This guide will explain how to root your HTC Hero CDMA (the Hero that you get from Sprint and other CDMA carriers) and install the highly popular CyanogenMod 7 ROM on HTC Hero as well. First, though, I will explain how to back up your contacts, MMS and SMS, and your call history so you can restore all the data after you install CM7. There are many reasons why it is an excellent idea to root the HTC Hero, and one of those reasons includes the ability to prolong the life and usability of your Hero, because as you may have already experienced, today’s Android applications require stronger processors than older phones such as the Hero has. So, without further ado, here’s the guide to get you started with rooting the HTC Hero.

First, you will need to download this file, which will be the program that you use to back up your call log, text messages and contacts to your SD card. Once the file is downloaded, please connect your HTC Hero to your computer via the provided USB cable and enable USB mass storage. Then, copy the file you just downloaded to your SD card.

Now, using a file manager on your Hero (such as Astro File Manager – free from the Android Market) browse to your SD card, find the file you placed on your SD card, select it and install it. Once it’s installed, go into your app drawer and open it. Agree to the license agreement, press Cancel when it asks you to set a password, then tap the “Backup” button. Now, tap Data, then Local, then select everything that you want to back up. Your options include:

• Contacts
• Call Log
• Bookmarks
• SMS
• MMS
• System Settings
• Android Home
• Alarms
• Dictionary
• Calendar
• Music PlayList

All items in Green are recommended to Backup. Red items are NOT recommended, and black items are optional. Once your backup has completed, if you want to back up your applications, you may do so at this time. The process of backing up apps are as follows: First, go back to the main screen of the application you installed. Second, select Backup again. This time, select Applications & Media. Select Local again. You will be presented with two things: Apps and Photos. You may check Photos, but those should already be on your SD card to begin with. Stay on the safe side, and place a check mark next to Photos anyways. For the Apps option, there will be a small arrow on the left. Tap that, select all applications that you wish to save, and press OK. You’ll also press OK on the next screen, which is simply asking what you want to name the backup you’re creating. The pre-entered text is fine. For the next screen, you will want to select APKs + DATA, because you are wanting to save the apps and any data created by the apps. The next step is to sit and wait for the backup to complete. If you have a lot of applications, you may want to go grab a smoke or a drink or whatever it is that you do while you’re not busy, because a lot of apps will take a lot of time. Otherwise, sit back and hang tight while the backup runs. You’ll be presented with a screen that says Done, and gives you a backup summary. Press OK. Now for the fun part, it’s time to root your phone!

Go to your home screen, and set your phone down. You’ll need to download a program to your computer to get the required drivers needed for the root process. This may sound greek to you but it’s very simple, so just continue reading! Follow all of these next steps in order, making sure not to skip any. It may be a good idea to print this guide so you can cross out the steps you’ve already performed.

1. Download the latest Java Development Kit (JDK). As of 01/26/2012, the version is 7u2. Wait for this to install and finish before continuing.
2. Download the Android SDK Starter Package. It’s advisable to download the android-sdk_r16-windows.exe, as we will need to install this ourselves.
3. When the SDK downloads, right click it and unzip it to C:\. This will create a folder named android-sdk-windows.
4. Once unzipped, open the folder and start the program named SDK Manager.
5. The SDK Manager will ask you what packages you want to install. Select the following (the others you’re presented with are unnecessary):
   • Android SDK Tools, revision 15
   • Android SDK Platform-tools, revision 9
   • Google USB Driver package, revision 4
6. Once all those download and install, you can close the SDK Manager.
7. Go to Control Panel and select System Properties (in Windows XP) or System (in Windows 7).
8. Click Advanced Settings (it’s the “Advanced” tab in Windows XP, and the button to the left in Windows 7).
9. Click Environment Variables.
10. Under the System Variables section, look for “Path” on the left. Double-click it.
11. In the Variable Valuessection, go all the way to the end of the text box (click then press the right arrow key to get to the end of the line of text), add the following text (making sure to add the semicolon!!):
    • ;C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools;C:\android-sdk-windows\tools
12. Download another file, here. Note, this is a driver that will support all CyanogenMod supported devices, which is what you will be installing later.
13. Unzip the file you just downloaded. You’ll see one file named android_winusb.inf. Copy this file to the following folder (note: you’ll be replacing an existing file):
    • C:\android-sdk-windows\extras\google\usb_driver\
14. Go back to your phone. Press Menu > Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB debugging is selected.
15. Plug your phone back into your computer using the USB cable. The computer will then try to install drivers automatically.
16. Once the driver installs successfully, open up the command prompt on your computer. Type adb devices. If it lists device(s), skip to Step 26. Otherwise, reboot your computer, then try again. If it still doesn’t list any devices, continue below.
17. Open the Device Manager: Right click on My Computer (in XP) or Computer (in Windows 7). Click Manage. Click Device Manager on left.
18. You’ll see an Unknown Device with ADB listed underneath, and a yellow exclamation point.
19. Right click on ADB. Click Update Driver Software. Click “Browse my computer for driver software“.
20. Click “Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer“.
21. Click on “Have Disk“.
22. Click “Browse“.
23. Navigate to C:\android-sdk-windows\google-usb_driver and select android_winusb.inf.
24. Click Android ADB Interface. Note: You’ll get an Update Driver Warning. Click yes.
25. Once the driver is installed, open up the command prompt on your computer. Type adb devices. This time, it should list device(s).
26. Download these 2 files: rageagainstthecage-arm5.zip and su-2.3.6.2-efgh.zip.
27. Unzip both of these files to this folder: C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools.
28. Connect your Hero to your computer via USB again.
29. Open the command prompt and type the following commands, pressing enter after each line:
1. cd C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools
2. adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/
3. adb shell
4. chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
5. /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
6. Note: wait for this to finish then continue entering commands below:
7. exit
8. adb kill-server
9. adb start-server
10. adb shell
11. Note: you should now see a #. if you see a $, please repeat steps 28 and 29a-d. If you see a #, please continue entering commands below:
12. mount -o remount,re -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
13. exit
14. adb push su /system/xbin/
15. adb shell chmod 4755 /system/xbin/su
16. adb push Superuser.apk /system/app/
30. Your HTC Hero is now Rooted! Congratulations! Please continue to the next steps.

31. Download recovery-clockwork-2.5.0.7-heroc.img
32. Move it to the following folder: C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools.
33. Go back to your phone. Press Menu > Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB debugging is selected.
34. Connect your Hero to your computer via USB again.
35. Open the command prompt and type the following commands, pressing enter after each line:
1. cd C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools
2. adb push recovery-clockwork-2.5.0.7-heroc.img /sdcard/recovery-clockwork-2.5.0.7-heroc.img
3. adb shell
4. su
5. cd /sdcard/
6. flash_image recovery recovery-clockwork-2.5.0.7-heroc.img
7. reboot recovery
36. Your Hero should now reboot into a black and green recovery screen.
37. Download update-cm-7.1.0-RC1-Heroc-signed.zip
38. Download gapps-gb-20110828-signed.zip
39. Copy both of these files to the SD card on your phone. (Plug the USB cord into your phone, select mounts and storage, select mount USB storage, then copy the files. Be sure to select unmount when finished. NOTE: to scroll/select, you can use the volume buttons to scroll [or move trackball up/down], and press trackball to select)
40. Press back until you get back to the main menu (with “reboot system now” as first option).
41. You can create a backup of your current setup now, by selecting backup and restore, then select Backup. This step is optional.
42. Press back until you get back to the main menu (with “reboot system now” as first option).
43. Select wipe data/factory reset.
44. Select wipe cache partition.
45. Select install zip from sdcard.
46. Select choose zip from sdcard.
47. Select update-cm-7.1.0-RC1-Heroc-signed.zip.
48. Scroll to select Yes – Install update-cm-…
49. Select choose zip from sdcard.
50. Select gapps-gb-20110828-signed.zip.
51. Scroll to select Yes – Install gapps-gb-…
52. Press back to get back to the main menu.
53. Select reboot system now.
54. Wait several minutes for your phone to boot.
55. Congratulations! You now have a rooted HTC Hero with a fresh installation of CyanogenMod 7.1 running!

You read that title right! You can now root the Nexus S with very little work! It’s a simple process but we will guide you through it every step of the way so you can gain root access to do whatever you need to do to your Nexus S.

First, we’ll need a few files, which you can download from here: Nexus S Root Files

Once you get these files, the process is pretty painless. To install a custom recovery:

1. Install and configure the Android SDK, if you don’t already have it. Once your computer sees your phone by using the command ‘adb devices’, continue. If not, post your problem on the SDK page!
2. Connect your Nexus S to your computer via USB. Make sure USB debugging is enabled. You do that by going to Menu > Settings > Applications > Development  and placing a check mark in the box next to USB debugging mode.
3. Open a command prompt and change directory to your tools folder: cd C:\Android\tools
4. Reboot your phone into its bootloader mode by first powering off your phone, then type into a command prompt: adb reboot bootloader
5. Now in that command prompt, type: fastboot oem unlock
6. Take the recovery file you downloaded and place it into C:\Android\tools folder.
7. In the command prompt, type: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-herring.img
8. Once the custom recovery has flashed, reboot your phone using the volume and power buttons to navigate.

To root the Nexus S:

1. Turn your phone on. Mount the internal storage so we can put a file onto your phone.
2. Place the Superuser ZIP file you downloaded onto your SD card.
3. Turn your phone off. Then turn it back on by holding Volume Up and Power.
4. Navigating using the volume buttons and the Power button to select Recovery.
5. Scroll to Mounts and Storage, then select Mount System. Then go back to the main menu.
6. Scroll to Flash ZIP From SD Card, then Choose ZIP From SD Card, select the Superuser ZIP, and select it.
7. Wait for it to flash.
8. Once it is finished, select Reboot System Now.

Congratulations! You now have a custom recovery image and a rooted phone! Depending on the response to this root guide, I may also add articles on custom ROMs for this phone to give you the best experience possible! Happy Rooting!

That’s right, everyone! Android 2.3, known also as Android Gingerbread or just plain old Gingerbread, is going to be coming to a phone near you sometime soon! There’s already a user guide for Android 2.3 – located here – that breaks down every single feature of Android 2.3 to teach even the most novice of users how to use the new version of Android.

Android 2.3

We’ll touch on a few features of this new version of Android, just to give you a taste at what’s to come with Gingerbread!

Android 2.3 Home Screen

Android 2.3 Home Screen

Alright! You’ve made it to the whole article page, so I’d love to congratulate you on your accomplishment! Seriously, though, were excited to show you this stuff, so be prepared for it! First off, we’re going to show you the home screen, which is to your left. Impressive, huh? It’s almost exactly the same as Android 2.2 (Froyo) but the taskbar icons for the battery are different this time! You can click my screenshot on the left to see it in larger form. The signal bars are also nicer, with rounded corners and the 3G icon is a bit rounder in form, too, to make everything have a nice, smooth feel to it.

Home Screen Menu

Android 2.3 Home Screen Menu

This is the Android 2.3 Home Screen Menu, which boasts a nice new design as well as a couple new features. I think the most important one is that fact that it is a lot easier to control the applications on your phone now, because instead of sifting thru the big menu to find that “Manage Applications” link that is buried, it’s now right there inside the menu when you press your Menu button on your phone! You also get to add different shortcuts to your menu area, but I am sure you knew that from having a previous version of Android, right? I know I actually overlooked it this whole time and just now found it!

Gingerbread's New Keyboard

Gingerbread’s New Keyboard

Here is another really cool new thing that is being presented as a hot new feature of Android 2.3. This is a new, modified keyboard that has new features and is easier then ever to use. It changes up a little bit of functionality, but having the ability to drag a tab to select text, as shown in the screenshot below this one, is an excellent feature to gain from the small changes to this keyboard. It obviously has a new design as well, which looks cleaner and more like “technology” than before.

Android 2.3 Keyboard Cursor

Android 2.3 Keyboard Cursor

Still focusing on the keyboard that is found in Android 2.3 Gingerbread, you will notice that there’s a new cursor marker to let you know where you have placed your cursor on the text field you are working on. Previous versions of Android only used the simple Windows-style cursor bar to mark your location, which could be very hard to locate if you can’t see the best… even for the ones who have perfect vision, sometimes it was hard to find. Not anymore! There’s a big orange tab that goes right below the bottom of the cursor to let you know where it is, making your Android text editing/entry much easier.

Gingerbread's Keyboard - Highlighting Text

Gingerbread’s Keyboard – Highlighting Text

Highlighting text using the new Android Gingerbread’s text editing tools is easier than ever! Now, instead of taking a gamble at what text you’re trying to select out of a massive paragraph of small text, when you long press the text and select the option to “Select Text”, and then you touch and drag your finger, you will also see the orange tab go beneath the beginning of your highlighted text and another orange tab at the end. You can now drag these tabs to select more or less of the text you’re trying to cut or copy. Finally it’s a simple way instead of wishing you had a needle-point stylus.

Looking at the couple features I mentioned, Android 2.3, also known as Gingerbread, will be a pretty cool update once it gets pushed to the phones that will be getting it. Not all phones will receive the official update, but if you look around or maybe even ask here, I will search for a Gingerbread ROM for your phone if one has been developed and I will make an article for it! Stay tuned for more articles related to Gingerbread, guys and ladies!

This Android 2.3 user guide is designed to break down every single feature of Android 2.3, also coined as Android Gingerbread. In this 380 page guide which is available for download here, you’ll learn how to use every single feature of your jam-packed Android phone, as well as learn new things about your phone that you never knew existed. This guide is in a printable PDF format, so get ready to enjoy all it’s useful information!

Download the Android 2.3 User Guide Here