Samsung Galaxy 3 + Froyo + Root + Swype = Awesome
Samsung Galaxy 3 + Froyo + Root + Swype = Awesome
First of all, you can read a little about Samsung Galaxy 3 here in a review I had written earlier.
Ok, so one of the main problems that I had with my Samsung Galaxy 3 was that it was running on Eclair (Android 2.1) and apparently apps can only be installed on the phone memory which is quite limited. So, I was desperate to move to Froyo (Android 2.2)
Now, the advantages of moving to Froyo were several, and with Google rapidly upgrading Android, I found that it was not possible to upgrade your phone if your phone maker is not supporting the upgrade. Of course, it was possible with some hacks and modding, but that is different... Moreover, I didn't want to risk bricking my phone (I have done a whole lot of modding and even bricked and recovered my Motorola L9, so it is not like I am scared :P) but still...
And then finally Samsung released Froyo for Samsung Galaxy 3 officially. So, all I had to do was download the latest version of Kies and plug in my phone, and *boom* that's it. Interestingly, the version of Kies that had come along with my phone couldn't find the upgrade and that was saying that it was the latest version of Kies. But the one that I downloaded was an altogether different looking application and it immediately said that there was a firmware upgrade available.
After getting the new Froyo on my phone, I started looking around for some differences - the differences are fairly obvious in some cases, like new apps, settings pages are coloured and others are slightly subtle like increased battery life and increased speed (apparently). You can see the list of changes and upgrades in any website.
Swype was gone!
However one major change, that was not needed was the loss of Swype. Swype is an awesome keyboard where we can quickly type without lifting fingers and tapping on each letter. You can read a little more in that review page. Now, one of the main reasons I had picked Samsung over other phones was the fact that it came with Swype. Typing character by character is really slow on touch screens, and with speed you are prone to make errors. Then on searching, I found that many had the same problem, and I found that you could reinstall Swype.
Proceeded to reinstall Swype
So apparently Swype team have released a beta version of Swype online, and all I need to do is uninstall my current version of Swype and install the new one. Sounds simple, right? But it is not. Well, anyway, going by the steps, all you need to do is go to the Swype Beta website, and register - They will send you a link. Now you have to open your mail inbox with your phone, and click on the link, authenticate yourself and then they will provide you with a download - run the downloaded .apk file and you are done...
As simple as it sounds, it was not because uninstalling Swype was not possible, and the new one could not install because the old one was still installed. The uninstall button of Swype in Manage Applications menu was greyed out. So what to do? I downloaded an app called "Uninstaller for Root" which can remove even System apps. But then I realised that I have to have the device in Root mode which is equivalent to Jailbreaking of iPod.
Proceeded to root my device
To get to the root mode, I first tried an app called z4root but then that said it did a lot of things, but didn't do a thing. So, finally the app that worked was SuperOneClick. How to use it? Just download the program - Prerequisites for this are that you have to have a Windows machine, and you have to have the Android SDK installed. These two should suffice I guess but in case you run into trouble you can find other steps to resolve it.
When I tried it on a machine (Windows XP without SDK) it didn't work - I had the SDK on Windows 7 and there it worked. So I guess it is the SDK that was different and also the presence of all the drivers that you can download in worst case... Then just turn on USB debugging option from the settings, unmount your memory card, power down your phone, plug it to the USB cable, run the SuperOneClick app, click on Root button, and power up the device. As the name says it is just one click and it is super. Your device will get rooted, just like mine did. You can read other pages for advanced details.
Proceeded to run Uninstaller For Root
Thereafter it was simple. I gave this app the option to run as Super User, ran it, removed Swype, then used Swype installer to install it - Simple... Now I have a Samsung Galaxy 3 with Froyo, root and Swype. Now I can install some cool apps that I am researching on. Stay tuned :)
First of all, you can read a little about Samsung Galaxy 3 here in a review I had written earlier.
Ok, so one of the main problems that I had with my Samsung Galaxy 3 was that it was running on Eclair (Android 2.1) and apparently apps can only be installed on the phone memory which is quite limited. So, I was desperate to move to Froyo (Android 2.2)
Now, the advantages of moving to Froyo were several, and with Google rapidly upgrading Android, I found that it was not possible to upgrade your phone if your phone maker is not supporting the upgrade. Of course, it was possible with some hacks and modding, but that is different... Moreover, I didn't want to risk bricking my phone (I have done a whole lot of modding and even bricked and recovered my Motorola L9, so it is not like I am scared :P) but still...
And then finally Samsung released Froyo for Samsung Galaxy 3 officially. So, all I had to do was download the latest version of Kies and plug in my phone, and *boom* that's it. Interestingly, the version of Kies that had come along with my phone couldn't find the upgrade and that was saying that it was the latest version of Kies. But the one that I downloaded was an altogether different looking application and it immediately said that there was a firmware upgrade available.
After getting the new Froyo on my phone, I started looking around for some differences - the differences are fairly obvious in some cases, like new apps, settings pages are coloured and others are slightly subtle like increased battery life and increased speed (apparently). You can see the list of changes and upgrades in any website.
Swype was gone!
However one major change, that was not needed was the loss of Swype. Swype is an awesome keyboard where we can quickly type without lifting fingers and tapping on each letter. You can read a little more in that review page. Now, one of the main reasons I had picked Samsung over other phones was the fact that it came with Swype. Typing character by character is really slow on touch screens, and with speed you are prone to make errors. Then on searching, I found that many had the same problem, and I found that you could reinstall Swype.
Proceeded to reinstall Swype
So apparently Swype team have released a beta version of Swype online, and all I need to do is uninstall my current version of Swype and install the new one. Sounds simple, right? But it is not. Well, anyway, going by the steps, all you need to do is go to the Swype Beta website, and register - They will send you a link. Now you have to open your mail inbox with your phone, and click on the link, authenticate yourself and then they will provide you with a download - run the downloaded .apk file and you are done...
As simple as it sounds, it was not because uninstalling Swype was not possible, and the new one could not install because the old one was still installed. The uninstall button of Swype in Manage Applications menu was greyed out. So what to do? I downloaded an app called "Uninstaller for Root" which can remove even System apps. But then I realised that I have to have the device in Root mode which is equivalent to Jailbreaking of iPod.
Proceeded to root my device
To get to the root mode, I first tried an app called z4root but then that said it did a lot of things, but didn't do a thing. So, finally the app that worked was SuperOneClick. How to use it? Just download the program - Prerequisites for this are that you have to have a Windows machine, and you have to have the Android SDK installed. These two should suffice I guess but in case you run into trouble you can find other steps to resolve it.
When I tried it on a machine (Windows XP without SDK) it didn't work - I had the SDK on Windows 7 and there it worked. So I guess it is the SDK that was different and also the presence of all the drivers that you can download in worst case... Then just turn on USB debugging option from the settings, unmount your memory card, power down your phone, plug it to the USB cable, run the SuperOneClick app, click on Root button, and power up the device. As the name says it is just one click and it is super. Your device will get rooted, just like mine did. You can read other pages for advanced details.
Proceeded to run Uninstaller For Root
Thereafter it was simple. I gave this app the option to run as Super User, ran it, removed Swype, then used Swype installer to install it - Simple... Now I have a Samsung Galaxy 3 with Froyo, root and Swype. Now I can install some cool apps that I am researching on. Stay tuned :)
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Comments
Would you please let me know what stock apps are safe to uninstall? Plus, what's your experience with battery of Galaxy 3? With moderate use of 1 hour calling/messaging and data connection always on+background data off, I can manage only about 8 hours. Moreover, it takes more than 3 hours to charge the phone to 100%