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To root or not to root? That is

the question. Rooting your

Android device definitely

pushes you up a level or two in

your geekdom. It requires a

certain level of commitment, at

least a little savvy, and even a

modicum of risk. So, why

would you want to bother?

We've got nine good reasons

for ya.

What Is Rooting?

We talk about rooting plenty

around here, but here's the

high-level look for the few

remaining uninitiated. Rooting

means gaining root access to

your device. When you take

your phone out of the box,

while there are plenty of

settings you can tweak, you can

only alter what the

manufacturer allows you to. By

gaining root access you can

modify the device's software

on the very deepest level. It

takes a bit of hacking (some

devices more than others), it

voids your warranty, and

there's a small chance that you

could completely break your

phone forever. But you know

what? It's still totally worth it

for all the goodies you get

access to.

1. Apps Aplenty

If you've spent much time in

Google Play, you know you're

not exactly hard-up for good

apps. But why settle for good

when you can have great . Once

you're rooted not only can you

get more apps, but the apps

you have access to can get way

down deeper into your phone's

brains. In some cases you'll be

able to do things that carriers,

manufacturers, and/or Google

may not want you to do. Some

will allow you to do things of

questionable legality. For

example, Network Spoofer uses

your device to set up a fake

wireless network. When your

houseguests sign in, you can

make ever image they see

inverted, or all of the text

fuzzy. It's a harmless prank,

but of course it could (but

shouldn't!) also be used for

stealing passwords and other

nefarious things.

Where do you find all these

root-only gems? Amazingly

enough, many of them are still

in the Google Play app store.

Google's much more relaxed

about rooting than Apple is

about jailbreaking. Some apps,

like Tasker , work for factory-

shipped devices as well, but get

expanded superpowers when

you root.

2. The Latest OS

Updates

This may be

the most common complaint

among Android users, less than

half of whom have made it as

far as Ice Cream Sandwich .

Between the Google, the

carriers, and the hardware

manufacturers, there are a

whole lot of shenanigans

behind closed doors that

determines when (or if) your

phone gets an upgrade. Who

has the patience?

Android's developer

community, on the other hand,

is a hardcore bunch. They're

often able to get the new OS

onto a phone months before

the carrier releases the update,

often along with a few bonus

features. Once you're rooted,

you just have to find the OS

version you want (optimized

for your specific device), and

it's generally extremely easy to

install the latest and greatest.

3. Ditching the Skin

Android enthusiasts rightly

hate the software skins that

hardware manufacturers use to

brand their devices. They're

often bulky, ugly, unwieldy, or

just downright not as clean and

functional as stock Android.

They're also a big reason those

OS updates take so long. You're

almost always better off

without.

So root! Once you do, you can

download and install any

number of custom-built ROMs

(different versions of the

Android firmware). Some of

them are highly customized

and tweaked to add features,

and others are basically just

stock Android. Cleaning off an

ugly skin can be like a breath

of fresh air.

4. Bloat Banishment

Android phones are plagued

not only with OEM skins, but

with a fistful of superflous

apps that you don't want and

will never use. Generally,

they're just things to get you

more entrenched in the

carrier's ecosystem. The best

part? You can't remove them.

In Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

devices, you can disable those

apps so you don't see them,

but they're still there, taking

up space. Once you've rooted

your phone, you can use

Titanium Backup to delete

them once and forever. Just be

careful you don't accidentally

delete something that your

phone actually needs, or you'll

be sorry.

5. Speed/Battery

Life Boosts

Phone starting to get laggy? Or

maybe you're having trouble

making it through the day on a

single charge? Rooting allows

you to install customized

kernels (the software that

enables the OS to talk to the

hardware, basically) that are

optimized differently. Some are

made for low-power

consumption, and some are

built for speed. You can also

use an app like Set CPU, which

enables you to overclock or

underclock your phone's

processor, and set rules for

usage.

For example, you can set your

processors to go into overdrive

when you're playing a

graphically intensive game, but

have them draw the bare

minimum power when the

screen is off.

6. Extreme

Customization

Android is already the most

customizable mobile OS out

there, which is one of its big

draws, but if you root your

phone you can really go nuts. If

you want a total change, you

can download custom ROMs

that look nothing like Android

at all. Want your device to

navigable entirely by gestures?

No problem, just install GMD

Gesture Control (see video).

Prefer a sliding keyboard when

you're in portait mode, but a

tapping, predictive keyboard

when you're in landscape.

Keyboard Manager will

automatically switch between

your keyboards of choice

whenever you rotate your

phone. You can also add

features like widgets in your

notification bar, or can change

the way certain features look

or behave, like the lock screen,

or notification bar . The sky's

the limit.

7. Infinite Features

Beyond just customizing your

phone's existing features,

rooting helps you pile on all

kinds of wonderful new

weirdness. You'll love it.

Want to hook up your

PlayStation controller to your

phone for better gaming? You

can . Want to set rules for

callers to decide who can and

can't call you when? Why not .

Maybe your carrier has blocked

certain apps, or an app isn't

available for the country you

live in? There are Market

Enabler apps that trick your

phone (and Google) into

thinking it's on another carrier

or in a far off land. Nervous

about connecting to the public

Wi-Fi? Wifi Protector will keep

you safe from all kinds of ARP,

DOS, and MITM attacks. Or, you

could put the new Android 4.2

camera on your non-Jellybean

phone . Accidentally deleted

something you wish you

hadn't? Undelete might just

save your bacon. The

possibilities are virtually

limitless.

8. A Free Wi-Fi

Hotspot

You probably know that your

phone can function as a Wi-Fi

hotspot, allowing you to get

your laptop (or tablet, or

whatever) online wherever

your phone has a data

connection The catch? Most

wireless carriers charge you

$10 a month or more for that

privilege, on top of your

regular data plan. With a

rooted Android device,

however, you can simply

download Wireless Tether (yep,

right from the Android

Market), create your own

mobile, encrypted Wi-Fi

network, and your carrier will

be none the wiser.

If you do tether multiple

devices to your liberated phone,

just make sure you don't go

over your monthly cap. Data

goes down a lot faster on a

laptop.

9. Better Backup

There are apps out there that

kiiiiinnnnda back up your

phone, but generally it's pretty

surface level stuff (contacts,

pictures, music, etc.). Once

rooted you can go way, way

deeper. Grab an app called

Titanium Backup. Not only can

it back up all of your apps, but

it can back up all of the

information stored in those

apps. So if you've been doing

great in Temple Run but you

want to wipe your phone and

start fresh, you can use

Titanium to back up and then

restore the game, and you'll be

right where you left off. It's a

nice security blanket if you're

going to be messing around

deep in your phone's brain.

In spite of all these benefits,

only you know whether rooting

is right for you. For some

people it's just not worth the

time and effort. For others, it's

a godsend that allows them to

use their phones in a better

way and for a longer time. If

you decide to take the plunge,

read up and make sure you

follow instructions carefully.

After that, go hog wild. It's

your phone, after all.