So umm, I see a lot of people talking about "changing the launcher". But I do not know what a launcher is. I see it in my settings (running MIUI on my Infuse 4G).
So my question, and yes I know I probably sound like a knowledgeless-fool. But, what is a launcher?
A launcher is an interface replacement that gives u a new home screen and app drawer. U can customize it a lot according to ur choice
Best are go launcher, adw and launcher pro
I think this will help you. if it does please THANK me.
Sent from my Blade
Like ICS said, a launcher changes your homescreen and appdrawer, making it prettier and sometimes even more useful. I haven't used MIUI personally. Maybe it comes with a launcher, and maybe it has some features that a new launcher would duplicate. I know CM7 comes with ADW Launcher.
My favourite things about LauncherPro: First, you can change the homescreen grid size. Second, you can swipe between multiple docks. You can make dock icons link to activities, not just applications. And you can assign different shortcuts for swiping a dock icon. So if I press the phone icon, it goes to the dialer; if I swipe it, it goes to the call log. Plus any launcher is going to be prettier than stock, but MIUI is beautiful itself.
There's no harm in trying out a couple of different launchers. I prefer LP, others prefer Go or ADW. I know Go and ADW are much more theme-able. The only thing is that with a rom like MIUI that already looks good, a new launcher might look out of place.
Launcher is the bit you see and use when your not running an app or making a phone call.
You can change it easily by going to the android market and downloading a new one like nemus launcher or go launcher ex.
Once downloaded they will auto install. You can try the new launcher without changing your current one by pressing phones home button.
Menu pops up asking which launcher to use, choose the name of the new one and try it out.
If you want to keep it press home again but before choosing new launcher this time tick the box it shows saying "use as default launcher".
If you don't like it just do the same with the tick but choose your original launcher instead.
Dave
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk
I.. do not understand.. So it is like a theme?
Not exactly. It's a replacement.
For example, suppose ur running the stock eclair with the slide up vertical app drawer
Now, u want a button to launch the drawer., and u want it to be horizontal. How will u do it?
Enter Launchers
It replaces the drawer with its own, and its own dock bar
In short, it is not a theme, but a replacement that CAN BE THEMED
Sent from my Blade using xda premium
You know Sense, AOSP and Touchwhiz? Well they are default "Launchers"
Launchers can be downloaded from the market w/o root.
They are like a different style of homescreen...
The launcher is the programm you use to launch or start an app on your phone. The launchers UI (User Interface) is what you see as your home screen. Changing the launchers behaviour means changing the way icons are displayed or the pages flip. It lets you customize the way your phones OS feels and looks.
Does this answer your initial question?
Andy
Sent from my DesireS using XDA
Exactly on my mind
Well.put
Sent from my Blade using xda premium
If you are running ICS, Nova Launcher is a good one to check out too. It can be found in the Google Play Store. There is a pay version, but the normal one is fully featured IMO. Of course, try out a few and see what you prefer for your setup. When I hit the home button on my phone, it lets me select which launcher it uses by default so you can swap them out.
Related
GO Launcher EX is the extra version of GO Launcher, one of the most popular stock home replacement app in android market, provides beautiful themes, fast flip speed and tons of useful functions. Don't know how many of you use it. Its very fast has an inbuilt task killer also!!
Check out the website!!
http://www.goforandroid.com/
I've been using GO Launcher for a while now, it's by far the best out there. Only strange thing i noticed is that with GO Launcher EX you need to install a separate module in order to have missed call and message notifications down in the dock.
Can you organize apps into different categories?
Destroyer-XDA said:
Can you organize apps into different categories?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but u can put them into folders.
Awsme launcher thanx
I've tried other launchers and this is the only one moving smoothly on my Optimus. In addition to that it has icon personalization and you can make those annoying never-used apps disappear in your app menu.
it has enough customization options and the battery use is quite low. A must-have!
very good ...... n.n
Go Launcher EX in my opinion has to be the best one out there.
I am one of the people who actually enjoyed Touchwiz at first....well, until my app drawer reached over 10 pages (That's 160 apps and I even had the bloatware hidden with TiBackup)
Anyways. I have just this completely crazy and awesome thing going with Go Launcher on my phone. The best thing is, I've gone from 10 pages all the way down to 4. This launcher has so much customization and features, and on top of it all, it runs extremely fast.
I have posted several screens of what I have done on my phone using Go Launcher as well as just some screens so people can see it and understand it more.
The 1st is a preview of the ui swiping side to side, the 2nd is all my home screens, the 3rd is what the new app drawer looks like (notice the folders INSIDE the app drawer), the 4th is just all the options I have on my main home screen. The 5th and 6th Images are showing how you can switch the dock back and forth. The 7th is showing the modded facebook app available here on the XDA and my personal mod of the Picture Dial widget. And the last is the Screen Shortcut Screen (when you pinch the screen at home).
I hope you all enjoy.
NOTE: The "theme" I have is purely from the customization features I had available. I did not mod it at all (with the exception of one widget) nor did I actually create a theme for the Launcher like those which are available for ADW.
You can find almost all of what you see via internet. I had to photoshop a few icons (you'll notice them on the screen shots showing my different dockbars as those images are more recent).
gunna have to give this one a try adw launcher just isnt cuttin it for me any more
Using 2.3.2 Mur4ik ROM what I find is that Home Manager shows both Go Launcher EX and stock launcher are running at the same time, stock can take up to 40mb RAM, and second that for Go Launcher EX, so I've changed to stock because I want more mem and when I AutoKill stock then Go launcher Running tab says there's more ram.
How can I customize stock 2.3 launcher?
I need to change number of screens to 3 from 5, I don't need more.
Is there any way to create folders in menu instead in "desktop" only?
Screen transistions are not my priority, but Go Launcher is much user friendly anyway, and allows quick access to most commonly used options by me.
Yeah just hold one app and drag ontop of another to put them both in a folder
Sent from my GT540 using XDA Premium App
How much memory did you say Go Launcher used up? when I'm in it's app drawer tab and kill everything I can only get a max of about 150 out of a possible 303Mb
I will say that you can clear up some memory if you "Freeze" your default launcher using Titanium Backup.
Oh and one of the coolest things about Go Launcher is that since I made a Titanium Backup of it before changing Roms, when I got my phone back up and running again, all I had to do was go into Go Launcher's Preferences, scroll down and hit restore configuration (I had made a back up, can't forget that) and all my custom icons were restored. I had to add my widgets back manually, but that wasnt too big of a deal (I didn't make a titanium backup of that, but I think you can).
...hold on, actually Titanium Backup just restored all my apps, the Go Launcher's configuration is completely separate from titanium backup. GO Launcher creates it's own folder on your SD card for it's backups. It's pretty cool.
Soooo..... has anyone happened to have talked to the developer or anything to find out about making custom themes? I haven't had any experience making themes for other launchers, but I'd like to give a shot at making one for Go Launcher and I haven't seen anything on how to make one unfortunately.
nice but crashes too frequently
for my it is the best launcher for now, and in the oficial page says that it going to have customs themes
Is there any way to decrease the number of screens? I find it incredibly irritating to see have 5 screens, I only need and use 2.
I found GO Launcher to work best with stock 2.1. There are buch of themes for it, but only several of them are good for me.
revan17 said:
Is there any way to decrease the number of screens? I find it incredibly irritating to see have 5 screens, I only need and use 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just swipe up, and you'll get all screens.
i used SPB Shell 3D and its great no FCs icons can be modified you choose any interface like iphone, samsung galaxy and HTC style
This app jus got better!!! besides its all new awsome looks,its fast n smooth!!
I love this launcher as you can resize widgets and mess around with almost anything in it.
Sent from my GT540 using XDA App
I would like to try another launcher but I'm worried about memory usage and consumption.
Installing a launcher deactivate motoblur? How does it work? Will I have motoblur running (but invisible) and the launcher at the same time?
Thanks for all your answers.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Even if you install another launcher motoblur is still there but you won't see the moto UI. Anyway, installing a good launcher (ADW launcher or LauncherPro are the best in my opinion) you'll get several improvements, more customization and less lag when you navigate through home screens and apps menu.
xdaid said it as best as you can get it mate! A different launcher won't remove blur, but will ad more functionality and better performance to your Defy! LauncherPro is my definite choice as ADW was a little sluggish for me!
Might want to take a look at Go Launcher EX it is somewhat like Launcher Pro in looks and function but seems a little easier to configure to me.
There is some personal preference when it come to a launcher also so the best thing to do is take the recommendations that install some and try them for yourself. If you don't like it them just un-install it. No harm no foul.
You can delete the BlurHome.apk from the /system/app/ folder but just make sure you have another launcher installed first as during your next boot android will ask you what launcher to use, and use by default if you so choose.
esp. on the Defy I would recommend Launcher Pro because of one very nice feature:
On Stock Homescreen you have 4 rows and 4 columns. But with launcherpro you can use 6 rows! So no more useless space between the icons and widgets!
After install Launcher Pro and not using Motorola widget my battery life noticeable improve but Motoblur still running in background and suck battery
i will try fritolays method thanks man
*Launcher Pro use memory less than ADW
LauncherPro is great!
He launcher is my favorite. Give it a try. Nothing to loose.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
gramps50 said:
Might want to take a look at Go Launcher EX it is somewhat like Launcher Pro in looks and function but seems a little easier to configure to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally found it to be like a poor copy of LauncherPro, lacking some of the features that make LauncherPro so good.
But you're right, it's all a matter of personal preference.
Personally, I'd say LauncherPro is the best out there.
I've also tried ADW, Zeam and Go Launcher and none of them came close IMO.
The only thing that could be improved about Launcher Pro is if it added the LG 'categories' system for sorting the app drawer.
Using go launcher ex. Better than stock. Will try launcher pro to compare. Anyone using the paid version of that?
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
I like the Agenda wgt on Launcherpro Plus. The SNS wgts would be good if you could change the font size - it's too small for my liking at the moment.
ADW is much better for theming - a lot more themes and easier to apply.
Didn't notice any performance difference between the two.
Am I the only one that thinks LauncherPro is clunkier than Motoblur's launcher (Froyo version) during scrolling?
It's particularly noticeable in the App drawer. In the motoblur drawer the applications scroll silky like on my mate's iphone4, but in LauncherPro it's obvious that the app drawer is stuttering.
I've gone back to blur for now. The main thing I miss customisation abilities on the home screen.
I´m using Zeam Laucher. It´s very small and fast. You can create up to 8 rows and columns. Unfortunatley, they stop developing.
I like LauncherPro and use it with just 3 desktops. There's no more lag switching between them. I think that I'll try the ADW Launcher too, since everyone says it's decent too.
Motorola's default launchs is so sluggish that I thought the mobile was a bad one. I changed my opinion after trying LauncherPro. The Sony-E's X10-Mini default launcher are lightning fast too, but I don't think they're available for non-Sony devices...
I use launcher pro too. So much faster than blur on my Defy and my Galaxy Tab.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA App
Recently I moved to adw launcher ex because on launcher pro I couldn't change shortcut icons after being added to desktop (and I found it quite annoying cause I change them quite often ).
Same speed and memory usage, more or less.
Sent from my MB525
I go between Launcherpro and Go Launcher EX depending on my mood. LP has a smoother app drawer, but Go let's me assign functionality to swipe gestures on the home screen.
It's very easy to get used to hiding the status bar and assigning a downward swipe to slide open the notification drawer anyway.
josidhe said:
I go between Launcherpro and Go Launcher EX depending on my mood. LP has a smoother app drawer, but Go let's me assign functionality to swipe gestures on the home screen.
It's very easy to get used to hiding the status bar and assigning a downward swipe to slide open the notification drawer anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's so true!
Sent from my MB525
Hmm...when i use Launcher Pro - Quadrant Score is 1635.
When i use Go Launcher EX - Quadrant Score is 1532.
Go figure....
Hi all,
n00b questions here. Basically, I'm trying to figure out what exactly Rosie and Launcher Pro are.
I downloaded Launcher Pro (the free version) from the Market last night and see that it basically changes the layout of the home screen and icons and such. Seems fairly customizable, and you can also change transition effects between home screens. It also changes the buttons on the bottoms on the bottom of the home screen, sort of like a "quick launch" as seen in Windows. Is there anything else I'm missing?
I'm mainly confused about what Rosie is. I've installed some Roms that include Rosie, but I have no idea what it does or how to use it. The only thing I've seen is that there was a Rosie button on the bottom right of my home screen, which would open up one app that I assign that button to. And when I go into the Rosie settings from my app drawer, the only thing I can change is what program that one button opens. I think I'm missing something here, but Rosie seems pointless.
Also, is it worth it buying the paid version of Launcher Pro? Or do some custom ROMs include a mod of launcher pro that you don't need to pay for?
Thanks!
Rosie is what the sense launcher you got when you got your phone.
Launcherpro is basically just another home, which will replace rosie if you decide to make it your default home. No Roms will include the paid version of launcherpro and I highly recommend you to buy it to support the dev.
bomber889 said:
Rosie is what the sense launcher you got when you got your phone.
Launcherpro is basically just another home, which will replace rosie if you decide to make it your default home. No Roms will include the paid version of launcherpro and I highly recommend you to buy it to support the dev.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info.
Is Launcher Pro generally considered better than Rosie and what most seasoned Android users would use?
stojakapimp said:
Thanks for the info.
Is Launcher Pro generally considered better than Rosie and what most seasoned Android users would use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all about preference. Launcher Pro is very easily customized while Rosie is pretty much the same on every device (albeit there are differences with each Sense version). Launcher Pro is a lot leaner because it doesn't come with all that Sense baggage and I prefer it to other home replacements when using AOSP roms.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
stojakapimp said:
Thanks for the info.
Is Launcher Pro generally considered better than Rosie and what most seasoned Android users would use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all really what you like and don't. LP is very nice and cinfigurable, bit its all in personal preference.
There are also a few other launchers out there worth checking out.
SPB Shell 3D
ADW EX
Regina
Zeam
GO Launcher
QuickDesk
Just need to pick the best one for you & your needs.
I use Go launcher. Has the quick launch bar on the bottom nice features and its free. Be aware you cant use sense widgets with an aftermarket launcher
I also use Go Launcher EX, was using Zeam but needed something more customizable.
But as stated before.... It's your preference
is there a way to modify Rosie to allow changes to the 3 icons on the bottom of the launcher? switch out the personalize icon for handcent?
is there a way to remove pages from the rosie launcher?
I love the profiles feature that senseui brings but I hate the fact that you only get two dock buttons. Are there any launchers that are as robust as sense or GO Launcher that also offer profiles?
LauncherPro paid version is definitively worth it.
I use Go launcher,but adw too good
ADW EX has been updated with more Honeycomb tweeks.
http://jbthemes.com/anderweb/2011/08/adwlauncher-ex-1-3-3-1/#more-432
The ADW icon has been changed to an app launcher! Hurray!
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.adwfreak.launcher
so happy adw icon is gone
I have been playing around with it for an hour now trying to decide if I want my default home to be the new updated adw ex or stick with my setup on launcher pro.
I think I am going to keep it as the default launcher. Right now the biggest hurdle is figuring out how many columns and rows the desktop needs to be set at.
Might be switching back to adw ex
I think the new dock and less force closes will have me moving back to adw ex, not having that icon is nice too.
hey, i just got it, and i cant figure something out. I used wallpaper wizardii for wallpapers on stock launcher, but on adw now, those same pics don't seem to fill the screen. Anything else I need to do to get them to scale?
I don't know, but Gallery is working for me.
Wow, making a Tablet look pretty is waaaaay harder than a phone.
Difficult Decision
I have customization syndrome. Every time I pick up my tab I have to change the layout somehow. With the new update to adw ex I want to use it as my default launcher but it still has a ton of space that is left unused on the top, bottom and sides. But it runs so smooth.
So I am stuck, keep the space and launcher pro Widgets or have less screen to work with but have a completely smooth experience with adw ex? I also am totally in love with the adw ex app drawer with the 4d.
Finaaally
Trying it out right now
sorry
Have to disable the main dock and use secondary dock as main dock in order to have use of the full screen on the sides.
Now I just have to figure out how to get my launcher pro bookmarks widget over to adw ex and I am good to go.
new version is great.
Thanks for developing it to a useful launcher on tablets.
I couldn't think it was possible but it is again smoother than before ...... hurray
widgets like youtube and market dont work well on it
I don't know what I am doing wrong, but every time I hit the home button it reverts back to TW. I thought setting the home button binding option would fix this but it didn't. Any suggestions? Anyone else having this problem?
Go to Applications, Manage, All, find Launcher, then Reset Defaults, then press the Home Icon, you'll be able to pick your launcher of choice.
Thank you. Not sure how I missed that.
You can't it is built into the launcher code. I installed and purchased Wizard Widgets from the market.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using XDA Premium App
Live2Follow said:
ADW EX has been updated with more Honeycomb tweeks.
http://jbthemes.com/anderweb/2011/08/adwlauncher-ex-1-3-3-1/#more-432
The ADW icon has been changed to an app launcher! Hurray!
https://market.android.com/details?id=org.adwfreak.launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a trial version of ADW EX? I can't find one.
TabGuy said:
Is there a trial version of ADW EX? I can't find one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont think so.
BTW Is it me or is scrolling through screen unresponsive at times ?
Seems like you need a long gesture to get it to switch. A smaller "fling" results in a bounce only but stays on same screen.
Is there a setting for this ?
Looks great. Would like to have a trail.
the stock launcher for sgs2 is touch widz.
i'm used to it and did not find anything seriously wrong with it.
due to curiosity, i tried out other launcher such as launcher pro. go launcher. zeam launcher, adw launcher.
many users like to support their favourite launcher, and often bash at other launchers.
but honestly i feel they are all very similar. just some minor difference.
non of them are perfect to me,
launcher pro: epic fail due to vertical scrolling app tray, hard to find the app i want. cant create folder in app tray
adw launcher: cant create folder in app tray, otherwise very similar to launcher pro. at least got horizontal app tray
go launcher: nice effects, able to create folder in app tray, but battery drain, so fail
touch widz: very nice, but has bug, apps in folder gets rearanged randomly each reboot
zeam launcher: cant make folder in app tray
so finally i'm using touch widz. it has a neat trick as well to be able to pinch to zoom at the app tray, not useful, but nice effect.
despite the problems i find in other famous launcher, they are still highly popular.
is there some other goodness that i miss out?
or is there some major flaw in touch widz that i dont know of?
please enlighten me.
(tell me the hidden pros of other launcher, or fatal weakness of touch widz)
apparently it's the "hip" or "in" thing to do.
just go with what you want. I personally prefer touchwiz as well.
There is no flaw with twlncher. After u modify something in app drawer, u need to press menu > save to keep the changes after reboot.
Twlauncher is my fav launcher, I tried 10+ other launchers, but twlauncher is the best to my liking.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
I don't hate TouchWiz.
I actually do like it, there's a lot of good things about it and things I like better when compared to the "original" Android launcher.
I prefer GoLauncherEx though (it's what I use on my "daily use setup") because it gives me even more options for customizing my launching and app browsing experience - for one I love cusomizing my stuff and I am also one of those with like 4398 icons on their desktop (and similar as much apps on their homescreen) so the 7 screens of TouchWiz are just not enough for me and GoLauncherEx allows me to use virtually unlimited screens.
my 2ct
Stick with what you like. It's the only thing that matters, not the opinions of others (Esp deluded fanboys).
PS - I do NOT prefer TW, but, that's my opinion.
Ray1 said:
the stock launcher for sgs2 is touch widz.
i'm used to it and did not find anything seriously wrong with it.
due to curiosity, i tried out other launcher such as launcher pro. go launcher. zeam launcher, adw launcher.
many users like to support their favourite launcher, and often bash at other launchers.
but honestly i feel they are all very similar. just some minor difference.
non of them are perfect to me,
launcher pro: epic fail due to vertical scrolling app tray, hard to find the app i want. cant create folder in app tray
adw launcher: cant create folder in app tray, otherwise very similar to launcher pro. at least got horizontal app tray
go launcher: nice effects, able to create folder in app tray, but battery drain, so fail
touch widz: very nice, but has bug, apps in folder gets rearanged randomly each reboot
zeam launcher: cant make folder in app tray
so finally i'm using touch widz. it has a neat trick as well to be able to pinch to zoom at the app tray, not useful, but nice effect.
despite the problems i find in other famous launcher, they are still highly popular.
is there some other goodness that i miss out?
or is there some major flaw in touch widz that i dont know of?
please enlighten me.
(tell me the hidden pros of other launcher, or fatal weakness of touch widz)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it seems you're judging launchers on a very limited number of criterion. creating folders on homescreens, included widgets and themes, ability to configure and modify themes, and widget resizing are just a few other factors. i use 'Go' and battery drain is not an issue for me at all, actually, at (on average) <10mA consumption it tested better than the others for me. but these are mostly subjective evaluations.
also, TW and other stock launchers for other phones (i.e. Sense) are NOT evil. actually, i really like sense. but often stock launchers mean tolerating other stock crapware, and that's not something i was willing to do.
those are my thoughts and opinions...but when it comes down to it, the user-interface affects the user-experience. which again is not objective.
trying to convince someone that the TW launcher (or Go, or whatever launcher) is better than another is like trying to convince someone that chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla.
Ray1 said:
epic fail due to vertical scrolling app tray
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you consider that feature a epic fail? I personally prefer it since horizontal paging is to slow. I use vertical with Zeam launcher since with horizontal I have to swipe my finger over my screen repeatedly (anything over 4 times starts to feel like a waste of time)
With vertical I flick once and it scrolls the whole way and at any time I can press my finger to stop it in the middle. Or smoothly scroll slower.
1 second vs 10 seconds to get to the end of the list.
But I am not trying to force the feature I think all launchers should provide the toggle-able option after all that is why I like Android, the options.
ADW Launcher EX is what I use as my daily driver and is by far the smoothest I have used.
I find TW the less responsive of them all and customization is just none existent. It's a good launcher to say it came stock with the SII but for people like me who like to customize their launchers and the overall experience, TW is simply not enough.
My top 5:
1) ADW Launcher EX
2) LauncherPro Plus
3) Go Launcher EX
4) Zeam Launcher
5) Nemus Launcher
Rizur.