of rotting the Android devices, and one of them is running special applications. Superuser is an app that allows user to control which apps have access to the "root" system. It is an app that can only be run on a rooted Android phone. Another benefits that "rooting" affords is the ability to tether a computer to your Android phone. By doing so, the computer can access the Internet using the phone's data connection. Besides,
Cited: Page 1. Phelps, Thomas. “To Root or Not to Root? Should You Root Your Android Phone?” About.com Google. About.com Google. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. 2. The Unlockr. “New Here?” The Unlockr.com. The Unlockr Unlock your device’s true potential. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. 3. Strohmeyer, Robert. “Root Android the Easy Way.” PCWorld. PCWorld, 14 Sept. 2010. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. 4. U.S. Copyright Office. “Section 1201 Exemptions to Prohibition Against Circumvention of Technological Measures Protecting Copyrighted Works.” United States Copyright Office. United States Copyright Office, 26 Jul. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. 5. Library of Congress, U.S. Copyright Office. “Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies.” United States Copyright Office. United States Copyright Office, 28 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.