[Huawei Ideos X5 U8800] Sumea:
EDIT: now as I got up even though I am bit sick to get stuff on my X5, let me clean up the post and give you actual instructions:

First of all:

IF YOU DO plan getting a custom rom and a gingerbread system, do not do the superboot thing. it does not help you in installing a rom, and the kernel modifications as long as I know.

First, a clockwork mod for your phone.

What does this do?

We replace stock recovery image, booting into custom one when in case of ideos X5, you press VOLUME UP+Power button to turn on the device. With clockwork mod, you can handle installing custom roms, kernels, and other content.

You can get 4.0.0.5 from http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1130524 (Again, if someone reports that the 5.x.x.x DOES work so you can actually flash anything with it, say so, and link to it. Still, 4.0.0.5 works for most of stuff and does it job well.

To install it, go through these steps:

- Download the recovery.zip (with your computer of choice)

- Create a folder somewhere practical to back up your old recovery image, I myself made a ideos X5 folder to my C where I gathered a lot of stuff, having a backup image folder and zips for the custom roms.

- Turn off the phone, wait, and boot it by first pressing BOTH volume down and volume up, and then the power button, the screen should slide in pink screen, when it does, plug the phone in to your computer

with usb cable, you should see a drive pop up. NOTE: as I learned myself, there is alternative way to doing this, mainly, a computer free way, but it also resorts in Root browser that may be harder to do without a rooted phone. So, if you have a computer of any sort, do it this way.

- After you do see the drive, open the image folder, plain copy the recovery.img to your computer, to a separate folder somewhere where recommended to back it up - just in case. After that, replace it with the clowckwork mod recovery.img by just plain write and overwrite - good way to know is that the stock official recovery is about ~9 megs large, while ClockWorkMod is ~5 megs. After transfer give it about 20 seconds before you safely yank the USB cord off, and then your battery. Wait 5 secs just for laughs and put the battery in. You can now test the CWM boot by holding VOLUME UP and Power button until the recovery menu comes up. reboot the device after it boots succesfully, you cannot do anything with it, yet.

Now, like I pointed out before I edited, that most of the roms have their own modified kernel already, that they do also update with their release (MIUI, and CM7 as long as geno could work on it) - so flashing your own kernel modification speratedly would be pretty much unneeded.

So, right now, dip in to the ideos x5 android development forum, and just choose either the newest MIUI, from ret4rt, the now halted CM7 by geno - for both these I can report that they do WORK and are usable, and if anything can have a minor trouble or two (for myself, both of these have a crackling sound on higher volumes problem - pretty much you need to keep your media volume at half way if you use pair of earphones or you will hate the sound quality results) - There is also lastly the oxygen build(s) by someone but I will not vouch for nor talk against any of them because I have not tested them, and that said, I also feel liable to mention in any case that you may want it particulally, that there is versions built by people for u8800.

First, though I think you may know them, I run down the CWM navigation, because of it's nature that it is not navigated with touch screen:

Power button = OK, choose.

Volume up goes up in menu.

volume down goes down in the menu.

BACK (touch) button goes back. (remember this, is important with some mispresses in menu)

To install these, put the .zip file of the ROM to some easy path, probably root, of your EXTERNAL SD card. - boot into CWM (though the volume up+power after you shut down your phone) and from there, I myself advice so no troubles com up to wipe your data, wipe your cache, wipe dalvik cache (this option is in Advanced part of the CWM main menu) and after that, start installing by "install zip" and "choose zip file from SD card" - after that browse the ROM zip of your choise and choose it. Install it, and afterwards reboot.

The wipe, you may ask, "is it necessary" not maybe for everything, but advised. my first custom rom installation had nasty habit of not being able to do wifi communication and other stuff, entirely just because I did not wipe before installing it, needing me to do another set of complete wipe and install before I had a usable custom ROM system in my hand, so, be advised.

Original message:

I as someone who went through same thing just a week ago (and already feels like I have done this for a month) can say that xda developers is quite tutorial free, that is to say, instead tellind what to do everyone expects you already DO know.

On emergency total recall: there is a 2.2.2 image from huawei. Unlike custom roms, you boot install it through a dload of huawei's own, by booting the phone to the volplusminus+power mode, it works even if you fukt your recovery image, and installing it pretty much wipes anything you ever done to the phone, leaving no traces of it's modded life. I do not have link for this now, as it was in the chinese site where you can also find the current 2.3.5 betas, sorry.

*edited out for the actual instruction tutorial*