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Hey...
I love Sense UI, but for the last 5 days I have been running froyo and wanted to find an alternate Home Launcher. After downloading several free ones I have come by 2 that i like..
The first one is Zeam--There are settings to allow you make the home screen go full screen which removes the status bar and you can have 9 screens.
The second one is Tag Home Launcher--It has a nice launcher and lets you set the transparency on certain things.
I also want to know what launcher you prefer and why. Please don't say Sense.
ADW launcher or try LauncherPro
Launcher Pro. 3-7 screens, scrollable dockbar, pretty smooth, nice app drawer. The only downside is Sense widgets don't work in it, if you use those a lot.
killerxx2 said:
ADW launcher or try LauncherPro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Had ADW Launcher, but found the ones I mentioned before and liked it better. I am going to post some screen shots of them. They are nice. I'm running froyo which is an AOSP ROM. No Sense.
I've tried ADW and LP in the past, but for some reason I keep going back to Helix. It's pretty responsive and is nice and clean.
Home++ in the market seems to be pretty good. Seems to be faster than Zeam.. up to 7 screens and has a nice powerbar at the bottom.
IMO its between launcherpro and adw. Check any poll on this site and you'll see everyone else agrees. i personally use and lover launcherpro (3d gallery, fast, 3-7 screens, scrollable widgets, pinch to zoom home screens, 5 row home screens, dock shortcuts, and the list goes on and on lol even though this one is long enough)
Tried 'em all. LauncherPro wins for 1 reason only (for me, anyway) - 5 rows of icons on the home screens!
Just put launcher pro on. I like it. It might be the one to keep.
typeadam said:
Tried 'em all. LauncherPro wins for 1 reason only (for me, anyway) - 5 rows of icons on the home screens!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ADW has this as well. I like LPb though the best. He keeps coming up with new sweet features. Love the scrolling dock bar. 3d app drawer could use some help. Just seemed clunky for me...but it was alright.
ADW FTW. The gestures alone make it better. Plus, its open source so you can do whatever you want to it.
daPorkchop said:
ADW has this as well. I like LPb though the best. He keeps coming up with new sweet features. Love the scrolling dock bar. 3d app drawer could use some help. Just seemed clunky for me...but it was alright.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here I prefer launcherpro to ADW. I like how customizable the dock is in launcherpro, you can have the dots just like ADW or you can have all icons. I know you maybe able to do the same with ADW since its open source but customizing on launcherpro is so simple.
Try Launcher Pro. Trust me it is good!
UnknownDude said:
Try Launcher Pro. Trust me it is good!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You fail for resurrecting a year old thread, and all you added was crap people said a year ago....
Zeam FTW or Launcher7 for something different
all of us have different needs,
why don't u install all the launchers you are considering and test all of them and finally choose your launcher.
i use adw launcher ex runs smooth with alot of eye candy and settings to play with just my 2 cents
I have no idea what people are complaining about. This UI is even better than HTC Sense, IMO, and manages to one up even the super simple to use iPhone UI.
- Slide the screen to unlock. Brilliant.
- Easily rearrange icons and programs.
- Music player has drop-down interface on locked home screen.
- Notifications drop down has WiFi/BT/Silent/Vibe settings built in.
- I can add/remove pages! I just want 3 pages? Done. Simple.
- Camera loads INSTANTLY. The Droid X (I returned) was so slow to load.
- Memo program! Thanks!
- My Files file manager, no need to download AndExplorer
and it's easily as snappy as the iPhone4. Every other Android phone (except the Aria for some reason) was obviously slower than the iPhone when it came to navigating the interface. This phone is smooth as silk at all times. BETTER than the iPhone.
Am I alone here or what?
I agree. It's actually usable once I removed the Samsung widgets from my homescreens to reduce the lag. I like the custom options available with LauncherPro and the additional dock icons, though. I'm doing battery testing with a few different launchers right now and I'll probably go back to trying Touchwiz again after today.
grinr said:
I have no idea what people are complaining about. This UI is even better than HTC Sense, IMO, and manages to one up even the super simple to use iPhone UI.
- Slide the screen to unlock. Brilliant.
- Easily rearrange icons and programs.
- Music player has drop-down interface on locked home screen.
- Notifications drop down has WiFi/BT/Silent/Vibe settings built in.
- I can add/remove pages! I just want 3 pages? Done. Simple.
- Camera loads INSTANTLY. The Droid X (I returned) was so slow to load.
- Memo program! Thanks!
- My Files file manager, no need to download AndExplorer
and it's easily as snappy as the iPhone4. Every other Android phone (except the Aria for some reason) was obviously slower than the iPhone when it came to navigating the interface. This phone is smooth as silk at all times. BETTER than the iPhone.
Am I alone here or what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is MY first android device.. Coming from a old sidekick, then windows mobile, then iphone 3g, this is my first step towards android.
As far as the interface, I've used other Android devices before and the experience wasn't so hot. The Galaxy S is not only fast, but has tons of options. The UI is simple, fast, and easy to manage.
The only thing that I don't like is all the bloatware that ATT puts on the phone.
I agree.
Touch wiz adds so many nice little tweaks that add up to big improvements. I love everything in your list and would like to add the amazing brightness control by swyping the top bar.
I saw the screenshots for Touchwiz before I bought the phone was was convinced that it'd be the first thing to go. In fact, simply because of the dock at the bottom I was still convinced I was going to drop it when I picked up the phone. then I discovered that you can change which applications show up on the dock! It's so much more customizable than I had previously thought, and it's not as laggy as I imagined it would have been. And it really does have a lot of nice little tweaks. I'm quite happy with it.
You're definitely not alone. I too thought I was going to replace touchwiz, but I find it to be smooth and awesome! I was just about to make a duplicate thread of this one asking who kept touchwiz.
Add another these your list:
You can rearrange pages.
Swype to call/txt
Touch top dots to swap screens.
I like the status bar music player and wireless toggles. That is the perfect place to put them. I like the transparent sliding lockscreen, and the music player on the lock screen.
I thought the side scrolling of the applications would be annoying, but then I realized that it unifies the mechanism of icon pages. The home screen has pages for all homescreen apps. Why not simplify it and make pages for the applications too? You don't use the applications button often anyway as much as your homescreen. The only thing I don't like is the random color backgrounds. They could've left those out.
I don't use any samsung widgets and it's TW is faster than Launcherpro and on the same tier as ADW.
I do need to use a better file explorer though, myfiles is a bit too basic. You should try ES explorer since astro has ads now. File operations, views, and etc. are perfect.
This is also my first Android phone (had 3G and 3GS before), but as far as I can tell, almost none of the things you guys like are Touchwiz-specific. They are just Android features or apps.
Touchwiz is the homescreen manager. Replace it with Launcher Pro and you'll see what changes (and also see the 95% that stays the same).
I use Launcher Pro because it 1) is quick to swipe between screens, with no stutter; 2) has the ability to "pinch" the screen or hit the Home button to do a mac-like "expose" of all the home screens for fast switching to the exact page you want; 3) has the ability to have the 3D Apps drawer, which is much better than the dumb iPhone-like one (and don't even get me started on the "alphabetical list" that only shows one column of apps); and 4) the bottom icon bar can hold up to 15 launchers that you can swipe back and forth from any screen.
You can still swipe the notification bar for brightness, music player works the same, the lock screen is the same, all the apps that come on the phone are still there and accessible, you can customize it exactly the same as the Touchwiz homescreen...basically everything mentioned is the same. Except Launcher Pro is faster, easier to use, and prettier. Yes, you lose the Samsung widgets, but they all have replacements in the market.
only loss i see is the media from lock screen. I can live without it. Just try launcher pro a maybe u will feel the diff in speed or maybe u will sacrifice some speed for pretty widgets.
caelestis2 said:
You're definitely not alone. I too thought I was going to replace touchwiz, but I find it to be smooth and awesome! I was just about to make a duplicate thread of this one asking who kept touchwiz.
Add another these your list:
You can rearrange pages.
Swype to call/txt
Touch top dots to swap screens.
I like the status bar music player and wireless toggles. That is the perfect place to put them. I like the transparent sliding lockscreen, and the music player on the lock screen.
I thought the side scrolling of the applications would be annoying, but then I realized that it unifies the mechanism of icon pages. The home screen has pages for all homescreen apps. Why not simplify it and make pages for the applications too? You don't use the applications button often anyway as much as your homescreen. The only thing I don't like is the random color backgrounds. They could've left those out.
I don't use any samsung widgets and it's TW is faster than Launcherpro and on the same tier as ADW.
I do need to use a better file explorer though, myfiles is a bit too basic. You should try ES explorer since astro has ads now. File operations, views, and etc. are perfect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also dislike the random colored backgrounds, in the app drawer. Does anyone know where those graphic files are? I want to replace the images with straight black images so they will blend into the app drawer background seemlessly.
They are the only reason I will not use TW. I hate those damn backgrounds.
chvybeatsford said:
only loss i see is the media from lock screen. I can live without it. Just try launcher pro a maybe u will feel the diff in speed or maybe u will sacrifice some speed for pretty widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still have the music player access from the lock screen, with Launcher Pro. Just use the music player, lock the phone, hit the power button, drag the little half-cd icon down, and good to go.
You lost that?
k2snowboards88 said:
Touch wiz adds so many nice little tweaks that add up to big improvements. I love everything in your list and would like to add the amazing brightness control by swyping the top bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG, can't believe I didn't notice that before. That's awesome.
I have to say I am also impressed with the Touch Wiz UI. I am coming from a sense device and was very unimpressed with HTC Sense. That UI kind of took over the phone. TouchWiz doesn't really take over much it just adds some kewl extra options.
asrrin29 said:
I saw the screenshots for Touchwiz before I bought the phone was was convinced that it'd be the first thing to go. In fact, simply because of the dock at the bottom I was still convinced I was going to drop it when I picked up the phone. then I discovered that you can change which applications show up on the dock! It's so much more customizable than I had previously thought, and it's not as laggy as I imagined it would have been. And it really does have a lot of nice little tweaks. I'm quite happy with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you change the applications on the dock. I can't find it.
KewlRobD said:
How do you change the applications on the dock. I can't find it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you must go into the applications menu, and press the menu button, and change the ViewType to "Customizable Grid" Then you can hit the menu button again, and press Edit, and it will allow you to delete icons, rearrange icons, and drag them to the app dock.
asrrin29 said:
you must go into the applications menu, and press the menu button, and change the ViewType to "Customizable Grid" Then you can hit the menu button again, and press Edit, and it will allow you to delete icons, rearrange icons, and drag them to the app dock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks my friend. I liked the applications layout so I had not bothered going into the edit menu.
autoxer said:
This is also my first Android phone (had 3G and 3GS before), but as far as I can tell, almost none of the things you guys like are Touchwiz-specific. They are just Android features or apps.
Touchwiz is the homescreen manager. Replace it with Launcher Pro and you'll see what changes (and also see the 95% that stays the same).
I use Launcher Pro because it 1) is quick to swipe between screens, with no stutter; 2) has the ability to "pinch" the screen or hit the Home button to do a mac-like "expose" of all the home screens for fast switching to the exact page you want; 3) has the ability to have the 3D Apps drawer, which is much better than the dumb iPhone-like one (and don't even get me started on the "alphabetical list" that only shows one column of apps); and 4) the bottom icon bar can hold up to 15 launchers that you can swipe back and forth from any screen.
You can still swipe the notification bar for brightness, music player works the same, the lock screen is the same, all the apps that come on the phone are still there and accessible, you can customize it exactly the same as the Touchwiz homescreen...basically everything mentioned is the same. Except Launcher Pro is faster, easier to use, and prettier. Yes, you lose the Samsung widgets, but they all have replacements in the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touch wiz is not just a homescreen manager. Launcher pro is just a homescreen manager. When you load launcher pro you still get all of touch wiz's small and useful enhancements that wouldn't be available on vanilla android.
k2snowboards88 said:
Touch wiz is not just a homescreen manager. Launcher pro is just a homescreen manager. When you load launcher pro you still get all of touch wiz's small and useful enhancements that wouldn't be available on vanilla android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, all our points are valid to touchwiz. If you say they stay with launcher pro, thats because touchwiz is still running.
If you don't like sidescrolling appplication then why do you sidescroll homescreens?
Edit: Oh one more thing to add to the list:
Music player has virtual surround sound that makes a noticeable difference!
I also much prefer the tw launcher over any of the others I have tried. I have tried pretty much all of them too. I like the way the app drawer works. I like that when you select an app, then return to the app drawer, it remembers where you were. I also like the sliding setup vs an app drawer that just scrolls up or down. The icon backgrounds make it easier for me to see the apps and find them.
There are a lot of other nice touches to the overall Android experience as well. The changes they made to the corporate mail client are great. I also like the changes to the notification bar and I really like the lock screen.
Not to mention how the Black/Blue theme looks over the standard, nasty looking Android theme. Everything from the dialer to the status bar is a major improvement(not a detraction) over stock Android. But it's still not as obtrusive as Sense.
I'm liking TW as well, however from a launcher perspective I much more prefer the Launcher Pro (Expose`, the 3D App Drawer, customizable icons, etc).
I agree, after i got rid of the samsung widgets and went to a normal wallpaper and it doesnt lag at all.
is the launcher the the same as the stock android launcher? if not could someone post it. thanks
Samsungs own I think, I use Launcher Pro though.
The stock launcher is TouchWiz. Its very good, smoother than launcherpro. And has a superior app drawer. I would use it if not for launcherpros customisation options.
Edit: i especially like the homescreen scrollong method in touchwiz, its much cooloer than lps elastic scrolling!
couldn't agree more!
For information: ADW.Launcher works well on the Tab too, no issues with the high resolution.
I'm using it rather than the stock TouchWiz one mostly so that I can customise the Browser and Email launch buttons. It has some extra nice touches, but can be configured to behave almost exactly like TouchWiz.
Launcher Pro is fast but its application drawer is very limited (it basically dumps a huge scrolling list of icons). Touchwiz is reasonably nice, but managing hundreds of application icons remains hard, despite the "move icon" feature in the application drawer. ADW.Launcher however, provides separate "groups" / "catalogs" panes to divide the application drawer into several distinct buckets of smaller size, which makes it a lot easier to find applications. I just hate browsing endless list of alphabetically-ordered icons
As for QuickDesk, it has some potential, but it is somewhat locked to portrait mode on my Galaxy Tab I am using it anyway as it plays nice with ADW.Launcher (the Home button gets hacked to support single/double tap and launch each of them individually).
Quickdesk pro has landscape support. It also acts as a completely different screen to portrait, so you can have FB/Twitter/music widgets in portrait and loads of icons in landscape
Sent from my HTC Desire
Hi, is it necessary to root the Tab before installing ADW.launcher?
Because I have tried installing it on my non-rooted Tab but the application doesn't want to install...
I'm using it rather than the stock TouchWiz one mostly so that I can customise the Browser and Email launch buttons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can replace these in the stock launcher!
Regards,
Dave
It's funny. Even though TouchWiz 3.0 comes on the Vibrant, I couldn't stand it. So, I use Launcher Pro Plus. On the Tab, I actually like it. It must have been much improved since then?
After testing several launchers, I have now become a fan of ADW.Launcher (mostly due to its categorization feature in the apps drawer) and QuickDesk (due to its quick-access to recent apps, and the ability to long-click to get to the app details, clear data, uninstall, etc.) I like how configurable everything is as well.
Remove Notification Bar
Hi guys,
Got the Tab yesterday and like it a lot. I don't like Samsumg's Touchwiz etc. so straight away I installed Launcher Pro and changed my home-screen etc.
Anyhow, I want to remove or at least stop the ever present notification strip appearing at the top. I had a Nexus One and was able to do this but can't remember how, can it be done on the tab as its wasting space on my homescreen, in the browser etc.
Cheers,
M
One the home screen, click the Menu button, Settings, Appearance Settings, Hide notification bar.
I kinda like TouchWiz. Mainly for the widgets which come in handy, but i absolutely love ADW. It may not have the widgets that LPP has, but imho, its 100x better.
Then QuickDesk Pro for the long press on thevsearch button to top it off
Sent from my GT-P1000
GANJDROID said:
I kinda like TouchWiz. Mainly for the widgets which come in handy, but i absolutely love ADW. It may not have the widgets that LPP has, but imho, its 100x better.
Then QuickDesk Pro for the long press on thevsearch button to top it off
Sent from my GT-P1000
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ADW.Launcher + QuickDesk => great combo !
I use the home button for both of them (using the "hack" setting for double-click support). Long-press on the Search button indeed brings up a few options, including AudioVolumizer (very useful).
ftgg99 said:
The stock launcher is TouchWiz. Its very good,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agree with that. & question - Tabs in Russian retail doesnt have Readers and Media Hub, or is it just mine? I have a wicked bookstore instead)
As ADW EX is available in the market if you search with the asus
Has anyone tried laucherpro plus?
I kow it's only $3 but i still dont wnat to try it and find it crashes.
I tried LauncherPro Plus. it doesn't take advantage of the large screen size enough for me... it does work though.
Putzy said:
it doesn't take advantage of the large screen size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neither does the standard launcher, i'm missing one column each side of the screen in landscape
Can i adjust numbers of columns and rows?
Can i adjust/change icons?
I'm asking these questions here as even on their own website doesn't tell you
You're not missing a column as such.... what you'll notice if you turn the launcher into portrait mode that there simply isn't enough space to show those extra 'columns.
Still... thinking about the lack of settings in normal Google launchers on previous versions of Android, I wouldn't get too excited that you'll be able to change the number of columns/rows.
I'm fairly optimistic that when the Honeycomb source is finally released someone will be able to mod the launcher code and get a few more settings in there.
Forgot, can i get rid of the dockbar?
On LauncherPro? I don't know if its possible.
Launcher Pro does take up the entire screen, you just need to modify the settings as it was made for phones. You need to change the columns and rows setting to 10. The application drawer icons may look a little spaced out though but not a big deal. You can use Circle Launcher widgets or something similar so you do not have to even use app drawer. Here is my Xoom using Launcher Pro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiZ5EmP8h_o&feature=channel_video_title
I love launcherpro but you loose functionality on the desktop when going with it. You loose the trash can when wanting to delete desktop items and some of the honeycomb menu buttons.
Not quite there yet needs a rewrite for honeycomb to be a true contender.
logichoops said:
I love launcherpro but you loose functionality on the desktop when going with it. You loose the trash can when wanting to delete desktop items and some of the honeycomb menu buttons.
Not quite there yet needs a rewrite for honeycomb to be a true contender.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you drag an icon, a trash appears and if you hold the icon over the trash for a moment, an uninstall option appears. You can add the Application drawer icon to the top of the dock on the right side which is pretty close to Honeycomb launcher. You do lose the + option to add widgets, wallpaper etc. I do agree, I would like a more Honeycomb optimized version and have already commented to the developer requesting this but I find it works well for now.
Here's another alternative, its a ADW based launcher made for tablets. I use it on my Viewsonic G Tab, its pretty slick.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1017451
Please don't ruin your tablet with a launcher for a phone. Completely takes away the look of honyc which is beautiful. ... for that get a viewsonic gtab .. what's wrong with honeyc launcher. Its great. Widget are great well at least on my Acer ....that youtube video xoom looks sooooo overloaded with those phone widgets.
sent from my Acer iconia using TT
Which launcher works best with the Edge? I'm currently using Nova, just wondering what you guys/gals are using or recommend other than TWiz.
I'm using Apex. I like it because it will rotate in landscape mode. Useful for when mounted in the car.
Im using nova
Apex
im using Aviate
I am shuffling between Nova and Toch Wiz
On Nova you dont get the complete edge experience meaning as soon you are on nova launcher the edge screen hides into your customized text screen. Edge screen is only activated once you swipe over it and then when you click anywhere on the main homescreen the edge screen disappears again
Is this happening for all Nova launchers user? does this happen on all 3rd party launchers?
that's been my experience thus far with Nova...............so kind of why I posted this thread, to see which Launcher works best with the Edge panel.
Nova, because I always have and it has great customization for larger devices
NEXT launcher works great on mine!!!
Folks might consider ss launcher. Seems to be working ok on my edge. It is very customizable. Some things I especially like about it is that the applications page scrolls vertically so you can just flick through them, The icons on the screen can be added without grid so you can have as many rows and columns as you like (although you have to take a little time to make sure they line up well). The actual screen size can be expanded vertically so you can scroll up to see hidden stuff that does not initally appear in the window. For example you could stick extra icons, a calander or message widget that you scroll vertically to get to. Also each screen, landscape and portrait can be customized seperately. It's not perfect but and takes a little effort, but, for me it is worth it. Also when you first run it I has a lot of clutter on the screen to indicate some of its capability but all that can be removed so you can design it the way you like.
Apex work fines on my edge.
The problem with all 3rd party launchers is the edge panel which does not activate on its own when you unlock the phone that's only working on TW for now...
I like Nova along with Swapps ... the dock is on the right side and app drawer is on the left side.
It was pointed out in another thread that using a non-TW launcher also prevents the shortcut icons on the edge panel from updating their counts. If that's not a problem, be sure to get your notification counts down to zero, otherwise your icons will always have the number when you switched. I noticed it with my email program, where the edge panel had a different number overlay than the one in the Nova launcher screen. It wasn't until I ran the TW launcher again that the numbers matched up.
troycarpenter said:
It was pointed out in another thread that using a non-TW launcher also prevents the shortcut icons on the edge panel from updating their counts. If that's not a problem, be sure to get your notification counts down to zero, otherwise your icons will always have the number when you switched. I noticed it with my email program, where the edge panel had a different number overlay than the one in the Nova launcher screen. It wasn't until I ran the TW launcher again that the numbers matched up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh. I've used Apex and Flow Home and my icons on the favorites panel still show the correct "unread" or "missed calls" count. Never had an issue here.
Nova launcher working like a champ as usual.
Sent from my SM-N915V using XDA Free mobile app
Launcher with Note Edge
mscion said:
Folks might consider ss launcher. Seems to be working ok on my edge. It is very customizable. Some things I especially like about it is that the applications page scrolls vertically so you can just flick through them, The icons on the screen can be added without grid so you can have as many rows and columns as you like (although you have to take a little time to make sure they line up well). The actual screen size can be expanded vertically so you can scroll up to see hidden stuff that does not initally appear in the window. For example you could stick extra icons, a calander or message widget that you scroll vertically to get to. Also each screen, landscape and portrait can be customized seperately. It's not perfect but and takes a little effort, but, for me it is worth it. Also when you first run it I has a lot of clutter on the screen to indicate some of its capability but all that can be removed so you can design it the way you like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Apex Launcher and it works great with the Edge!!!
Hi. I have a butt load of launchers that I've paid for. The Biggest problem is that my 3 favorites all have issues. I have the official Samsung case. It causes Nova to crash once and awhile when opening the case. When I open the case using apex launcher, sometimes it has somehow half a homepage as if it were in midscroll. Adw seems to work but I miss my transparent notification bar. Sticking to touchwiz for now. I kinda forgot to try the oldie launcher pro.
I've been using the Google Now Launcher. I think it's great give it a try, you might like it
Can someone give a little more information on the GoogleNow Launcher, maybe with some screen shots? I've been eyeing both the Nexus 6 and the Note Edge. Love the hardware on the edge, but I love the look and animations of lollipop on the 6. Wasn't sure how well the Google now launcher replicates the smoothness and animations of stock android, and would love some feedback and thoughts!