I am looking generally in to Android development.
I keep seeing information on root however I am unclear how this relates to general android app development.
I understand that there is an emulator however when I get to actually test the software on a phone does that phone have to be a rooted device or is this only required if you wish to edit the core features of the os?
Finally are there are any development disadvantages to rooting the device such as that is no longer behaves like other android phones I may deploy too?
Thank you
You don't need root to develop for Android.
The easiest setup is to run Eclipse with the Android Development Tools installed. Then, you can debug your application in the emulator, or register your phone with the SDK and debug directly on your phone. The only thing you need to do on your phone is check the development mode under Settings -> Applications
I can understand the allure of having a rooted device, but I can't really see a reason for changing the bootloader or os binaries. You can, however, change most of the default applications (including the Home application) with other applications available on the Market. For instance, OpenHome is about $5 and allows you to replace the home app, add themes, and replace many of the core apps (e.g. clock).