Have you downloaded a cooked ROM?

I’ve had a couple of interesting emails this week from Windows Mobile owners who were about to “jump ship” to other handsets. They were both at the point of upgrading to non-Windows Mobile phones until they downloaded a “cooked” ROM. Now they’re happy, and one – a HTC Touch owner – is amazed by the extra speed and functionality he’s got with the ROM.


“What is a ROM?”, I hear you cry. Well, it’s a completely re-touched operating system for your phone. Usually these arrive only through approved channels such as your network, manufacturer or Microsoft themselves. Once downloaded you connect your phone and flash the device with the new OS.


There are however, “other” ROM’s available. You’ll usually find these floating around certain websites and, depending who you speak to, they will either destroy your device, break the law, invalidate your warranty and break support contracts or they will enhance your device.


Many news sites tend to shy away from this topic, however we’d like to get your opinion. Click “View Comments” and you’ll see a poll – tell us whether you’ve ever downloaded and installed a “cooked” ROM, or whether you’d prefer to keep clear of these things. Which camp are you in ? Let us know and feel free to add your comments if you have.

Update – Poll back online!