Droid Bionic rooted a week before its release

If you’re the type of Android user who only buys a device if it can be rooted, you may want to consider the Motorola Droid Bionic as your next purchase. The device is expected to launch on the 8th of September but only a week prior to its release, it seems that the device has already been rooted, as evidenced in the screen capture above that shows the “#” – an indication that verifies root access.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of rooting, it’s the process of modifying the operating system that comes shipped with your device (i.e. Froyo 2.2, Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.2, etc). The end goal is to grant the user complete control over the device, which in turn can be used to remove bloatware apps that carriers tend to ship preinstalled with their devices, run special applications that won’t normally work with unrooted devices and also allow the user to install custom ROMs that go beyond changing the look of your phone. In some cases it can even replace the kernel and even overclock the CPU for a faster user experience.

MyDroidWorld was the one responsible for breaking this news, and how they managed to achieve this was by using the very same exploit that was used to root the Droid 3. While they did not actually root it themselves since they did not have access to the device, they managed to convince one of their sources who had the device to attempt the root.

Since we do not actually have the device to test it out for ourselves, I guess we will have to take their word for it! If it turns out to be true, there will be many Android developers and modders out there who will be very happy with the news. If you’re interested in checking out the exploit used to root the Droid 3, head on down to MyDroidWorld’s forums for more info.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Android, droid bionic, Hacking, Motorola, rooting