RootDim [root]

Summary

Colourful, minimalist, cheery, romantic—as far as Android displays go the options are pretty endless. And the displays tend to be of rather good quality, almost on par with computer displays. However, the latter still trumps smartphones in the sense that computers are more adaptable as far as programmes and manual settings go.

RootDim [root] may not enable your smartphone to quite measure up to a computer's functionality but it will allow users to adapt the display brightness. Find out more in today's review.

Please note that this application will only run on rooted devices.

Test device: Motorola Defy with CM7

This application requires root, and according to the app description it is compatible with all LCD displays but with only a handful of OLED displays.

RootDim [root] is a dimming tool that will allow you to control the screen brightness beyond what it possible with the stock settings. Seeing as display brightness eats up an enormous amount of battery life, this option is especially interesting to make use of during the night and/or when the device's battery is low.

The app's interface is relatively plain and consists of a dimmer (a bar, fine tuning and a few buttons). The brightness can be set anywhere between 1-255, though be warned that if you dial it down too low you will wind up with a completely black screen. In order to prevent this from happening you can set the lowest level of brightness on your own device.

Individual data can be fixed to five available buttons. This will allow you to set the display brightness as well as LED lights or the background light of the standard Android keys. Please bear in mind that this will only work as long as the display is activated.

Bottom line:
Sometimes good things come in small packages, and RootDim [root] is proof of this. It doesn't harbour a full spectrum of features, but the one feature is does provide is something that's truly missing from standard settings. A lot of fine tuning is possible so that every user can adapt the display brightness according to their own vision (literally) and their device.

RootDim [root] basically consists of a dimmer that's very easy and intuitive to use. It isn't the most beautifully designed application I've ever come across, but that's certainly not a big deal in the case of this type of tool.

RootDim [root] runs smoothly and swiftly. When activating the display the application needs about one second to configure the display brightness.

RootDim [root] is available for free; there are hardly any ads save for a small discreet banner linking to the developer's other application in the Android Market.