[Xperia Play Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] netizenmt:
What a great question! I'm so glad you asked! ;):D

I recently gave in and got my bootloader unlocked on my Verizon R800x, just so I could see what all the hoopla was about. After a few days of analysis, I've already been able to draw some conclusions that I hope new seekers will find useful.

There are several things to know when making a decision like this one.

1. What model of Xperia Play am I rocking? Not all Xperia Plays are created equal. There is the data connection to consider. If you are in most of the world outside of the US, you probably have a carrier that uses GSM for data. So does AT&T and Sprint in the US. Because it is so common, there are lots of Custom ROMS and kernels, unlocking the bootloader is easy, and many people are experienced in supporting GSM. But you're a Verizon Wireless customer? - sorry, you use a CDMA connection, which means your choices are much more limited, unlocking the bootloader is more of a challenge, and people tend to laugh at you! :p

2. Do I want to use the phone primarily for gaming with that sweet gamepad and not-so-sweet touchpads? Do I really depend on my phone to be 100% useable at all times? Better stick with ROMs and kernels based off of stock. No need to even know what a bootloader is!

3. Or, screw the games, I wanna be big, bad and bold, on the bleeding edge of technology! Well then, plan on furthering your techie education! You're going to be learning all kinds of fun and interesting terms, like soft brick, hard brick, adb, fastboot, flashing :eek::eek::eek: , RAM, ROM, push, root and boot - after awhile it all starts sounding like a naughty little party is going on in your phone! :o Hey, Baby! I got yer bootloader right here, know wut I'm sayin? :D

How about some do's and don'ts?

DON'T post a question on how to root, unlock the bootloader, install coolappofthemoment.apk or what does any of these terms mean without doing a little research on your own first. Chances are, someone else asked it at least once, probably a million times, and the only responses you're likely to get are "GEEZE, READ THE BLOODY FORUMS, YA N00B!!!"

DO use Google, search the forums, and actually READ the threads that seem relevant to your question. Yes, you will read a more than a few posts like "Does this work yet?", "I don't like the color of...", "MemberX is a troll!", but interspersed in there is quite a bit of information that you may benefit from and often you will find your answer much more quickly than posting a question and waiting for a valid response.

DON'T be afraid of rooting your phone but...

DO be aware that your warranty may (will) be affected by modifying your phone.

DON'T remove anything preinstalled by the service provider until you...

DO a Nandroid Backup first. (There's a term you will want to explore further. Hint: Look into CWM Custom Recovery.)

DON'Tuninstall system apps right away. Instead freeze them (OOOH another term you might want to learn. Hint: Titanium Backup among other apps.) Once you are comfortable with restoring your Nandroid Backup, you understand what the app does, and you experience no issues freezing it, then you can remove it if you want to free up some internal storage space.

DO pay attention to who the developers are for different projects, as well as frequent posters with actual useful contributions. You can tell who they are by the phrase "The Following 9 million Users Say Thank You to UltraDev For This Useful Post:" These are the people you want to make your bestest friends.

WOW !! Who knew there was so much to learn !!! Can't I just skip all that and charge blindly ahead??? I have one word for you. BRICK !!! OK, I have another word for you:

DON'T!!!

After trying the few kernels and Custom ROMs available to me (Yes, I am a lucky Verizon customer), I decided that, for me, it's fun to be able to juggle razors (Get It? Be on the BLEEDING EDGE???), but since some of the things I like to do with my phone are not yet working with the latest and greatest, I'm better off sticking with a customized stock configuration. The great thing is, I can always try the newer stuff and then go back to the "safe" setup.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! There is one more DO for you, and it's extremely important!

DO click that Thanks button when someone posts a project or information that you find useful. We all want to know our efforts are appreciated, right? RIGHT?????? <<Taps his foot and looks pointedly at the Thanks button>>