As a rooted Thunderbolt owner myself, I see no reasons why anyone should not have the same. It may seem a bit intimidating in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it- you will be HOOKED! I have compiled a list of Pros and Cons of why you should or shouldn’t ROOT your TBolt.

Lets start with the PROS:

• No Bloatware
• Back up applications and data
• Wireless Tethering
• Custom ROMS which allows for most recent Android OS prior to official release
• Custom Kernels that allow CPU overclocking/underclocking
• Tweak system performance and battery usage
• Use of applications with Root privileges only
• Custom themes beyond basic skins
• Custom Boot animations, splash screens and fonts
• Ability to take screen shots of your home screen or a running application

    

As you see above, there are plenty of great reasons on why rooting is a great idea. There are endless possibilities of what you can turn your Android device into to make it  your own.

For the CONS I was only able to come up with a couple reasons:

• Void Manufacturer Warranty- until unrooted
• If instructions for rooting/flashing roms are not read and followed carefully there is a chance of bricking the phone.

However,  If the instructions are followed carefully and you take your time, chance of bricking your phone is virtually zero. Don’t let the “voids warranty” steer you away either. If you need to return your phone for a hardware failure, you can simply unroot your phone and return it to the stock OS.

Rooting your phone is also a great way to meet awesome people who are involved in the Android Development Community. Sites such as http://forum.xda-developers.com, http://rootzwiki.com and the newly launched http://teambamf.net site are all great places that provide resources, instruction and all the tools you will need to successfully root, flash a ROM and customize your Thunderbolt.

I hope this list of Pros and Cons will help make the decision on whether to ROOT or not. Ultimately, the choice to root or not is up to you. You need to weigh the pros vs the cons and decide what you are comfortable with.

I am completely in LOVE with my Rooted Thunderbolt and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I am going to post a couple more articles on the different ROMS and Themes available for the Thunderbolt- so make sure you stay tuned so you can check them out!