How to Root and install Custom Recovery on any Android phone

As is the case with any smartphone, the initial ownership period is always the most exciting one. Your phone is new and you can’t wait to try out all the features it has to offer. After a while, though, you tend to get bored with it and that’s when you start thinking about buying a new one. Unfortunately, what many don’t realise is that at times, manufacturers aren’t able to exploit the phone's true capabilities due to various reasons and one of the best ways to achieve that is by rooting it (if it’s Android) or jailbreaking it (if it’s an iPhone). You may have heard these terms thrown around the Internet or amongst your friends and may have wondered what’s the big deal behind this. Well, today we’ll talk about what is rooting? How to root virtually any Android phone? And finally, installing a custom recovery and why you may need it. As a special treat, we’ll also show you how to install Ice Cream Sandwich on your Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000. This still remains one of the most popular phones, especially with the modding community and thanks to them, they’ve achieved what Samsung refused to do. More on that later, though, first let’s get you rooted! What is rooting and why do I need it?At the core, Android is based on Linux and by default, it gives users only limited access to the system. The permissions are set to give users access to everything they would typically need and restrict them from accidentally modifying any system files or permissions, since a novice user can end up bricking their phone. Rooting your Android phone gives you Superuser access, which is similar to having an Administrator account in Windows. Armed with this, you can now perform system level updates; make changes in the UI through specialized apps; modify protected files, etc. With this you can now use Titanium Backup, which is one of the best backup apps in the Marketplace letting you backup virtually all your settings, data, etc, which otherwise is not possible. Adfree is another very handy app that lets you block ads in any free app you download and since it works at the IP address level, it doesn't slow down the system.Click here for full story