CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES This chapter presents the related literature, researches and studies

gathered and processed by the researcher. With these review, the researcher gets additional information of her topic that will help her in her chosen research. SCOPE OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES REVIEW The scope of the literature and studies review is the review of different articles discussing the different ways on how to tweak/modify an Android device and its effects in the question that do people really maximize their Android devices. There are many ways on how to tweak/modify an Android device, but the researcher will only focus on Rooting, Flashing a custom ROM, and the overclocking of an Android device. FOREIGN LITERATURE ROOTING One way of tweaking or modifying an Android device is by rooting it. In an article written in google.about.com entitled What is rooting?, rooting is defined to be as the process in which the limitations are removed and full-access is allowed in an Android device. According to Scott Webster in his article entitled Hack your Android like a pro: Rooting and ROMs explained posted at the website reviews.cnet.com, rooting, in a nutshell, is the process that provides users with full administrator control and access to an Android smartphone or tablet. Similar to "jailbreaking" an iOS device, this is often done in order to bypass carrier or handset-maker limitations or restrictions. Once you achieve "root access," you can replace or alter applications and system settings, run specialized apps, and more. Once rooted, the Android phone owner will have more control over many settings, features and performances of their phone. Basically, "rooting" means to get to the root of the operating system and to have the ability to make global changes. It give a thorough and clear definition of Android rooting. Rooting your Android device has its advantages and disadvantages. According to an article written by Sahil Rana of www.itechadvices.com entitled Advantages and disadvantages of rooting, he stated that rooting has its boons and banes. First, let us discuss the advantages. Rooting, according to Sahil Rana, lets you flash a new custom ROM. It also allows users to use special applications. Special applications are applications that needs root access in order to be installed and to be use. According to Mihaita Bamburic in his article entitled 5 reasons to root your Android found in www.betanews.com, the user can also remove bloatwares or unnecessary applications like for example, manufacturer includes branded applications in your device. The user can remove these applications by rooting the Android device.

According to Mihaita Bamburic, the user can also create back-ups when an Android device is rooted. Using an application called Titanium Back-up (that needs root permission to install), the user can now create and restore back-ups of his applications and system files. Rooting also allows the user to access the root folder. Access to root folder means the user can modify the system files. Rooting also frees memory. It gives free memory because, when an Android device has been granted root permission, the user will now be able to move applications installed or stored on the phone memory to be moved in the external memory or the micro SD card. There are also disadvantages in rooting an Android phone. According to Patrick Flavin of www.droid-now.com, rooting voids warranty. When an Android device was granted root permissions, the warranty is automatically voided. Another is the chance of bricking the Android device. Bricked phones are dead phones. According to www.mobiada.com, there are levels of bricking, some are easy to repair but at extreme cases, the user can no longer use their phone anymore. Rooting also increases the security concerns. According to www.mobiada.com, rooted android devices are at high risk of getting infected with malware and other security threats. It the user unknowingly gave root permission to a malware, then the entire private details are at risk which might harm the Android device. Rooting can also result to lower or poorer performance. Though the intention of "rooting" a phone is to give the phone more performance, several users have found that, in their attempts to speed up the phone or add additional features, that their phones lost both performance speed and features. Remember that when you "root" your Android phone, you are making changes to the stock operating system. Rooting is basically the first thing you should do if you want to tweak/modify your Android device. Think of it as a door that if opened, will let you enter and give you access to a more free and more different world.

CUSTOM ROMS Today, mobile phone programs, from applications to operating systems, are stored and released in flash memory which allows devices to be updated regularly. Such programs are commonly referred to as firmware or ROM. In many cases, third parties often create unofficial versions of an OS to provide enhanced features to smartphones. These enhancements are called customized firmware or custom ROM, whereas the official programs are known as stock firmware or stock ROM. Many software experts collaborate together in communities to build the fastest or most feature filled ROMs. The most popular today are CyanogenMod (which supports over 70 devices), AOKP (a lightweight ROM with plenty of customisation options), and Android Revolution, a heavyweight ROM which often focuses on theming. According to Artem Russakovskii in his article in www.androidpolice.com, a custom ROM is a fully standalone version of the operating system, including the kernel (which makes everything run) apps, services, everything you need to operate the device, except it's tweaking/modifying by someone in some

way. Russakovskii said that custom ROMs are tweaking/modifyingd by someone because custom ROMs are unofficial ROMs created by ROM developers and not by Google itself. ROM developers take stock ROMs, strip them of garbage applications or not useful applications and system stuffs, modify them, optimize it, add useful applications based on the developers taste and other things that the developer might want to add. According to Philipp Greitsch in his article entitled Ultimate guide to Android roting, custom ROMs and applications, a custom ROM is a modified version of the Android operating system. Tweaks, additional features, different themes or an enhanced performance are usually included. Users can also remove bloatwares or unwanted applications manufacturers often include in an Android device when in custom ROM just like in rooting. Just like rooting, flashing a custom ROM in an Android device has also its known advantages and disadvantages. According to an article entitled Why would you want a custom ROM by www.androidpolice.com, one advantage of flashing a custom ROM in an Android device is the updated frequency. Updated frequency means more updates and more bug fixes for the custom ROM. Normally, a ROM developer who created and released his own custom ROM gives frequent updates because releasing an update is a lot faster in custom ROMs than in stock ROMs (no more authorities to check the ROM). Another reason is that normally, a ROM developer has his own loyal community that includes beta testers that provides comments and reactions in the custom ROM that he uses based on real life. Still according on the same article, another advantage of flashing a custom ROM is that it produces better performance, custom ROMS are oftentimes faster and more efficient because it uses lesser memory. It uses lesser memory because ROM developers rips out not useful applications and system files (sound files, unnecessary applications, themes, etc.) in the stock ROM. This is true based on experience. Another advantage of flashing a custom ROM, still according on the same article, is that you can upgrade to a newer and better version of Android. Yes, this is possible, but keep in mind that custom ROMs are always unofficial releases made by enthusiast developers and were not created by Google itself. Meaning, your Android device may look like its on Jellybean on the outside, from the icons and themes to the ringtones, but internally, its not and still a version lower that the Jellybean. Flashing a custom rom has also its disadvantages. According to Jose Tinto of www.andromint.com in his article entitled Advantages and disadvantages of flashing custom ROM in Android, he said that flashing a custom ROM can cause and may result to bricked phones. Bricked phones are dead phones. Dead because you can no longer use it. You can no longer open a dead phone. According on the same article, another disadvantage of flashing a custom rom is when the user encounters bootloops.

A bootloop is an event wherein the Android device enters an infinite loop of rebooting. Before the Android device will continue on the main desktop or start page, it will reboot immediately and will repeat this process again and again. According to Jose Tinto, another disadvantage of flashing a custom ROM is that the Android device will lose all of its data, assuming that the flashing of a custom ROM is successful. It will lose data because flashing a custom ROM will automatically wipe and erase all installed applications and files resulting in data loss. According to Jose Tinto, another disadvantage of flashing a custom ROM is that custom ROMS might have bugs in the initial or first releases. But there are updates and bug fixes, but that will depend on the ROM developer. The success of a custom ROM is always based on the ROM de velopers effort. OVERCLOCKING Another way to tweak/modify your Android device is by overclocking its speed. Overclocking refers to forcing a processor to run faster than its manufacturers specifications suggest. Android overclocking increases the maximum frequency (or speed) that your CPU can run, thereby increasing the performance of your Android device. Overclocking an Android devices has its rewards and advantages. According to Max Lee on his article 'Android overclocking explained', overclocking an Android device speeds up your Android device. Old version of Android devices can run now as fast as newer devices. According on the same article, overclocking also lets you play on your Android device without lags. Especially when playing high definition Android games that eats a lot of RAM. Overclocking an Android device has its risks and disadvantages. According to Ryan Whitwam on his article entitled 'The risks and rewards of Overclocking Android phones' on the website www.tested.com, there are risks on overclocking an Android device. One risk is possible hardware damage. Because just like in overclocking a desktop CPU, lack of caution when overclocking can fry internal components. Exposing a component to more heat means you are shortening its life. According on the same article, overclocking can also drain the battery faster, because of more speed, the Android device now gives a lot more battery juice than before. According on the same article, overclocking can also result into bricked phones. This means the device would be rendered unusable and irrecoverable by any means you have at your disposal. According on the same article, overclocking can also result into bricked phones. This means the device would be rendered unusable and irrecoverable by any means you have at your disposal. Overclocking has its risks and rewards. Overclocking can give you a faster phone without spending

money, but it can also give you problems on your device. LOCAL LITERATURE

IS ROOTING LEGAL IN THE PHILIPPINES? According to Randolph Novino on his article entitled Rooting is not illegal Philippines IP code ammendments found at www.pinoyscreencast.com, rooting is not illegal. He based this fact on the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. According to the Official Gazettes frequently asked questions on the amendments to the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines page, Is jailbreaking or rooting my phone or device illegal? No. Jailbreaking or rooting by themselves are not illegal. However, downloading pirated material, or committing infringement with a jailbroken phone increases the penalty and damages imposed on the person found guilty of infringement. SHOULD YOU ROOT YOUR DEVICE? According to an article written by Adam Parnala in his article Android Rooting 101 A Detailed Walkthrough on What Rooting is All About and What it has to Offer, he said that he doesnt recommend rooting ones Android device because of its disadvantages. These disadvantages includes the chance of bricking ones phone, security risks, and the chance for the Android device to be unstable. FOREIGN STUDY According to a study conducted by Bok-Gyu Joo and Sung-Min Kim entitled 'A User's Experience in Optimizing Smartphone Performance by Overclocking and Memory Cleaning Techniques', the process of overclocking showed significant performance improvements and stable functioning with a minor increase in device temperature. In the study, they present a simple approach to improve the performance of an Android device by overclocking it. According to the study, overclocking is the process of making a computer or component to operate faster than specified by its manufacturer. This involves modifying the system parameters of the device. However this method can cause damage to the device, reduce its reliability and shorten the battery's life. More specifically, increasing the clock speed can cause the temperature to increase which in return might compromise the overall stability of the device. The experiments were made on the smartphone Samsung Galaxy S2. In the overclocking process, the researchers executed and used a program called Eclipse Indigo in order to analyze the source codes and reset the CPU clock values. After overclocking, the results were showed by an application called Quadrant Benchmark, a benchmark tool for mobile devices which is capable of measuring CPU memory, I/O and graphics performance.

The benchmark results showed that the clock rate of Samsung Galaxy S2 after overclocking increased from 1204MHz to 1352 MHz, with only modes of temperature increase. The researchers were able to increase CPU speed by 12.3%. THESIS STATEMENTS From the information gathered by the researcher, the foreign and local literature and studies, the researcher found out that there are advantages and disadvantages in tweaking or modifying an Android device. The processes of Rooting, Flashing a custom ROM, and Overclocking an Android device has all advantages and disadvantages which might answer the question if people do really maximize the full potential of their Android devices.