28 replies to this topic

[securitybreach]

Well you cannot presently buy a smartphone that is not Android (google) or iOS (Apple). There is not another choice right now. There are talks of smartphones coming out without the google ecosystem but none are out yet. That said, you can install a custom rom (OS) without the google apps on an android device after rooting it.

[Cluttermagnet]

Josh- When you say "custom ROM" do you mean an actual piece of hardware
like a 'SIM' card? Or is more in the sense of Flash memory which can be
endlessly rewritten? (after rooting the phone) Is the OS on an 'EEPROM'?
In would expect a hard wired ROM IC, tiny thing surface mounted to the
internal PCB...

On further reflection, I would hope the SIM card in a smart phone is an
entirely separate thing. I need the right SIM card to be able to access
Consumer Cellular (AT&T backbone). If it is entirely separate from the
ROM then maybe a reprogrammed OS might work- but you need all sorts
of helper software to tell the hardware to 'be a cellphone' and work on CC
network. I suspect this entire enterprise is waaaaaaaay beyond my pay
grade. I've never even owned a smart phone, know nothing about using
one...

Edited by Cluttermagnet, 17 November 2017 - 04:03 AM.

[securitybreach]

Basically a rom is the system image and there are many custom ones out that change the look and functionality of the phones:

Quote

(Android Read Only Memory) A file containing the executable instructions (a system image) of an Android OS and affiliated apps. The "stock ROM" comes installed on the phone or tablet, while a "custom ROM" comes from a third party. The custom ROM is either a uniquely modified OS, such as Cyanogen, or a stock version made available for older devices or for new devices before the vendor release date.

https://www.pcmag.co...820/android-rom

XDA forums has subforums for most every single Android device out there that includes sections on how to root, customize, install custom roms, themes, reviews of phones and accessories, etc.:

[Cluttermagnet]

Wow, great, Josh! Thanks for a good starting point. I'll go read these links
and poke around the net a little, see if I can get a sense if this is doable
for me at my level of experience and ability. I take it you can somehow
'flash' a recently rooted phone with a custom OS, at least that's what this
all sounds like at the moment. So no changing out of little tiny modules
like we do with 'SIM' personality chips that configure a phone (smart phone)
to be a *phone*?

I'm still thinking Android more than Iphone, for whatever reason. And
Galaxy models are in the forefront of my current thinking, again for no
particular reason. A lot of folks seem to be getting various model Galaxy
phones...