OK so a year later and frustration with Moto update waits, I'm considering rooting this phone. My main reason for doing so is mainly to freeze or remove Blur and carrier (Bell) bloatware, but I have some questions about which way to go with this:

1. Rooting but not flashing a custom ROM. Instead, freeze the bloat using TiBU. This would be the far simpler method I think. I would then install a custom launcher (I currently prefer Launcher 7) and freeze the Blur home launcher so it doesn't run behind Launcher 7. My concern about this method is that I've read occasional reports by people that some of the "frozen" Blur system apps actually continued to work. Is this true?

2. Flashing CM7. This is my 2nd choice. I'm a pretty lazy guy, and I don't mind rooting with how easy it is to do these days, but the extra work flashing custom ROMS isn't appealing to me. If I am forced to go this route, (a)What's the best way to freeze or remove the launcher that comes with CM7 and replace with one of my choosing so that two launchers are not running at the same time? (b)Does CM7 come with all the Motoblur and Carrier stuff removed?

 

ok thanks, looks like I'm going to just stick with freezing anyway. I tried to start prep work to flash a custom ROM. The rooting was easy but unlocking went horribly horribly wrong even after following the (awful, convoluted) XDA instructions. You can read my tale of woe here