Couple Questions About Rooted Phone

[Skorp]

Well, I've searched for weeks and have come to the conclusion that I need to post my questions - thank you for your patience in dealing with me.

I would like to know:

1. When I root my phone - I am moving important operating system files and directories out of internal memory and onto the SD card. Does this mean that if I remove my SD card - or if the SD card gets corrupted, my phone will not work? Because (Murphy's Law) this will happen when I'm 2000 miles away from a possible fix action - in a country so far back in time that everything is stilll in Black and White.

2. If my XT720 has been shelved from Motorola to remain at Android v 2.1. Will I really be able to get the features of FroYo by rooting and setting up JIT and tethering, etc.? Or is this just some patch that makes it look like FroYo but not really perform as the real deal? I mean, really - if we can get the "real" benefits of FroYo by rooting our phones - we don't really care if the manufacturer doesn't push their version.


I would just simply buy a phone that will be getting FroYo as a standard update - but the only thing close to the XT720 in build quality and picture quality is the N8 - and I'm not exactly a Nokia fan. So, I'm kinda stuck by my first choice being the hardware - but a strong desire to tether / and APP to SD - and the speed gains and battery saving features that FroYo promises.
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Thank you --- Skorp

[jeffe65]

1. No. Unless you choose to do so deliberately, but it's unlikely that you'd want to, as the sdcards are slow and not a good source to run system apps from in the first place.

2. You can get "updates"/upgrades by looking for custom ROM's that have the features you're looking for, that may work with your particular device. You wouldn't have that option with a stock phone.

All phones out there are going to have a limited life-span, as determined by the manufacturer. Meaning, at some point in time it won't be eligible for upgrades being pushed to newer devices. Your option at that point is to keep the device and root it and keep up for a while (and add other things you wouldn't have been able to do as well), or buy a new one every 18-24 months, which is what the manufacturers & carriers would rather you do. Nothing wrong with a new device, but if you're a tech junkie like many on this forum, you'll wind up doing both.