Help A new Convert

[Zalien]

Hi everyone,
Just another geek converting from another OS ready to explore the new joy of Android. I'm 100% clueless as I just bought a used android phone and can't even tell if it's rooted or not. If you guys have a few links for an absolute beginner, I have the time to read and tweak
Hoping to find some warmth in here

 

[Podivin]

Zalien, Hi and welcome to the forum.
Let us know what model of phone you have and we can get you hooked up with the folks who can help you the most.

 

[Martimus]

Welcome to the Android Forums!

 

[Zalien]

Thanks for the warm welcome, I wouldn't request help in my first post, but since you're kind enough to offer, I can't help but to feel grateful

It's a Galaxy Spica (i5700)

 

[Podivin]

Moved to Galaxy Spica forum.

 

[Zalien]

Thanks mhotovec, now I can put out a few newbie questions with an open heart:
1. It came with a 1GB card an I'm assuming I'm gonna be needing a bigger one. The question is, should I be purchase a card with a specific speed rate (I think I saw that mentioned somewhere), or is that insignificant?

2. Would anybody be kind enough to walk me through the seemingly simple process of determining whether the device is rooted or not?

3. I'm on Win7, do I need some special USB drivers for that?

4. Is there anything else I should consider "before" rooting the new phone? (It has nothing to backup)...?

Thanks to each and every one who cares to share a word or two with a newbie

 

[rainor94]

Welcome to Android! What OS and phone are you coming from?

To answer you questions:
1. 1gb maybe enough depends what you want to put on your phone. If you want music and videos 1gb is not enough. The speed matters if you want to have your apps saved on the sd or if you want to move the phone's cache to your sd.

2. To find out if your device is rooted go to or download "Terminal Emulator" from the market and type in su. If the $ becomes a # at the left of the line you have root.

3. Depends does your computer see your phone?

4. My phones is rooted and running a non official OS. I also rooted my phone to get things like recovery, multi touch and wifi tethering.

If you really want to learn about this phone go to samdroid.net The site is where developers update the phone and you can read about what is going on with the phone there.

This phone might also be running an old version of Android likely 1.6 I recommend you update to 2.1 at least as soon as possible. Check by going into settings -> About Phone -> Android Version

 

[Zalien]

Thanks for the reply

Welcome to Android! What OS and phone are you coming from?

If I said it's a dying (or rather dead) OS, would it be hard to guess? (without googling)?

1. 1gb maybe enough depends what you want to put on your phone. If you want music and videos 1gb is not enough.

I don't care for videos nor music, maybe a few audio books. However, I'm planning to install tons of apps and maybe some games, so yes, I want them to be saved on the card.

The speed matters if you want to have your apps saved on the sd or if you want to move the phone's cache to your sd.

So what speed and card size is recommended for such usage? and would I want to move the phone's cache to the SD? (not sure yet the benifit behind that)?

2. To find out if your device is rooted go to or download "Terminal Emulator" from the market and type in su. If the $ becomes a # at the left of the line you have root.

If I asked: "where is the market?" would you laugh at me?
Just kidding, I'm sure I'd figure it out soon enough

3. Depends does your computer see your phone?

Honestly, I just got the phone and haven't tried anything yet. So, I'll get back to you on that. But are you saying that it works for some on windows7 and others not?

4. My phones is rooted and running a non official OS. I also rooted my phone to get things like recovery, multi touch and wifi tethering.

oh, you mean a custom firmware? Are there more than one of those available for this phone? If so, which is currently the most popular and/or stable?
I don't think I'm going for a custom firmware since I don't need tethering or multi-touch (and I'm not even sure what "recovery" is about?) So, unless the custom firmware offers some significant speed improvement or some other benefits,....?

If you really want to learn about this phone go to samdroid.net The site is where developers update the phone and you can read about what is going on with the phone there.

Yeah, I came across their forum, but I haven't had the time to check it out yet. It's good to know, however, where to go first to start reading.

This phone might also be running an old version of Android likely 1.6 I recommend you update to 2.1 at least as soon as possible. Check by going into settings -> About Phone -> Android Version

It's 2.1, which brings the question: isn't there a 2.2 version of android? Do I need to worry about that? and is updating the firmware possible after rooting?

I think I still have a lot to learn before I can start modifying the phone

 

[rainor94]

So I guess you just left the BlackBerry world or maybe Symbian?

For speed of the mini-sd card go with at least a class 4 and mini-sd cards are pretty cheap now days so just get yourself a 4gb and you should have plenty of room.

If your phone is currently on 2.1 you might have a branded version of the OS so if I were you I would flash the latest firmware from Firmwares - on my phone. Then I would flash LK2.08 for original firmwares - Root (new Superuser), WiFi tether, bb [12.07.2010] to root the phone (in your case to be able to install apps on the sd card). If you want 2.2 for this phone it is also possible to get it but right now it's in alpha stage so there are many things that aren't working or perfect. Also there is someone (tom3q) at Samdroid working on a new 3d driver as the one in ours phones is really horrible. There are more tweaks available but familiarize yourself you the phone, OS, and procedure of how things work first.

BTW make sure you know what you are doing when you start flashing things to your phone. In other words be careful because if you screw something up you can loose all your data and if you really screw up you can loose your phone.

 

[Zalien]

So I guess you just left the BlackBerry world or maybe Symbian?

Actually, it's Symbian UIQ. Still working with it on my beloved P1i with no complaints. I just bought a used Spica to familiarize myself with the Android world and what it has to offer; hopefully migrating as soon as I get the hang of it all.

For speed of the mini-sd card go with at least a class 4

With a quick search in the local market, most of what seems to be available (miniSD-wise), is only class 2, but I won't buy one until I find a higher class. I also read somewhere that if you're going to be using custom firmwares, you're better off with minimum of class 6?!
Quick question:
can we easily upgrade the memory cards after modding and installing apps and such? or would that also be a hassle?

If your phone is currently on 2.1 you might have a branded version of the OS

I'm not quite sure yet, but I doubt it.

so if I were you I would flash the latest firmware from Firmwares - on my phone.

I'm assuming you that if the phone was branded, right?

Then I would flash LK2.08 for original firmwares - Root (new Superuser), WiFi tether, bb [12.07.2010] to root the phone (in your case to be able to install apps on the sd card).

I thought one needs to root first before flashing a CF? Also, do I lose any functionality by flashing to a CF?

If you want 2.2 for this phone it is also possible to get it but right now it's in alpha stage so there are many things that aren't working or perfect. Also there is someone (tom3q) at Samdroid working on a new 3d driver as the one in ours phones is really horrible.

Don't think It'll come to that yet. Currently, all what I need is maximum functionality with a speedy, stable OS that can handle a lot of apps (no care for battery life, as I don't mind to charge up to twice a day and even upgrade the battery when needed.)

There are more tweaks available but familiarize yourself you the phone, OS, and procedure of how things work first.

If there's any wiki's or sites with simple tutorials for beginners, I would appreciate any links. So far google search is just sending me too many places

BTW make sure you know what you are doing when you start flashing things to your phone. In other words be careful because if you screw something up you can loose all your data and if you really screw up you can loose your phone.

I don't have any personal data on the phone yet and I have enough time to experiment with it before I migrate my data and start to fully use it. I'm assuming there's some kind of a backup procedure before flashing, right?
Anyway, thanks a lot for all the info and the advice; I'll take baby steps