Just another point on my nerd card

I have installed Cyanogenmod 7 on my old Droid X2. The X2 was a really good Android phone when I first got it, but after a few Motorola updates and Android updates... and 100+ apps installed... there were bugs that just wouldn't go away. Too many force closes, freezes and random reboots, just to name a few. I tried the normal route by removing all the apps and only installing those that were used on a daily basis. To no avail. Many months ago, I rooted the phone and removed and handful of the Verizon bloatware apps, and the random reboots ceased, but it was still running quite slow. It was just prior to this time that I began wanting to sample other flavors of Android, the most well known version being Cyanogenmod.

Unfortunately, at that time, all I did was root. I am not a developer, and digging into the OS of my phone that deep to install something else... well it scared me. I couldn't afford to replace it if I bricked it. So I left it alone. Until now.

Recently I upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and this phone makes me wonder why I ever bothered with anything that wasn't a Nexus device. But that's a different post. Anyway, now I had an old phone that was only being used as a nightstand clock, and an occasional gaming device for the kid. And since I had a day off with not much to do, I figured..... what the hell. So I brought up an old XDA forum post that told a noob, such as myself, how to do it. Step-by-step instructions. I like those. Considering I had already unlocked (rooted) the phone, I got to skip that step, and move straight into unfamiliar and still a bit unsettling territory. I have no issue with installing an app, whether it's through the Google Play store or the Amazon App Store. I've even had some experience with sideloading APK's, but I'm more careful about what I install using that method. The first step is to install the recovery software. Simple app install. But then you have to make a backup of the system. This is where the uncomfortable territory shows up. The phone has to reboot into the recovery software, and you have to make a backup there. Touchscreen doesn't work, only the power button and volume rocker are functional. Volume rocker is used to move your selection in the menu up for down, and the power button selects it. It made me nervous just to see the text displayed on the screen like this:

Creating a backup

This was about the time I noticed my hands were all sweaty. Even though I didn't use this phone anymore, I still didn't want to mess it up. Looking back now, however, it was really dumb, because all I was doing at this point was making a backup. A backup! Simply copying the system files. Installing the new OS didn't bother me as much due to the fact that it went by too quick to bother me. Honestly, this was all very easy with the help of awesome developers like Dragonzkiller, who wrote the how-to. I was just very nervous about bricking the phone, but I made sure to read the instructions all the way through (a few times) before even starting. Within 30 minutes, my phone had a new boot screen...

It worked!

And just like that... I had installed Cyanogenmod. There was just a little housekeeping to do to get everything working, like the wifi password, installing the apps, and then just playing in the mountains of customizing options to get it exactly how you want it.

What amazed me the most, aside from all custom features, what the sheer speed of it. It was fast! I mean, fast, fast. Faster than it was on the day I bought it. All the games work fluidly, and the touchscreen is very responsive. If I had known getting Cyanogenmod on the X2 was that easy, I would have taken that leap a long time ago. It makes me wonder what was going through the minds of those at Motorola and Verizon to put out a product that was so bogged down with bloatware that it would make the customers want to install something else? It just doesn't make any sense.

Mostly games, but it won't be used for much more than that.

Of course, flashing a new ROM onto your phone isn't for everyone, but if you are one of the adventurous types, I'd say... do it! But educate yourself first. There are many different ROM's all with different features. Find one you like, and then find some very detailed instructions. Have fun!

Now, about my tablet......