Dec 21, 2010 12:21 GMT  ·  By

One of the hottest topics when it comes to mobile phones is related to their rooting and unlocking, which offer users the possibility to do with their devices more than what the manufacturer or wireless carrier intended in the first place.

And when it comes to handsets running under Google's Android operating system, the subject is not only hot, but also very popular.

Most users who like to stay up to date with the latest news on the matter already learned a couple of things about rooting, and some of them have definitely tried it out.

Pushing the mobile phones beyond the intended limits seems like a great thing, though it seems that some mobile phones have been designed right from the start in a manner that would enable users to easily gain root access and the like.

One of them would be the Nexus S, the second Google phone brought to the market during the ongoing year, which follows the early-2010 released Nexus One, currently the official Android developers' handset.

Nexus S was already rooted and, according to Google, this was possible not only courtesy of the brilliant mind that managed to achieve this, but also due to the fact that the handset was designed so as to enable it.

The Nexus S, like the Nexus One before it, is designed to allow enthusiasts to install custom operating systems,” Nick Kralevich, engineer on the Android Security Team, notes in a recent post on Android Developers.

“Allowing your own boot image on a pure Nexus S is as simple as running fastboot oem unlock. It should be no surprise that modifying the operating system can give you root access to your phone. Hopefully that’s just the beginning of the changes you might make.”

Basically, Android was meant to enable enthusiasts manifest their creativity through coming up with custom software and, since Nexus S was not tied to a network, but came with a “pure Google” experience, it was chosen to demonstrate the openness of the platform.

Kralevich goes on explaining that the gaining of root access on a handset is usually the result of a successful exploitation of an unpatched security hole on the device.

According to him, the Android platform was designed based on a strong security strategy, which was complemented by a solid implementation.

“By default, all Android applications are sandboxed from each other, helping to ensure that a malicious or buggy application cannot interfere with another. All applications are required to declare the permissions they use, ensuring the user is in control of the information they share,” he notes.

“And yes, we aggressively fix known security holes, including those that can be used for rooting. Our peers in the security community have recognized our contribution to mobile security, and for that, we are extremely grateful.”

At the same time, Kralevich notes that there is the possibility to come up with unlocking techniques that would “protect the integrity of the mobile network, the rights of content providers, and the rights of application developers,” while also offering users the freedom they are looking for.

Until then, we continue to live in a world in which wireless carrier and manufacturers lock devices, and in which the rooting communities work on gaining expanded access to handsets' functionalities.