Ask NerdGirl: Text Forwarding, More Rooting, and Faster Email
by n3rdg1rl
May 19, 2010 7:30 AM –
One of the best parts of having an Android phone is I’M POSTING THIS FROM A TRAIN! The train is not WiFi. I’m using EasyTether and it’s working beautifully! I have the GPS going on my phone so I can see right where we are and I’m answering questions from all of you to make the time fly!
I have got the new Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and when I receive a text message there is no option to forward it on. So what I’d like to know is where can I download an app where I can forward a text on to a group of contacts? Please help as this is driving me mad that a new phone cannot do a simple task.
I used to work for Sony. I was so excited to hear they had an Android phone coming out and happy people are buying it! Now, to hear it can’t forward text messages confuses me. Android has this as an option. When you have a text message you want to forward, hold your finger on that message until a menu appears. In that menu is the option to forward. When you click on it, it looks just like a normal text message where you can enter as many contacts as you would like.
If for some reason that doesn’t work, download an app like Text Easy. It’s a free app that should allow you to mass text people. If this still doesn’t work, let me know and I’ll look into it some more.
Hi,
I got very curious when reading your information about rooting; however I am very interested to find out more about the next steps in conceptual terms. I do not need a step-by-step tutorial since it is not possible for you to give but more what it means to root?
Best regards,
PichdudeFromSweden
I’ll go through some basic steps for rooting which really aren’t dependant on which phone you have.
First, you need to replace the recovery image on your phone. This will give you the ability to recover your phone in the future in case you were to get it to a point where it wasn’t booting correctly. There are two ways to do it. The first way is the more simple way and involves just running a program to backup and install a new recovery image. The second way is more difficult and time consuming, but will probably be better in the long run. It’s designed to keep future updates from pushing through from your provider to block rooting.
After you’ve replace the recovery image you are ready to put the custom Android build on your phone. You would need to download the ROM you want to use and put it on your SD card. Then, you would boot your phone into the new recovery menu you made in the previous step. Wipe the original Android. Install your new Android. You’re done!
As I’ve said, rooting is not difficult, but you do run into the chance of making your phone into a brick and voiding your warranty. I personally have not rooted my phone because as of right now, I feel that my phone does everything I want it to. Maybe if I had a more powerful phone I would feel more of a need to root, but with the Eris, I’m okay as is.
First of all, I love your blog. Good stuff.
I have a Motorola Droid from Verizon and I have questions I need desperate help with.
I need help with email. It was recommended to me to use K9 mail. I was told it was much better than the stock email. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have improved. I operate a small web design company so as you can imagine, it’s important I receive my emails immediately. I need something that updates well and has a nice clean look. Any ideas?
Personally, I don’t mind the default email. But that’s the great thing about Android. You don’t have to use default anything! Both K-9 and the default in my experience update at whatever frequency I set it to. Mine is every minute, which is also the lowest you can go with Outlook so that’s what I’m used to and is more than adequate for me. Make sure that your settings are correct for email sync before you change apps. I bet that’s part of the problem.
The Chief Editor’s 2-cents: I personally like K-9 Mail over the default as it offers more options, organization with color-coding, plus “Push-like” email notification with IMAP settings. I would recommend your email protocol for your design firm use IMAP over POP3. We are actually writing a complete ”unofficial” guide with videos on how to setup and use K-9 Mail thoroughly as it actually is our most discussed review. Stay tuned for that!
~n3rdg1rl