Just found this article here.
Android’s beauty* lies in its relatively “open” nature: it allows the user to customize just about every aspect of their device’s software, from launchers and keyboards to entire ROMs and kernels.
Launchers like GO, LauncherPro and ADW are very popular among folks who dislike the stock launcher which comes with their device. LauncherPro, especially, is known for its excellent performance and, today, we came across an all-new launcher called Faster Than Light (FTL) Launcher that claims to be the fastest launcher ever. We’ve played around with it for a while and feel that it does, really, live up to that claim. Details after the jump!
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"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
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We’ve tested the launcher on a Samsung Galaxy S II on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and can confirm that it works as advertised. I couldn’t really verify its claims of being the fastest launcher around since the stock TouchWiz launcher on the Galaxy S II – a dual-core, 1GB RAM-toting superphone – is pretty fast on its own. I do, however, feel that its performance will be felt on older devices with slower chips and smaller RAMs.
Note: Faster Than Light currently works on devices with display resolution 800×480 only. The developer is working on getting it to work on other devices as this is typed.
Download FTL Launcher Lite [Market Link]
Download FTL Launcher [Market Link]
*And ugly, as well. Because of Google’s lack of strict app-policing, malware often makes it way through Market and onto un-assuming devices.
Be sure to check out our Android Apps gallery to explore more apps for your Android device.
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Currently only for HDPI WVGA (480x800) devices! If you use on other screen densities, the drawer will just look bad.
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Will have to wait on this one, although it looks very much like AOSP launcher with a few more customization options.
Customization
Looks good. Is this as customizable as adw ex or launcher pro? or is it mainly focused on performance?
I think androidspin did an article on this launcher...can't remember though
Related
Hi all,
I just want to ask what the difference between adw and launcherpro? Do one of these affect the speed of any rom or slow down?
Just try both.. and see which one suits you.
I prefer launcher pro plus (paid version). But at the moment the developer is doing a full re-write of the code making it much more efficient and andding a ton of features. Expected release date is Jan 2011
Thanks for your reply. I also prefer launcher pro but unpaid one by the way what's the advanced of paid one? I may get it
It has a few cool features... you can now have pop ups for missed calls, new SMS messages, browser bookmarks, and recently used apps. U just flick the dock icon upwards and u get a pop-up like this:
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"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
You also get the additional launcher pro widgets, friend wiget, people widget, calendar widget etc etc. For example:
The best thing is the ability to resize any of your homesreen widgets!
The new re-write is supposed to bring a host of new features and smoother running launcher. The price of Launcher pro plus may increase by that time.. so now is the time to get it But its upto you, the free Launcher Pro is amazing too
Picture Sources: http://www.launcherpro.com/
Thanks dude,
Great information for me so right choice about using launcher pro
LauncherPro isn't available for Android 1.6 (Donut) and older. If you buy Premium LauncherPro you will have HTC Sense like widgets (Contacts etc.). But I think ADW.Launcher is faster.
wow thank you i didn't know that...so i think it's more useful and can be easier modified for me...thanks
heres a cool theme for the ADW
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1033734
vladnosferatu said:
heres a cool theme for the ADW
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1033734
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thank you...looks great...really good job
I've try both and seem launcher pro got the edge on my rom.
Sent from my HTC Hero using XDA App
I've grown tired of the regular android look of 4x4 icons, dock and widgets. I want a different type of launcher ( I wish i had the stock launcher for the kindle fire), but something that is very different, any ideas? P.s. I've tried launcher 7...
Rocket Launcher is pretty unconventional. Not my style, but check it out. http://goo.gl/JrCBb
I've tried it too, but it wasn't snappy enough, and limited customization. It was a great start though. thanks
Wave launcher: http://goo.gl/zMRW6
Best money spent on market other than Tasker. No, it's not an actual home screen but it's an excellent launcher!
If you are patient and persistent, Sweeter Home is real nice. It is in perpetual beta, and the dev isn't really supporting it, but you can find users here in xda.
I'm including a few screenshots. The right side has tabs that bring up boxes of user selected apps. This is my setup. Search for sweeterskins and see what others have done also. YouTube has a few videos.
You can't know your limits until you exceed them.
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"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
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One handy feature I forgot to mention is that you can show and hide settings switches and widgets as they are needed. You can see in my screenshot that my GPS widget comes into view when I am selecting a navigation app. This gives me a heads up on GPS status and a chance to activate if off. Up to 9 widgets can occupy the same spot and you can select which one is going to be displayed.
You can't know your limits until you exceed them.
duckredbeard said:
If you are patient and persistent, Sweeter Home is real nice. It is in perpetual beta, and the dev isn't really supporting it, but you can find users here in xda.
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Pretty cool! I'm going to give that a go.
BTW, the home page is http://www.sweeterhome.com/, and they just released a new beta on 10 Feb 2012.
launcherPro allows you to re-size widgets and icons kinda stretches them though
https://market.android.com/details?...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5mZWRlLmxhdW5jaGVyIl0.
i like go launcher
LauncherPro and Go Launcher aren't really that unconventional. Neither is ADW nor Nova, for that matter.
Btw, duckredbeard: what theme are you using with sweeter? Looks quite sweet!
It's my own theme...look for SD004. It will take some work to make it work for you as I have alot of Tasker and MinimalisticText going on. I will do some edits to make it more adaptable for others. Check back to this thread for updates on when it is available.
You can't know your limits until you exceed them.
Slidescreen is awesome
AOKP 4 LYF
duckredbeard said:
It's my own theme...look for SD004. It will take some work to make it work for you as I have alot of Tasker and MinimalisticText going on. I will do some edits to make it more adaptable for others. Check back to this thread for updates on when it is available.
You can't know your limits until you exceed them.
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Sweet, looking forward to it.
scoffyburito said:
Slidescreen is awesome
AOKP 4 LYF
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I had forgotten about slidescreen. Do you have a link for it? Don't see it in the market.
I can't seem to find a good screenshot of it (and the only person I know with a tablet's sleeping, so I'll post one tomorrow if I get the chance), but in Honeycomb and the tablet version of ICS, when you scroll on your current home screen to another screen you can see light-blue glowy outlines for the icons on the screen you're scrolling to.
Is it possible to replicate that effect in ICS for a phone? Would that have to be something done at the homescreen level, or something deeper? The Android tablets always had my attention with this effect.
Thankies! =]
Apex launcher, free in market, lets you have that animation. It is like ICS stock launcher with a lot more options. Choose trasition effect as tablet from Apex home screen settings.
I know exactly what you are talking about. I suggest you maybe contact the APEX launcher guys (Android Does) and see if that is even possible. I like it too and think it would be cool on the phone level.
Wow, you guys replied quickly... Thank you both. =D
Alex9090 said:
Apex launcher, free in market, lets you have that animation. It is like ICS stock launcher with a lot more options. Choose trasition effect as tablet from Apex home screen settings.
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It sort of does; it has the outline of the homescreen that moves around, which looks kinda' cool. However, it's still missing the part where the icons and widgets get that same outline treatment and then as they move in, slowly become visible.
Woodrube said:
I know exactly what you are talking about. I suggest you maybe contact the APEX launcher guys (Android Does) and see if that is even possible. I like it too and think it would be cool on the phone level.
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Will do; I just wish Apex Launcher would let me move my homescreens around when I'm in the preview mode. xD It's the one thing I preferred Nova Launcher for, but Apex has improved lots since when I first used it (when it first came out).
Landscape mode?
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Sent from samsung vibrant
Hi, since 12.12.13 there is a new update of google search in playstore.
If i install this update, the google experience launcher changes the grid size (now i have less icons) and some widgets disappear or are resized.
Is there a possibility to change the grid size of the experience launcher desktop with a hack?
I would also like to know what has happened to the grid, as now I cannot have my homescreen as it used to be.
I wonder if this is anything to do with the new 'tablet mode' in the launcher. (install on an N7, then turn horizontally)
Funny, that the launcher is not officially supported on tablets!
For the time being, I have just reverted to GSearch 3.1.8. (or whatever it is!)
I am a developer, but I cannot find any reference to grid size in either the Launcher or Search APKs.
If you know, please reply
rabbitvcactus
rabbitvcactus said:
I wonder if this is anything to do with the new 'tablet mode' in the launcher. (install on an N7, then turn horizontally)
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There are there modes phone, phabet and tablet. With Android 4.4, tablet mode is not available anymore. To switch between different modes use this tool
I think that it does not depend on the tablet oder phone mode. Other user have the same problem on different devices. (home button not in the middle, widgets deleted and and ...)
Hate to post in an older thread, but this is one of the first results when you start looking for ways to adjust the grid size.
GravityBox[KK] can change the grid size on the GEL launcher, but it's not perfect.
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"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
some widgets don't take to kindly to being squished down. like BeautifulWidgets.
crazy talk said:
Hate to post in an older thread, but this is one of the first results when you start looking for ways to adjust the grid size.
GravityBox[KK] can change the grid size on the GEL launcher, but it's not perfect.
some widgets don't take to kindly to being squished down. like BeautifulWidgets.
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Thanks for this. I was looking for a way to get the grid size larger on my Note 3. The resize ability for widgets is great too. I got it working using the Kit Kat version of Gravity Box, despite the fact that the dev says it may not work on Touchwiz ROMs.
Screenshot from my Galaxy Y versus stock homescreen, transformation Tuesday
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I've seen many Android Lollipop home screen replicas for the Galaxy Y but they tend to look cheap and blurry because the apps they're using are poorly downgrading high-res textures to fit the SGY screen resolution
Another thing is that the SGY has a very low quality screen panel which means bright colors will wash out easily and the screen has a tendency to display shades of blue better due to the backlight which means that the best way to go for a premium look is a dark blue wallpaper
I've been trying multiple Lollipop launchers but believe or not, the best one is KK Launcher. Despite all the bloat it has, it's been designed to work better on low resolution screens unlike other launchers like Nova Launcher, it has built-in Lollipop icons which means it doesn't have to downgrade high-res icons to blurry low-res icons
I made this home screen 100% myself by trying different apps but credits go to the developers of KK Launcher and Google for the live wallpaper
I'm running Cyanogenmod 11 4.4.4 Kitkat in the screenshot
its for stock based or cm?
RK.Haldar said:
its for stock based or cm?
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Works only on Cyanogenmod 11 (maybe on 9) because KK launcher only supports 4.0 and up
CM11 does wonders because it allows us to install apps that could never be installed in 2.3 for example Nova Launcher
galaxyYtester said:
Works only on Cyanogenmod 11 (maybe on 9) because KK launcher only supports 4.0 and up
CM11 does wonders because it allows us to install apps that could never be installed in 2.3 for example Nova Launcher
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yeah but we can also use holo launcher kk themed
RaKesh said:
yeah but we can also use holo launcher kk themed
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The effect you can get from 2.3 apps is FAR from this, you can't even get transparent status bar in 2.3 and the textures and animations are far worse