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Best Launcher To Use

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
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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

[Q] ADW Launcher EX vs. Launcher Pro Plus

I am currently running Launcher Pro Plus on my Aria and love it, but since I have tech ADD, I can't leave well enough alone. In comes ADW Launcher EX, I have tried ADW in the past and preferred LP over it. But with the new EX version, ADW looks tasty. The main reason I stick with LPP is the widgets, does the new ADW EX include widgets or is it just a bunch of fancy effects?
What are your thoughts? Are there any real reasons to migrate to ADW? Has any one else migrated? How do they stack up in your opinion? Just trying to see what others think.

No widgets added in EX, just fancy effects.
Also, keep in mind you'll need ADW Notify just to get notifications of missed calls, texts, emails, etc. While you get that included with LP.
The app draw is another thing that bugs me on EX, the launcher doesn't minimize when in there. It sort of obstructs your view while scrolling in 3d mode.
I wanted to keep EX as my primary but the lack of widgets, the fact that ADW Notify doesn't work with Chomp SMS and the bad implementation of the app draw make me stick with LP.
The effects in EX are very cool, but there's still room for many improvements.

No Widgets...just fancy effects. But they are nice...
I also have more than a bit of ADD (tech and otherwise). I actually purchased both and am also trying to decide which use.

I was kind of tempted to try out ADW EX, but I remembered that Fede is currently in the process of rewriting and updating LP. I have a lot of faith in Fede's abilities and expect new version to be awesome. Besides I love my widgets and popups in LPP.

I, too, have bought both. I only started using Android a few months ago, and I used ADW from the start. After a while I migrated to LPP and I absolutely love it! The widgets make the purchase more than worth it. But of course, with ADW EX being released, I took the plunge. Now I have both and find myself constantly switching back and forth. The effects in EX are just sweet, but the functionality/widgets and speed of LPP keep bringing me back.
What would be really awesome is if we could somehow use LPP's widgets as standalone widgets to use on any launcher. Only then, would I make ADW EX my primary launcher.

syrenz said:
I was kind of tempted to try out ADW EX, but I remembered that Fede is currently in the process of rewriting and updating LP. I have a lot of faith in Fede's abilities and expect new version to be awesome. Besides I love my widgets and popups in LPP.
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I too have faith in Fede...I don't know how far he has gotten with the next LP release but he should definitely include some more effects or something fun in the next release. LP is really nice but I would like it to be more "fun" like ADW. I always liked the fact that ADW can use themes. If EX was free, I would try it out just to see the effects but oh well.

Is it just me or is Launcher Pro much smoother than the regular ADW Launcher when swiping from screen to screen? I'm running it on a Nexus One.

I preferred ADW before and LOVE EX. It may just be a taste thing. I know EX is lightyears faster than the original ADW was, the graphics are incredible, and I find I can make it look the way I want.

Zoide_ said:
Is it just me or is Launcher Pro much smoother than the regular ADW Launcher when swiping from screen to screen? I'm running it on a Nexus One.
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Yep. LPP is leaps and bounds above ADW, and then wait for the re-write. It's gonna be epic, scratch that. It's gonna be EVO! Only because I have one...
-Z

I prefer LPP over ADW EX because ADW EX only has fancy effects and not as much functionality as LPP. I think ADW EX is very cool with the new home screen transitions that it brings, but LPP is currently being rewritten, Fede has promised alot of cool new features and I think when the rewrite is complete it will be leaps and bounds over any other launcher. So I know I won't be switching my launcher from LPP.

I love LPP and EX, paid for both, but am currently using Ex for my daily, I previously tried ADW and HATED it, but EX is so much smoother, and even though I paid for LPP, I pretty much never used any of the widgets, as I didn't like how the Calendar widget worked (you cant longpress on a date and automatically set up an event) so I just have beautiful widgets linked to my calendar, clock, and weather, it's way easier to just press on the date to automatically open the full calendar app.
Once the new Launcher Pro comes out i'll most liekly switch back, but right now i'm an ADW guy!
PS like a few others on here, I have Tech ADD...BAD, and I'm always flashing new roms and mods, so FOR NOW, this is my opinion, could change tomorrow

I prefer LPP because it's much faster and smoother than ADW. Can't wait for the new rewrite of LPP to be released.

i have both adw ex and launcher pro plus and i cant even decide which to use as default but now launcher pro is looking smoother than ever with its updates

I definitely prefer LPP. It's just much smoother and quicker.
I don't use many of the widgets for LPP, though, because most of mine are third-party.

I like lpp for its smoothness and widgets, but adw ex has some awesome effects.... its really a toss up for me ... i just switch back n forth every few days lol

I triel lp and didn't care for it. I just recently switched to Adw.ex from adw. It's great! I don't use many of the fancy flashy flash but it runs much faster and those little thing about adw that annoyed me (no overlapping widgets, weird icon tinting...) are gone. I do love the ability to have folder icons be individual (vs all folders = 1 theme). I want something that runs smooth, and adw.ex doesn't disappoint!
I haven't used the lpp but I have seen the widgets and they're nice... there are apps out there that do the same thing though....
Epic is as Epic does

EX is so much smoother than normal ADW. Its very good. Try it and you'll see.

Launcher Pro has fancy homescreen transition effects now too. I highly prefer it.

Launcher Pro also has the option to hide Apps in drawer. thats one of the reasons I'm sticking with it.

ADW Laucher EX - functional
Launcher Pro Plus - smooth scrolling
I chose ADW Laucher EX

Go launcher (ex), Adw (ex), Open Home, Launcher pro (plus), or more?

which is the best do you think? and if there are more what are they?

i try them all and always go back to launcher pro

I'm a LauncherPro Plus fan myself. I like widget resizing, hiding apps from the launcher, and putting custom icons on my dock. (Note that these things are not exclusive to LauncherPro--it's just that I think LauncherPro's implementation is better).
You should also check out:
GO Launcher
SlideScreen
Zeam
Zune Home/Faded Home
Metro UI/Windows Phone Android
Helix Launcher
Spark*
HE Launcher
Launcher (stock Gingerbread)
Launcher2 (stock Froyo) [NOTE: I'm unsure of the name]
GO LAUNCHER - feature-filled newcomer. It's taken the best features of LauncherPro AND ADW.Launcher. Comes highly recommended by my girlfriend. If you want those features, though, just nab the Plus version of LauncherPro--the features are easier to use.
SLIDESCREEN - great if you have LOTS of incoming information. Displays missed calls, texts, emails, upcoming calendar events, twitter, stock, rss, and facebook all right on your home screen. Very intuitive (but completely non-standard) design. I wish I could use it, but I only average one phone call per day.
ZEAM - a longtime contender in the "fast launchers" category. It's designed to be lightweight and easy on old machines. Fortunately, it does this without giving up features. Widget resizing and gestures are both supported here, competely free.
METRO UI/WINDOWS PHONE ANDROID - gimmicky, fun, and pretty. I most definitely wouldn't recommend them for day-to-day use, but they'll fool all but, well, the kind of people who hang out on XDA.
SPARK* - Spark* is another one of those very non-standard launchers. It'll display news, facebook, twitter, messages, and slew of other things on your home screen. Again, it's great if you want to sift through a lot of information easily. For me, though, it's a bit slow and busy. If I want the news, I can open the news app.
LAUNCHER/LAUNCHER2 - They're exactly what they sound. Launcher is available on the market, and I believe Launcher2 is hidden on XDA somewhere (can't remember exactly where I nabbed it, though). They're feature-starved, but really fun to have. I like to open up the Gingerbread Launcher periodically and remind myself of all the things I love about alternative home replacement apps.
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Unfortunately, I haven't used the following in a very long time, so I can't tell you anything about them. Sorryyyyyyy.
ZUNE HOME/FADED HOME
HELIX LAUNCHER
HE LAUNCHER

I feel like GO launcher EX is a great launcher but just does not fit me, but it can be great for other people.
ADW EX just makes you go oooohhh ahhhhhh with too many settings
I have not tried Launcher Pro Plus.

ADW, Launcher Pro, and many others are for all intents and purposes the same. They're all smooth, they all have great features, updated often enough. It really comes down to personal preference, I started out with the launcher pro beta, then switched to ADW, and have pretty much stuck with it for the last four or five months. Launcher Pro really separates itself from the rest with it's widgets, but since I don't really feel the need to use them, ADW has pretty much done the job for me. Try the launchers Ireyn mentioned, because your own opinion matters much more than ours.

It called dx and That home replcement is the best i tryed an iv tryed all the homes check it out on the store it pretty nifty

I'm gonna have to go with go launcher ex.i started on launcher pro plus then switched to adw ex but go has all if the best features of then both and scrolling is ultra smooth.which if great since I use a lot of widgets so adw lags after a while
Sent from my icy cold glacier freezing every phone in its path

Launcher Pro all the way... Ive tried ADW Ex twice but never gave it a fair shot because i loved LP soo much.

I loved Launcher Pro Plus for a long time, simply for the widgets they added to the paid version. The Facebook widget in perticularly is better that any other Facebook app/widget.... until I found an app called "Colorize Widget". It is a free app in the market that is a collection of widgets very simmilar to the paid "Plus" widgets in Launcher pro but free, faster, and overall better.
I now use Zeam Launcher as it is insanely fast (by far the fastest of all the launchers), combined with Colorize Widget's facebook and agenda widgets, and am very happy.
I also have used Go Launchers EX for a while and although it is a great launcher, I diskliked the app drawer.

LauncherPro Plus.. enough said

Zeam seriously kicks ass imho. I started using it a couple months ago and never looked back.. the smooth side scrolling of the dock PWNS any other setup.. ADW has this feature, but ONLY for the "secondary/hidden" dock which imho is useless.. should be an option for the main dock, but oh well..
UNFORTUNATELY, Zeam launcher is no longer being developed I am hoping that someone picks up where the original dev left off, but it's upto the Dev.
I went back to LauncherPro Plus, as it's my next personal fav.. but if Zeam comes back into dev, I will drop it in a heartbeat for zeam

I have no issues with my stock launcher on my Epic 4G. However for curiosity since getting the phone in October I've played with ADW, LauncherPro and more recently, Zeam.
It wasn't until just this weekend I started to really look into using one. 7 home screens filled, I ran out of room.
ADW offers alot of themes, however most of them you have to buy. This being the initial turn off, I spent a few hours playing with ADW and the settings. I recall the dock changing previously, but it wasn't even when using another theme. With a max of 5 icons, it was only 1 more than my stock launcher and no additional home screen.
LauncherPro being simple and to the point, like ADW offered very little in terms of upgrade from what I was already content with, however no custom themes to add to it.
Zeam... This little gem as simple as it is, does do something the others don't. It allows me increase the apps on the dock, resize the icons, etc. I now have 7 icons viewable
(phone)(contacts)(voicemail)(APPS)(messaging)(internet)(email)
and find it rather convenient. Even more that I can add more apps and scroll the dock left or right to access them. While it doesn't resolve the whole issue, I find it much better than my other options. There's more to it, but that was what attracted me to it.
With that in mind, I am using Zeam. If I could do the same in ADW, I would probably use it in a heartbeat because there's much more that can be done with ADW.

Best launcher?

What is the best launcher? In terms of functionality, ease of use, features, design, speed?
Also is there anyway to customize the "Launcher2" on the Nexus S or is it just stuck that way?

- ADW Launcher
- ADW Launcher EX (If you like ADW Launcher, try this.. it's even better; paid app)
- LauncherPro
- Go Launcher EX(never used this but have heard good things about it)
.. this is going to stirr up a debate between ADW Launcher vs. LauncherPro.
My opinion? ADW Launcher, but try out both of them and see which one fits you.
And Launcher2 on NS stock.. nope.

Thanks, I think I'm going to use ADW EX, seems to have what I want and I've used ADW before so a better version of it should be better?

Yeah, EX was initially missing a few features from the free version, but I think those have all been added now, so it's pretty much a straight upgrade.
That said, a launcher is a UI element, so the best launcher is the one with the features you want and which you find most attractive and easiest to work with. There's a reason multiple launchers enjoy success in parallel; one size doesn't fit all.

Serious_Beans said:
Thanks, I think I'm going to use ADW EX, seems to have what I want and I've used ADW before so a better version of it should be better?
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Adw ex is way more fluid. Not sure what makes the difference, but it performs significantly better. Almost as buttery smooth as stock launcher.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I've used all of the popular ones; Zeam, GO, LauncherPro Plus, ADW, and ADW Ex and personally, the one that does everything I need it to without much fussing about is definitely LauncherPro. Zeam is nice but I couldn't figure out how to customize icons and for me that is a necessary function. GO is basically a freeware version of LPP but when I set custom icons they all came out slightly pixellated. Not very noticable but considering I've never had such an issue with LPP I saw no reason to switch to one that seems less functional. ADW just isn't customizable enough. Period. ADW Ex has a lot of functionality but when I tried to set my custom icons they came out as black squares, again why use a launcher replacement that I can't seem to get to match my theme?

kenvan19 said:
I've used all of the popular ones; Zeam, GO, LauncherPro Plus, ADW, and ADW Ex and personally, the one that does everything I need it to without much fussing about is definitely LauncherPro. Zeam is nice but I couldn't figure out how to customize icons and for me that is a necessary function. GO is basically a freeware version of LPP but when I set custom icons they all came out slightly pixellated. Not very noticable but considering I've never had such an issue with LPP I saw no reason to switch to one that seems less functional. ADW just isn't customizable enough. Period. ADW Ex has a lot of functionality but when I tried to set my custom icons they came out as black squares, again why use a launcher replacement that I can't seem to get to match my theme?
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for zeam, just use desktop visualizer and then drag it into the icon bar.

FaithCry said:
for zeam, just use desktop visualizer and then drag it into the icon bar.
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Good to know but I'd rather not have to have another application installed just to change the icons in the already installed launcher.

there are more to Go Launcher EX, than Launcher Pro Plus + ADW EX combined
(IMO, i think that is actually why the DEV of GO launcher renamed it to GO launcher EX)
on top of all the LPP + ADW features, you can added any amount of screens, where most launcher usually maxes out at 7 screens,
re-size widgets,
add more columns & rows for the widget screens,
same can be done with the app drawer,
you can custom arrange the app drawer icons position, or default to some sorting of your choice,
you can change individual icons or you can change the entire skin,
very easy to apply any skin / theme with the skin chooser
you can make your own skin
it integrates itself with Go SMS, which also have matching skins, or you can customize your own
there is the build in Task Manager/Killer in Go Launcher EX
and so much more options under the hood.
it's build for customization, there are way too much options, so much that you don't know from where to start and all in a easy to use user interface
no need to edit anything manually on the file system, nor need to replace any files to change the theme/skin
just download the skin/theme that you like from the market and enable it.

Zeam all the way, baby!
Sent from my Nexus S

I prefer ADW as well.
Though I wish I could say stock. =T

Stock
Can I give ADW ex looks of stock launcher ?
Can I add more home screens to stock launcher ?

onthecouchagain said:
I prefer ADW as well.
Though I wish I could say stock. =T
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Why do you wish you could say stock? Don't get me wrong the stock launcher works great and I used it for months on my MT3G but it wasn't perfect. The only reason I prefer LauncherPro is that I absolutely can't stand it when icons don't match my theme so I use a custom launcher.

LP Plus just does what I want and its dead simple to set up too. ADW had few issues. Still, one mans Cameron Diaz is another mans Oprah Winfrey

Can LPP be configured to do swipe down on home screen to drop down the notification bar?

I´m using launcher pro and its more stable than the original launcher. But every time I have to reboot, the launcher pro come with black screen then force close and then restart normally... go figure.

alexcinci said:
I´m using launcher pro and its more stable than the original launcher. But every time I have to reboot, the launcher pro come with black screen then force close and then restart normally... go figure.
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that's a weird one, never seen that before, when i was using LPP

AllGamer said:
that's a weird one, never seen that before, when i was using LPP
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just adding: non rooted, stock kernell and rom
eventhough I´m having this issue, its way better than the original launcher

alexcinci said:
just adding: non rooted, stock kernell and rom
eventhough I´m having this issue, its way better than the original launcher
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I have a similar issue. Doesn't happen every time but it does happen. Really isn't that much of a bother.

kenvan19 said:
I have a similar issue. Doesn't happen every time but it does happen. Really isn't that much of a bother.
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agree

Go launcher

I was looking for something new and tried out a few Sense ROMs. I really like the Sense widgets and their little touches like the calendar and menus. However I had a lot of problems with these ROMs so I decided to go another route. I've been using Launcher Pro plus for a while, but development has slowed.
I tried Go launcher yesterday and am really liking it. If you haven't tried it in a while, it's come a long way. It has nicer widgets than Launcher pro and most of the features that launcher pro has like to eliminating the text on icons, transition effects, etc.
Themes are a little slim, but switching them is easy. The only thing that seems to lag on my phone is the homescreen preview, other than that as smooth as launcher pro.

I'd highly suggest adw ex. It doesn't have widgets but its the most stable launcher I have ever used.

Have checked it out for a while, thanks
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

GRZLA said:
I'd highly suggest adw ex. It doesn't have widgets but its the most stable launcher I have ever used.
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Oddly enough the only launcher I've had problems with is ADW. I purchased LP a year ago and have to say its been very solid.

I love Go Launcher. I've used ADW and Launcher Pro during my Eris days, but once I tried Go, I never went back.

Go Launcher is running real nice for me. Turn up the fling speed in preferences to make it feel a little more snappy. It has some cool icon effects for the app drawer like cylinder and sphere.

n00b question.......does Go Launcher EX play nice with all Sense ROMs? I'd hate to jack-up my current setup to make it look prettier. Looking for a little info because Go Launcher Ex looks pretty sweet.

BSquaredB2 said:
n00b question.......does Go Launcher EX play nice with all Sense ROMs? I'd hate to jack-up my current setup to make it look prettier. Looking for a little info because Go Launcher Ex looks pretty sweet.
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The layout you have to Sense will stay intact when another launcher is installed. So if you uninstalled a launcher because you want to go back, everything will be there. You just won't be able to get Sense widgets.

I keep trying Go from time to time, but I always end up uninstalling it. I find it highly annoying that I have to install every widget separately, but I understand this might be to make the base launcher lightweight.
I find it a bit laggy - and dont get me wrong, the screen transitions are like butter. However, there seems to be a delay from when I swipe to when the screen actually animates. I'm used to LP's instant reaction. Plus, I sometimes notice jerkiness with Go that I don't get with LP, but I'm just being picky. Finally I dislike the acceleration curve when swiping between screens. I feel it doesn't respond to how fast I'm swiping, at least when using a custom speed without elasticity (causes lag!).
Man I am picky about my launcher. Maybe I'm just spoiled! I did like Go's Widgets with the transparent theme though. Very well done.
Sent from my Droid Incredible using the XDA app.

Go Launcher is great!