First things first : rooting

Disclaimer: Rooting your device will void its warranty. In addition, performing the rooting procedure incorrectly may have unexpected consequences. Please do this at your own risk. Shape Shift NAND will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.
Unexpected consequences (in the modding world, it's called "bricking") may occur only if you either have a malfunctioning hardware or software, or if you don't follow the steps as they are. Or, if you're simply unlucky. No one can say for sure why bricking happens, but it is VERY RARE. I have rooted and modded many Android devices, and trust me, I have not encountered a single problem. It is safe, unless you do something wrong, of course.


Android is based on Linux and comes locked with only standard user access given to its user. Root access -- also known as Superuser access (for those who are familiar with Linux...) -- is the access level on Linux-based devices that lets their users perform administrative tasks including updating the system, installing applications at the core level, accessing the system partition, modifying protected system files and changing their permissions etc. Basically, rooting your phone is like transforming your Windows user account type from Standard user to Administrator (for those who aren't familiar with Linux OS at all -- like me, for example). Root access on Android is SOMEWHAT like jailbreak on Apple devices -- but even jailbroken, an iPhone's abilities are still limited. But the iPhone is very limited even not jailbroken, so...


Back when I first got my HTC Desire, I had no idea what Android OS is capable of. Then, I found out what rooting was, did it and voila! But, at that time, the only rooting method I knew about was kind of complicated. It involved a software to run on your computer, after you've installed the drivers for your phone's bootloader (that's like a computer's BIOS, for you starters out there), after you've done X and Y and Z... bottom line, it was a thorough complicated process, compared to how easy it can be done now.

AddictiveTips provide three tutorials on three universal methods to root your Android device -- given it is running Android 2.2 Froyo or earlier : SuperOneClick, Universal Androot and Z4Root. If your Android device is running Android 2.3 GingerBread, you will have to use GingerBreak. If your device is not listed in those tutorials, then you have to search on Google "how to root HTC Desire" (for example) and find a suitable tutorial (one that explains everything in detail so that you don't do anything wrong). There are many tutorials that explain everything a lot better than I could say it, so...

Once your Android is rooted (given you are a newcomer and not an experienced user already), the modding can begin!