Like many of our readers, I’ve been happily customizing my new Vibrant since I got it a few days ago. I’ve installed all of my apps, reset all of my settings, customized all my apps, etc, etc. Although I can backup my apps and settings using Titanium Backup and other backup apps, and Google handles all my contacts, I’ve been feeling the need to nandroid my Vibrant setup.

Now thanks to a lot of hard work from developer Koushik Dutta (twitter), we now have the Clockwork ROM Manager app and a stable Clockwork Recovery image for Samsung Galaxy S-based phones, such as T-Mobile’s Vibrant, AT&T’s Captivate, Verizon’s Fascinate, and the Sprint Epic 4G (the last two have yet to be released). Between the app and the recovery image, it is loaded with every option needed to ensure the user has full control over their device. The first being a very comprehensive nandroid back-up that includes all apps installed, anything on a mounted SD-EXT, and anything installed using the Froyo A2SD method (very forward thinking). Also included are a number of very useful diagnostic utilities, such as fix-permissions,  for your shiny new phone. At the moment, this app and recovery image allows us to take a small step forwards by using Nandroid and other recovery utilities, but it will become increasingly more useful as third party ROMs, themes, and software hacks & mods are released for these devices, as such modifications really make regular back-ups a necessity. For the mere $3.99 pricetag (for the premium version), it is well worth it and I highly recommend it.

The Best Part: thanks to some very innovative development, this recovery is one of the safest flashes ever as it does not replace the kernel, and leaves the original stock recovery untouched. See below for more information.

This recovery is *very* safe to use. It does NOT flash your kernel; it is a completely uninvasive recovery method.

How it works: The recovery is packaged as an update.zip that you run from STOCK recovery. The update.zip unpacks Clockwork Recovery onto the ramdisk and restarts recovery. When you reboot, it reverts back to the original, unmodified, stock recovery. So, you will need to keep the recovery on the root of your SD card as an update.zip, and apply the zip every time you want to start Clockwork.

HOWEVER, if you use ROM Manager, all of the recovery installation and management instructions are done for you!

Installation instructions:

1. Download ROM Manager from the Market.
2. Flash Recovery.
3. Choose Vibrant as your phone.
4. Accept the Superuser prompt.
5. On the very FIRST boot of Clockwork, you may need to manually select “reinstall packages” if Clockwork does not start. You should only ever have to do this once. It will be automatic from then on.
6. Watch the backup go!

That’s it! This is completely painless and safe! There is no need for Odin anymore to replace the recovery or flash updates!

If you appreciate my work, please buy the Premium version of ROM Manager!

Rom Manager Premium ($3.99)

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About the Author

Jason Bowdach

Jason is a technology and media enthusiast. He loves the Android OS, although his interests go far beyond the cell phone platform. He enjoys keeping himself up-to-date on the film and cinematography industry, as well as the ever-changing world of personal computers and gaming. He studied Communications - Media Studies and Organizational Psychology at San Diego State University, and is pursuing a career within the broadcast media industry. In his free time, besides playing with the never-ending supply of custom Android builds or theming, he enjoys caring for his 60-gallon aquarium, training his white-golden retriever puppy, catching up on quality films and TV shows, and playing the occasional video game.

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