1. Vibrate settings can be found at Menu > Settins > Sound
Rooting is the process of gaining root privileges. I root every phone I buy and I'm currently running Bionix V 1.3.1 on my Samsung Vibrant. The apps you install from the market get installed to /data/app and that directory is not available unless you root. The same goes for /system/app, which is where bloatware would be installed. Once you root you can get into all of the directories on the phone and make it yours. The downside is that you can severely damage your phone if you're not careful, since root can do anything, so some learning would be advised if you plan to root.
The benefits of root are:
- Installing a custom rom
- Removing bloatware (apps you will never use)
- Installing a custom theme
- Better performance. I'm getting 30 hours on a single charge with no lag.
- Having more control over your phone
- Much more
The rooting process differs for every phone and I'm not sure how to root your phone yet.