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So... I'm trying to slowly step away from Sense as Im beginning to really get frustrated with the lag and the memory hogging.
I'd like to use the Helix Launcher, or something simliar... but I can't really find any good widgets!
Like, I love the HTC clock/weather. I've tried "Beautiful Widgets" but its really not so beautiful for $2.
So, let this kind of be a "post some screenshots" of your favorite widgets.
I love to show off my phone, and making the phone's UI both efficient and sexy at the same time.
However the stock android widgets are just plain as hell, and the Market is as you all know impossible to browse through.
poor_red_neck said:
So... I'm trying to slowly step away from Sense as Im beginning to really get frustrated with the lag and the memory hogging.
I'd like to use the Helix Launcher, or something simliar... but I can't really find any good widgets!
Like, I love the HTC clock/weather. I've tried "Beautiful Widgets" but its really not so beautiful for $2.
So, let this kind of be a "post some screenshots" of your favorite widgets.
I love to show off my phone, and making the phone's UI both efficient and sexy at the same time.
However the stock android widgets are just plain as hell, and the Market is as you all know impossible to browse through.
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Click to collapse
beautiful widgets are perfect.. I think some ppl here even use them over the htc clock even when using sense.. There are tonss of skins to choose from, you just have to download them (from the app, without having to install any extra app). And it also includes all the toggles like wifi and it even has a smaller version of the clock that takes less room
I'm gonna vote BW as well. After downloading a nice theme from inside the app, this thing beats the crap out of the HTC clock any day (for me anyways). Other than that, I don't really know. I would like to hear of some other nice widgets to use
mixzing music player has an awesome music widget and its free defintely recommend
Jus10o said:
beautiful widgets are perfect
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+10000 10char
Thousands?
When I was browsing through the clock widgets I only found like 30 or so... wouldn't load anything else after that.
Maybe I'll give it another shot I guess. Only $2 right?
i wouldnt mind going vanilla if there was anything similiar to the bookmark widget, my most used widget. also, i just LOVE the htc weather clock widget with the animations, BW doesnt offer that (i know about the animations upon entering the app, but its not the same as weather animation wallpapers)
poor_red_neck said:
Thousands?
When I was browsing through the clock widgets I only found like 30 or so... wouldn't load anything else after that.
Maybe I'll give it another shot I guess. Only $2 right?
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Lol he isnt saying thousands to choose from.. he was saying +10000 to liking BW
1. It's 2 bucks... 2 DOLLARS!
2. The phone is so much snappier running Helix, and ASOP, especially running the IC3 ROM.
I didn't think I would like things without the HTC sense stuff... but it runs so smooth, and the BW gets pretty close to looking just like sense.
I don't see BW as being that great. I feel it is kind of sluggish, which imo doesn't justify going away from Sence. And I have tried it. Don't much like the pure apps either. But it's all choices I guess.
Sense works perfect for me. No sluggishness at all!
Sense is very sluggish for me unless I constantly kill unused apps. I just downloaded Home and Helix, I am going to try both of them with BW, which I downloaded a few weeks ago to use with Launcher PRO.
Here's my home screen.
Running DarchDroid 2.7 with Launcher Pro.
Beautifull Smaller Home Widget, as well as SetCPU, Brightness, and GPS widgets
The simpler the better for me.
Just the People widget is out at this time, but it sounds like more widgets will be coming to LauncherPro Plus soon
http://www.launcherpro.com/
Thanks, jniggle for actually giving the OP what he wanted! Nice home screen, btw!
JTNiggle said:
Here's my home screen.
Running DarchDroid 2.7 with Launcher Pro.
Beautifull Smaller Home Widget, as well as SetCPU, Brightness, and GPS widgets
The simpler the better for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
don't know if you've seen OneClick widgets, but you might try it out. I think you would like the icons next to your other transparent stuff.
mbuchholz
i like mine simple
What is the best or most functional home screen launcher on the market for the Droid X? Not sure witch one to buy.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
I love launcher pro
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
I woulnd't buy anything. I'd with one of the free ones like ADW or Launcher Pro.
Launcher Pro...
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
I love Launcher Pro, which is free. But if you buy Launcher Pro Plus you get some AWESOME widgets, including the Facebook widget which is the best facebook app available IMHO. Also get messaging, twitter, calendar, and people widgets. They are some of the nicest widgets on the market and you get them all while supporting a great developer who is always improving his app.
+1 for LP. Use the free one first, then you will be UPgrading in no time.
picked up launcher pro not sure why many use adw. IMO LP works much better. gl with your choice.
Droid X 7 said:
What is the best or most functional home screen launcher on the market for the Droid X? Not sure witch one to buy.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it really depends on who you talk to. Some like ADW, others (like myself) love or prefer Launcher Pro (or Pro Plus, which is the paid version).
I like LP+ because of the very functional widgets that come with, along with the very nice widget resizer that works on ALL widgets. Both of these features come with the paid version of LP+. What really endeared me to LP+ over ADW was the memory settings. ADW when I tried it really ran my system down into stutter territory. LP+ in stock settings did this, but what it had over and above ADW was the ability to custom tweek its memory settings. I found a balance of settings in LP+ that really allowed it to run lightly on my system and aside from giving it time (say about 10 seconds or so) initially to build the caches on startup and after a long time out of the launcher, it really flies. That's b/c I have it set to load up all its relevant caches first and keep them unless heap memory is needed. That means valuable cpu clock time isn't spent building caches or spent refilling the cache for redrawing when I switch homescreens.
Also, the customizable dock and icons was a major selling point. I also like having the ability to have multiple docks (only running just one right now, but still, I can see future situations where it would be nice to have multiple docks) and have gestures enabled on top of the dock icons, giving each the possibility of an alternate function (doubling the amount of stuff one can launch from the dock.... including custom-programable activities).
I don't know about the responsiveness of the devs for ADW, so don't take this as any statement concerning them, but the developer for LP+ is quite active and listens to his users. His own forum is quite active and he's involved on there, as are his forum mods. Suggestions are listened to, and if viable and practical they are implemented, and we've seen this happen.
So, all in all, I really love LP+ and find it to really be a superior launcher program. The brief time I spent using ADW I felt it was neat but didn't really offer anything that made it shine above LP+, but it did have some flaws that while not deal-breakers collectively or in and of themselves, still essentially turned the balance of favor for me clearly over to LP+.
I prefer LauncherPro. Have used ADW briefly but always go back to LP. Even upgraded to the Plus version.
In the LauncherPro settings under General, I checked the Droid Hack and noticed some apps would hang when I would exit them. Unchecked this option and it improved performance, but there is still some lag sometimes.
Was wondering if anyone can post optimal settings here so we can try them out. I purchased the Pro lisence.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
+1 on LauncherPro Plus! Hard to beat, and the sense type widgets are awesome! I barely miss the sense ui on my incredible.
they are both fantastic. LP widgets (especially themed) and 3d drawer look awesome and another plus with the dock. ADW though i find to be nices scrolling through homescreens and the upswipe to bring up a new osx-like dock is appealing. That being said im running both with ADW as my hard button default home, 10 homescreens between the two of them, LP used for "large" widgets and ADW for shortcuts and smaller widgets. It switches launchers instantly thru dock shortcuts so i wont be getting rid of either one of them. Attempting to skin them 2 different colors isnt going so well tho...
How do you keep your phone from stuttering and lagging running two cpu-demanding launcher setups? With all those screens and the need for quick redraws, your heap memory has GOT to be ready to burst.
I was actually pretty surprised. Android does a pretty damn good job managing resources it seems. I do keep setcpu at 1k all the time unless the screen is off or im under 20%, which is never. That probably helped. I honestly didnt expect it to work this well though
add me up on the LP users...
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
Launcher Pro....no contest. ADW launcher is ok but Cyanogen like to talk @#$%
Launcherpro ftw!!!! never use ADW it is pure crap compared to LP
I am surprised no one has mentioned Zeam. Pretty good. And there is a thread right here on XDA...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=664149
I like some of the settings (swipe up for app drawer, swipe down for taskbar, double tap for dialer etc).
I have LaincherPro+, but right now I am using Zeam.
I’ve been using launcher pro plus since I bought my DX at launch. It's been great and has lots of options to customize the hell out of the phone.
First time I've been impressed by a launcher other than adw or launcher pro.
Very cool app drawer that you long hold to edit all the items in. You can then click the little x's to uninstall appear or move them around to your liking. There is a recent tab in the appear list. As well as a running tab with a kill all button and a kill each app manager.
It scrolls and transitions as smoothly as launcher pro. The desktop has a lot of neat features too. This is one you guys really need to try out. I dunno if it started as an adw knockoff because of the similar look or not. But it is really stable and really unique now.
Needs widget residing and scrollable widget support. But once it gets that it will definitely be the best on the market. And it has already taken over as the default on my phone.
Imma definitely be recommending it to friends and maybe do a writeup on evobenchers
Grab it on the market. Looks like they also male a pretty sweet sms apply that I'm trying out. All their file sizes are so small I love the low memory footprint of the launcher and the sms app. Keepers
defly a good look!! it's like a mashup of ADW, LauncherPro, and MIUIish, and add a little TouchWiz... I like! Very fast and ingenious
That launcher is slick! Thanks for the find!
Yea it does incorporate a lot of good ideas from them all. I hope launcher pro doesn't try to shut them down or anything since they are a payapp
twin001 said:
That launcher is slick! Thanks for the find!
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Np dude. I figured if I just found it today then a lot of people didn't know about it. After all it must have been only a week ago I searched for "launcher" on the market to try out all the knew ones and didn't see this one for some reason. Maybe it is that new, I dunno.
Definitelyhad to spread the word though.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.tencent.qqlauncher&feature=search_result
Has anyone tried this launcher in the market. looks similar to adw just installed it havent played around with it yet. everything looks ok.
I don't know about that launcher specifically but QQ Chat is a (popular) chinese chat app. We could hack it in to our old motorola flip phones back in the day.
Perhaps this is the same chinese company with another knockoff. I'd say it if looks and feels like ADW, why not just use ADW? Go Launcher seems nice too.
[UPDATE]
Looks neat. While supposedly it isn't as customizable as the popular ones, it does offer some neat features. The Contact list Apps Menu looks appealing and some of the other features. Try it out and give us a review!
I don't know about anybody else but I'm currently using the Regina 3D Launcher and live it. Plus you can add extra home screens.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Just installed it, I love it so far!
Good but needs more features.
Sent from my Calculator with Android.
I love the app menu in list mode... Just doesn't support enough customization for me yet. I think I'll stick with go launcher ex for now, but this is definitely one to watch.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
Tattooed5150 said:
I don't know about anybody else but I'm currently using the Regina 3D Launcher and live it. Plus you can add extra home screens.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I just gave it a try and it is amazing! I love it so far. It is heavy 3d app so I am not sure if it will run smooth on older phones but it runs great on the G2X.
Thanks.
Initial review
Been playing with this for a most of the day now. Here is what I like about it.
Interesting screen transitions, I like the different swipe animations, Fade in is a nice touch, and I really like Cascade. Card is a fun variation of windmill, but with alot of icons, gets sore on the eyes. And Cube is a nice one as well, although it does get a bit laggy. Other than Cubem, they all work pretty good, even with a heavy live wallpaper working in the background.
The app drawer list setting is a huge plus on this. Something that is lacking in GoLauncher (my usual primary) and Launcher pro. It really makes finding your apps easy, and when you have alot, like I do, its great.
Clone Launcher - This is a nice feature, as it pulls whatever you have placed as screens on Launcher Pro into this launcher. It didn't give me the choice to pull GoLauncher, so it might only work with Launcher pro, not sure.
Its a pretty stable, fast and non-laggy UI. I like using it, however, the following items really are why I keep going back to GoLauncher.
Themes - pretty limited in what you can do. You can change wallpapers BUT only what is offered by the theme. You cannot choose from previous wallpapers, and you cant choose any live wallpapers. You have to get into a different launcher and set those up, then return to QQ. Same with Icons, you cant use anything but what is offered by the theme.
With that said about Icons, they are biggger than most launcher, which is a nice bonus.
Dock - your limited to the 5, with the app drawer static. It isn't easy to change them, you have to remove them, and then add, you can't add directly from the current icon. There is no second or third dock drawer, so you can only put your favorite four down there.
Regarding the QQ widgets, you get Task killer and quick switch. Quick switch works fine, but your limited to WiFi, screen brightness, sound settings and GPRS listed in the widget. You can access GPS, flight mode, etc through selecting the widget.
Task killer I am unsure of. When using it with ZDBox, I get different numbers.When I kill idle tasks using QQ, I end with 339M in use. But when I do the same using ZD, I get 233.6M in use. So not sure why the difference.
For my opinion, I like its stability and different screen transitions as well as the app list, and will keep an eye on this. However, by adding more screen customization (wallpapers, icons, live wallpapers) and more dock choices, this could become a really great launcher.
I will check Regina now, see how that works.
A few other things
Alright, forget Regina, couldn't make it work, too buggy.
BUT I do have some more input regarding QQ.
The lock screen rocks! I love the animations it gives while charging, and its a very responsive lock. Best thing is once you activate it and go with a different launcher, it still works!
I do wish we could change the shortcuts. And whenever I choose the down swipe (Home icon), I go to my SMS app, even when it QQ. So there is a bad connection or something along those lines there. Its still something I can live with, and plan to continue using the lock screen!
Lol I don't know why but I like this launcher. How is the lockscreen for everyone. Is it responsive?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
moeahmad1995 said:
Lol I don't know why but I like this launcher. How is the lockscreen for everyone. Is it responsive?
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
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Click to collapse
the launcher honestly was very nice, but too little features for my liking unfortunately.
not enough features, but im keepin the app installed cuz i love that lockscreen!
One last update
So played some more with it and used it for the weekend. here are my last points on it.
Folders - You are limited to 12 apps only. No more. So if you got alot that needs to go in a folder (like I do), you will end up with more folders, more confusion, and more 'which folder has what app' issues. But whats cool is that you can find the classification name by checking the box icon on the right. Nice touch guys!
Lock screen - Again, I can't say enough about this. but now am going to say a little bit more. of all the free lock options out there, this is the only one I have found where the volume keys work when the screen is locked and off. HOWEVER, when you use that volume, the screen will come on (thats ok), but then never turn back off (NOT OK!)
I found out while riding the bus home. Left the office and turned up the music player while phone was still in the case. Didn't look at it until I got off the bus and put it in my car dock. Noticed it was on. thought I did that taking it out of the case, but then I noticed the battery was drained alot more than its supposed to for the ride home.
so did a check, unplugged and player going, with the screen off I turned volume up, screen came on, then never turned off (I gave up waiting after 5 minutes).
My stock lock screen is set to turn the screen off after 10 seconds, and all the other lock screens work with that time, so this really needs to get corrected.
Still hoping for updates to both the lock and the launcher! Don't give up developers!
I use it with my Galaxy S2 & love it. I have the iphone theme for obvious reasons
(check my sig)
---------- Post added at 04:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------
Simer03 said:
not enough features, but im keepin the app installed cuz i love that lockscreen!
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Click to collapse
Same here!!!!!
I like the lock screen. It sticks around after switching back to ADW EX. Keeping it installed to wait for updates.
It's a decent launcher, I normally use ADW Launcher EX though. Ya it does need some more customization and its got a good lock screen.
But I recently tried Go Launcher EX again(stopped using awhile back due to random fc's , updated version seemed to fix it) and their lock screen app Go Locker, is great! They've got the ICS lock screen theme, Sense, an iPhone clone, and a cool Santa Claus themed lock screen just to name a few. It's worth a look for sure
If somebody could take this launcher, add customize-able dock bars, allow themes from Roms (like MIUI or CM) to work properly, and add more customization to the lockscreen (like change applications, torch, etc) I would pay for it in a heartbeat.
I love this launcher but it still lacks features other launchers have, like I can't leave go launcher for this one YET
HOTLANTA, even though its cold ;-)
Their is also an Asian company that produces a launcher named cclauncher. Its supposed to be a 3d type launcher.
Cclauncher ics has some really good ics animations including the app drawer ics animations, almost identical.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Hey everyone, I just wanted to create a thread regarding launchers you all use. Sense is great, but I have to admit that I'm getting a bit bored of it, judging by how I've been using it for months now. I know that Nova Launcher is arguably the most popular one out there, but which launcher do YOU guys prefer and use?
MARIO SHARK said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to create a thread regarding launchers you all use. Sense is great, but I have to admit that I'm getting a bit bored of it, judging by how I've been using it for months now. I know that Nova Launcher is arguably the most popular one out there, but which launcher do YOU guys prefer and use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use nova but basically just to adjust my home screen grid size. The added features are nice and i do use them, but if i could adjust my home screen grid size with sense i pry would stick to that.
camf3xu said:
i use nova but basically just to adjust my home screen grid size. The added features are nice and i do use them, but if i could adjust my home screen grid size with sense i pry would stick to that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gotcha. have you noticed an increase in speed/stability after switching to nova?
MARIO SHARK said:
gotcha. have you noticed an increase in speed/stability after switching to nova?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's fast and stable but so was sense to me
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using XDA Free mobile app
MARIO SHARK said:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to create a thread regarding launchers you all use. Sense is great, but I have to admit that I'm getting a bit bored of it, judging by how I've been using it for months now. I know that Nova Launcher is arguably the most popular one out there, but which launcher do YOU guys prefer and use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova Prime. I try others, and always wind up back on Nova. It just works well.
Have you tried out everythingme launcher, smart launcher 2, or themer? I like the idea of the smart folders, but unsure if they match the quality/features of Nova.
Nova is near perfect. Nothing else I've tried even comes close. My only gripes would be lack of a search function and folder management could be improved.
Nova is pretty much the best. Kevin (TeslaCoil—he's given his real name here) clearly knows his stuff. While I also like Android Does (dev team or pseudonym responsible for Apex), I tested the free versions of both two phones ago, and bought Nova Prime as a direct result.
Android Police did a poll asking if anyone had switched to Google Now Launcher since the Nexus/GPE exclusivity was removed, and one of their commenters told a nice story about how Google Now Launcher made his phone faster. Since I already run Xposed, I grabbed XGELS along with it. And I just might switch.
GNL feels a little more responsive than Nova did, though it's hard to tell. I don't give a damn about animations, so I turned them off in XGELS, and damn GNL moves when I tell it to.
One thing that bothers me a little is that XGELS costs 50¢ more than Nova Prime, and the money doesn't even go to the developer of the launcher. I know, the XGELS developer deserves all the respect he's getting for what he's done, and I know, Google gets a cut of all sales anyway, it still just feels wrong though. Also, getting unread counts requires purchase of a third-party app, which costs a buck and a half. So all told, it's six bucks, versus the four I paid for Nova. And being that I've already paid for Nova, and Nova does everything I want, it's a tough pill to swallow.
Unlike many people, though, I don't consider the cost to value ratio. Like Tim Cook, I don't give a damn about the ROI. Sorry for plugging the enemy, but that statement was awesome. No... I believe in Android as a platform, and when I buy an app, I try to support developers who genuinely care about Android and who are good developers that I want to stick around. And the XGELS developer is a wizard. Four and a half bones is a fair deal. And even the free version of XGELS exposes some interesting settings.
One that stands out to me is the gestures. Nova has them as well, but only a few interest me. Namely, swipe up, swipe down, and double tap. The others are all set to disable. Up is app drawer, down is quick settings, and double tap is voice search. XGELS dispenses with the stupid ones (who's going to remember what two fingers twisted clockwise does vs ccw?) and gives you three zones for up and down. In the free version, you can only set swipe down on the left and on the right. So for me, on the left is Android settings, on the right is Quick settings. Up (only up in the middle is enabled in free) is still app drawer.
GNL+XGELS has a long way to go to reach true feature parity with Nova Prime, but it's getting there, and it's got a few unique ideas of its own that I'm sure Kevin will address down the road, but it's nice to hold the future in your hand now. And it doesn't hurt to support more than one developer pushing the same product. They aren't really competing, per se. They're just trying to make your phone as nice as they can, and we should reward that where and when we can.
I have used a ton of launchers. Currently I am using GoLauncher EX. I quite like it. Second choice is Nova of course and last choice for me is Aviate.
Compare Nova and Apex
I've been using Apex for a while and I'm pretty happy with it. Can anybody suggest any advantages to Nova?
I like the simplicity of KK Launcher. I keep coming back to it. It's sort of like GNL with more options, like grid size.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kk.launcher
Using MIUI. So far used Google Now launcher, Windows, iLauncher, Nova, Aviate. Only windows launcher is not exactly the same as real windows. So far others are good.
Sent from my Moto XT1033
Anyone here on nova prime? Is it worth the purchase?
MARIO SHARK said:
Anyone here on nova prime? Is it worth the purchase?
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Yes. It's arguably the most popular launcher there is, and Prime makes it even better.
just lou said:
Yes. It's arguably the most popular launcher there is, and Prime makes it even better.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I'm currently on nova, and it's been great so far, but what additional features does nova prime offer? I know it describes them in the google play store, but I'm interested in reading how you guys take advantage of Nova prime.
MARIO SHARK said:
Yeah I'm currently on nova, and it's been great so far, but what additional features does nova prime offer? I know it describes them in the google play store, but I'm interested in reading how you guys take advantage of Nova prime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most important: tabs/folders in the app drawer; ability to hide apps. I find the launcher completely unusable without them. I feel almost as if the author excluded it from the free version so people would see how awesome Nova is, but be unable to use it unless they paid.
Others:
• Gestures, mostly for convenience — I swipe down for notifications and up for recent apps, double-tap for the app drawer, two finger swipe up for search (to type in an app name), two finger swipe down for quick settings (not often used as I have my own notification toggles widget).
• Unread Counts — work well. Not necessary, but nice to have.
• Icon Swipes — can cut the number of icons you need on your homescreen in half (e.g. swipe up on camera = gallery), or assign useful functions (swipe up on phone = call home).
MARIO SHARK said:
Anyone here on nova prime? Is it worth the purchase?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prime definitely worth the purchase!
I actually really like using the sense 6 launcher. i keep my screens super minimal so i don't need to resize widgets or anything for the most part. i usually use nova prime but only when i'm running a aosp rom like CM or slimkat but so for been running viper for the last few months and loving the sense launcher
Nova. Sense drawer is terrible. Other options are also nice.
if we could use the sense clock widget on nova, i would use nova launcher for every smartphone i ever purchase.