Frodo said:
...I've just moved to Android, so I haven't figured out whether the tablet is rooted......
Rooting in Android is akin to Jail breaking an iPhone or using an account on a Windows machine with full administrator privileges.
Rooting processes vary between devices, there's no universal method.
It's not for the faint of heart, some level of tech savvy is needed.
Most rooting procedures require specific software to be installed on a PC, the device then connected to the PC and manipulated from there.
One MUST be able to follow instructions precisely.
I refuse to recommend rooting to anyone due to the risks involved. All rooting procedures begin with explicit warnings that the warranty will be voided and there's a possibility of soft or hard bricking the device.
Rooting WILL wipe everything on the device, all apps, data, accounts, everything. Once rooted you'll start all over from scratch with the device.
In Windows, there's a provision that allows creation of a complete system image to be stored on a secondary drive.
If one decides to upgrade a primary, boot drive, the system image you've saved can be flashed to that new drive, afterwards, everything is exactly as you set it up on the old drive.
A Windows system image is also handy should the system become damaged from an untoward software installation, un-repairable virus attack and the like.
A system image is far more comprehensive than Windows' simple recovery or repair tools, those essentially roll back the registry to a previous state.
I image my system about once a month, too lazy to do it weekly, I generally keep the two most recent images.
I'm prattling about Windows' images because identical functionality becomes available on rooted Androids through custom recovery, installation of which is part of the rooting process.
There are apps that can only function on rooted devices that allow very fine, granular control of app permissions. So many apps these days want to phone home about your every activity with the device, permission controls can put stops on that.
Of the many millions (billions?) of Android devices, only a very small percentage ever get rooted.
It's a geeky, hobbyist, tinkerer kind of thing.
I'm unaware of any Android that are rooted out of the box. Some few do ship with unlockable or unlocked boot loaders, unlocking the boot loader is the 1st of many steps in rooting.
Of my five Android devices, I've rooted three.
I simply don't care enough to bother rooting my ASUS tablet
I never found instructions for my Samsung that were clear enough for my geek level that I was confident enough to proceed. Samsung makes rooting obscure, at least for me.
My newest Moto I selected expressly because it's readily rooted. Even then I soft bricked it for a few days right at the beginning, I recovered it with additional study, it's great now.
My two HTCs rooted easily though I must admit trepidation the first time through.
Generally I'd say, if you aren't comfortable installing Windows from scratch, configuring a PC's hardware and troubleshooting PC issues, you probably shouldn't root regardless the advantages of a successful job.
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Back on topic, does your Lenovo have a built in file manager? Samsung's is klunky but functional, Moto's is a single folder joke, ASUS' is decent, my old HTC's shipped without.
For 3rd parties, I'll stick with the Ghost Commander file manager recommendation.
You're free to try as many file managers as you like, no reason at all to not have several installed at once assuming your device had adequate storage space. Most tend towards the small installed size, nothing at all like the massive google apps like maps.
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MAPS!
Sections of google maps can be downloaded in advance for offline use.
OsmAnd (Open Street Maps Android) is free with several available add ons;
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand
The free version has a limit of 8 or 10 downloadable maps, the inexpensive OsmAnd+ has no such limitations.
These are LARGE apps, offline map files are LARGE. Be sure you have storage space.
HERE Maps;
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.here.app.maps
is another, I think it was a Nokia product, not sure if it still is or not.
Again, LARGE files for both the app and downloaded maps.
I see TomTom and Waze on Google Play, haven't tried either, can't say.
TPE is a wandering photographer's must have
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.crookneckconsulting.tpeandroid
Try it on your PC's browser
http://photoephemeris.com/
The browser version will not play on Android, you'll need the app.
