This part isn’t exactly necessary for most people, but I really recommend it. Rooting is the Android equivalent of getting Administrator Privileges on Windows, and installing a custom ROM is like installing a new OS.

Advantages:

-          Faster updates to new features that Google released (it took forever for HTC to release the Android 2.1 update for my HTC Hero, and all the Samsung Galaxy S variants are currently still on 2.1)

-          WiFi Hotspot tethering without paying your carrier $30/month (or whatever rate it is) extra

-          DSP Manager, a system-wide Equalizer with different room/stereo effects and can be customized based on speakers, headphones, or bluetooth (requires Root, comes preinstalled on CyanogenMod).

-          Overclock/Underclock your CPU to gain performance for games or conserve battery

-          Get rid of the crap your carrier puts on your phone (my Evo came with Sprint Navigation, Nascar, and a bunch of crap I can’t uninstall).

Disadvantages:

-          Voids your warranty (though you can unroot and reflash the default ROM)

-          Depending on your ROM you won’t have HTC Sense (some ROMs do have it, CyanogenMod does not). HTC Sense is beautiful, but it means updates come slower.

TheUnlockr does a good job of taking you through rooting. After rooting go to the Market and fetch ROM Manager.

The ROM I’m currently using is the CyanogenMod 7 RC1 (HTC Evo), but not all devices are supported.  If your device isn’t supported try going to XDA Developers.

Once you get a ROM you want, download it and the Google Apps package (there should be a link with the ROM, otherwise search on XDA) and copy the zip file onto your phone’s SD card.  Use the ROM Manager to install the ROM (select wipe cache/data, backup current ROM, etc) and wait for your phone to reboot.  Once it starts up in the new ROM, use the ROM Manager to install the Google Apps package.

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