Anyone else got one and rooted it? Know of any good mods? I don't really have any good reason to root it, since operators here in Norway don't tend to install all that much crap on the phone, but I just like having full access to my OS'.I do kind of like what Android 4.0 does on the S3 from what I can tell after playing with my sisters S3.
I'm also looking into new mods for my old phone, Samsung Galaxy R, which I have rooted, but so far I haven't really found any good mods for, I know that Cyanogen had something in the works for it but I'm not sure if they actually released anything.
The reason I bought a new phone is that the battery cooked on the old one, luckily a friend of mine had a battery from an S2 that he didn't need any more so I got that one.
I'm gonna order a twin SIM so I'll be using my Galaxy R at work and keep my S3 for home use just because phones tend to die in my line of work, I've been lucky in keeping mine for nearly 18 months now so..
So, any good suggestions for mods for these? Any decent battery upgrades that aren't obnoxiously huge?
I assume by "mods" you mean custom ROMs. There are actually quite a few quality ROMs for the Samsung Galaxy R, and some custom kernels which is extremely nice. As Z mentioned, check XDA as they always have the stuff you need.
For the Galaxy R, take a look at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1460 especially the PAC-Man, Cyanogenmod 10.1 (Android 4.2), ParanoidAndroid and SlimBean are usually good. Otherwise it is the classic CM10, AOKP or AOSP.
Since you live in Norway, you'll be getting the i9300, aka the GS3 International version. Take a look at this thread for the toolkit you need to root, install drivers, and basically everything else: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1703488
Anyway, I've been reading the forums you linked me and I am quite honestly rather confused. Please bear in mind I am probably the worst person at finding things on the internet. I'm rather more at home finding things in actual books and stuff, I like a good index I do. Also I'm not very well versed in the whole rooting thing.
For the Galaxy R, I am rather interested in the Cyanogen 10.1 ROM, now I see this is based on Android 4.2.2, my current kernel is 2.3.6. I assume I'll have to get a new kernel first? I just can't seem to find a straight answer, mind I'm probably not looking in the right place. I've found a kernel source, but it seems rather odd to me that I'd have to build/compile it myself. I've been trying to read through the discussion thread etc, but this being a fairly active forum I can't say I'm able to find anything I feel is relevant, I'm not very good at learning things unless the facts are presented to me in a fairly organized manner sadly.
I already have CWM and Odin, so other than that I would need:
Kernel version 4.2.2?
The CM10.1 ROM
Google apps fix
Potentially the internal/external SD fix(I might not buy another SD Card and I'll most likely bring the one I have over to the S3)
More information
I'll continue trying to read the XDA forum, but it is a disorganized mess IMO and it's hard to find anything that makes me go "Ah, so that's how it is!".
As for the G3 I'll wait until I have my hands on it before I decide on what to do with it, I might just find a rooted kernel and be happy with it, or depending on how I like CM for the GR I might flash the G3 with CM as well.
As Mechanical said, XDA forums is the best place to find rooting instructions, ROMs, kernels, and other mods and tweaks. Also, some ROMs come with their own kernels, while others use a stock kernel, but if you want to flash your own kernel, flash the ROM first, then the kernel right after. Second thing, 4.2.2 and 2.3.6 are Android OS versions, not kernel versions. 2.3.6 = Gingerbread, 4.2.2 = second iteration of Jelly Bean.
As far as ROMs, I've been a big fan of AOKP. It has many features, good customization options, and it's stable. I haven't used Cyanogen Mod in a long time, but it's the most popular ROM out there for Android, so it's worth a shot. I've tried Paranoid Android, not a fan. The "main feature" of that ROM seems to be that it turns your phone's UI into a tablet UI. It's really up to you as to which ROM to download. Some ROMs aim to have the most customization options available, some aim for improved battery life and increased performance. Read the "features" list for each ROM and figure out if that ROM offers something you want. There is no one best ROM out there, it's all up to you.
Ah hah, ok, that makes a bit more sense I suppose.
Now while XDA might have a lot of information, it's not easy for me to actually find the info, I've never liked forums as a place to get information from(unless I'm asking the questions myself), Wiki's make a lot more sense. I'm used to go to the library to find stuff, also me and search engines do not agree on what constitutes good search phrases.
Neat, so I guess I'll go ahead and just flash stuff then.
XDA definatly a good place to look, Just make sure you do your research before rooting and everything, I have never bricked my ipod or s3 but I know many people who dont do their rsearch and kill their phone. When it comes to ROM's, I use Foxhound 2.3, A very solid rom, 2.2 was terrible but thank lord 2.3 was pushed out so quickly. If you use a non stock kernal, You can overclock the s3 easily up to 1800MHz. Just dont consider overclocking the GPU, It is easily burnt out.