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Launcher Reviews (What I think the best launcher for the G2x is)

I have used the 4 main launchers on my G2X and just wanted to share my findings. I ran each launcher for 24 hours and the fallowing are my opinions.
-ADW Ex was my favorite launcher and always has been. I love the wide selection of skins available for it along with the wide array of options the launcher has. Unfortunately it was the laggiest one on the G2X. I wouldn't really call it laggy but it was noticibly choppy and wasn't as smooth as the others. These findings were odd since it ran very smooth on my Vibrant and Nexus One. Maybe it will be fixed with a update?
UPDATE**** ADW just released a update. I contacted the DEV and he said as of last night ADW is now optimized for duel core CPUs and boy does it show. ADW just took the crown from LP in terms of speed and smoothness. Using ADW actually makes the entire device faster from browsing the web to opening apps. I don't get it but it does. ADW is the clear winner after releasing the latest update last night. Try it out and let me know what you think.
-Go Launcher Ex ran a little better than ADW but it was still choppy in some areas. This was my second favorite Launcher since it has nice features and ran very smooth on my previous devices. It's not unusable but I am very picky about my launchers running smooth. I will try it again after it gets updated.
-Zeam ran very smooth but unfortunately it doesn't have as many options and features as the other .available launchers. Those of you who are minimalist will love this launcher on the G2X since it ran super smooth. Those of you who are looking for more features should stay away.
-Launcher Pro used to be my least favorite launcher but not because it had things wrong with it but because it was the most popular. I like being a little different and don't always like doing what everyone else is doing. That being said, this launcher ran buttery smooth and hasn't lagged once since I have been using it. It has almost as many options and features as ADW and Go Launcher but let's be honest. I would rather have a smooth running launcher than a choppy one with a lot of features. Those of you who think ADW or Go Launcher is running smooth needs to try Launcher pro because you probably won't notice the choppiness until you have experienced the buttery smoothness of Launcher Pro. I don't know why LP runs more smooth than the others but the only thing I can think of is that it's optimized for duel core CPU's. Surprisingly Launcher Pro runs even smoother than the stock launcher.

LP here. You speak the truth, though I don't bother with other launchers.

LPPlus. The Widgets are amazing and the scrolling dockbar is a must.
Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk

I have tried them all and will never leave launcher pro plus.
It is always the smoothest and most stable for me.

Adw ex for me. I also liked the smoothness of launcher pro, but daily I would get more than 1 force close on it. Adw has always been solid, reliable, customizeable and themeable. It also was the first to have the transition animations. Tried go launcher which is also solid but adw trumps it.
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Have tried adw ex and launcher pro. Decided to stick with launcher pro since it was so smooth on the eagleblood rom.
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Been using adw ex but just tried lp and it is buttery smooth. Really digging the sliding dock..gonna stick with it for awhile..what's different in the paid version?
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Zeam is the fastest.. Not the best eye candy but it blazes.

blitz911 said:
Been using adw ex but just tried lp and it is buttery smooth. Really digging the sliding dock..gonna stick with it for awhile..what's different in the paid version?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
The paid version has some cool Widgets with it. I personally don't use them but a lot do.
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smashpunks said:
Zeam is the fastest.. Not the best eye candy but it blazes.
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In my testing Zeam and LP were both the quickest but LP just felt smoother. Plus LP has a lot more features.
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blitz911 said:
Been using adw ex but just tried lp and it is buttery smooth. Really digging the sliding dock..gonna stick with it for awhile..what's different in the paid version?
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Click to collapse
On the paid version you can resize and reposition widgets...don't know if any other difference is there.
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Thanks for the replies. I also notice that lp doesn't use as much memory as adw...
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I was enjoying adw, but the scrolling in the app tray was choppy. It was choppy in launcher pro too until I switched it to the 3d mode and then BAM! Butter. Launcher pro works the best for me too on this phone.
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jrwingate6 said:
In my testing Zeam and LP were both the quickest but LP just felt smoother. Plus LP has a lot more features.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App
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Just checked lpro and I agree with you now..its smooth.

Been using ADW EX since my last device (HD2) and haven't noticed any real lag...maybe a bit in the APP drawer. I do own LPP but never installed it on the G2X because of the registration hassle (yes, I am to lazy to re-request my registration number). Haven't used it in about six months, but it seems to be getting lot's of praise. Maybe I'll give it another go...

Nothing will overcome stock. smoothest and fastest
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charlieb620 said:
Nothing will overcome stock. smoothest and fastest
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Click to collapse
And the most restrictive.
Eh...to each his own...

Thanks for this thread. I'm using LP on my Samsung Indulge now. I've been real happy with it. I'm glad to hear it works well on the G2X. Like Jefferynew23 says, the scrolling dockbar (with custom icons) is sweet! Everything I need can be put down there ready to run.

LP plus a Tad smoother IMO.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

Been using launcher pro and am very satisfied with its performance.

SPB Shell

Been playing around with different launchers, can't stand TouchWiz, and tried out SPB Shell... Works flawlessly on the Infuse, fast and smooth as butter - love it! Lots of eye candy and some pretty cool widgets too. Everything looks great on that big screen!
It's a little pricey, but IMO worth it!

ADW
Ive been using adw for the atrix and now for the infuse, dont know that it gets any better than that. The infuse runs the animations and transitions perfectly!

I'm using Launcher Pro.. Love it.. The latest version is pretty sweet..

im not a fan of spb. but the others are good. there is also go launcher and zeam launcher.
i personally dont mind cheaze wiz, and things like kies and a few widgets dont work without it running.. i prefer to use gtg465x's launchers, he made some for the captivate and i9000 with a 5-icon dock if you dont like the 4icon dock.

Running Sony arc from cont.5.5 on captivate ..speed the phone up more and more available ram..plus its cleaner looking.
sent from Infuse but miss my captivate on cont. 5.5.... One day this can be as good...

Can you share the sony arc launcher apk? I'm a huge fan of that launcher from continuum 5.5 also. Thanks
Found it. Thnx
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bacuy82 said:
Can you share the sony arc launcher apk? I'm a huge fan of that launcher from continuum 5.5 also. Thanks
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully this link works for u
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=589599&d=1304794751
If not click the paper clip on the cont. 5.5 post.

Spb is like a corvette, not very practical imo. Something You want to show off with.
ADW is my daily driver...

Are the others a lot better than Go Launcher EX?
No one uses Go Launcher EX? I'm fairly new to Android phones (had/have an Archos 5IT Android which is still running their version of donut, but with market and some other hacks), so I just picked the first free launcher I found. So far I really like it. The themes are OK and the customization seems as good as any and it's pretty full featured. Everything they release for it is free, though some 3rd party add-on are paid. I don't know anything about ADW or LPro, but I'm an app addict so I'm sure I'll tinker around with those sometime soon.
What are the best or your favorite features of ADW or Launcher Pro?
Thanks!

Go Launcher EX is very good, almost too good... with their many free widgets. I wonder if they are spying on me.

Trancerush said:
Spb is like a corvette, not very practical imo. Something You want to show off with.
ADW is my daily driver...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using Spb as a daily driver for months and it's great for me. Yeah I do show off with it at times but it is a good launcher. Launcher pro was my daily driver for almost a year.

Just out of curiosity... How is SPB Shell and battery life? doesn't drain it more than it used to before spb shell, drains more, or drains less?

With Spb shell 3d I didn't notice much difference with battery life compared to others I've used but I would notice that under heavy loads of use that it would become laggy or restart itself. That gets annoying after a while because it takes a while like 2 minutes sometimes to start. Its a nice launcher but I've put it aside for now and I'm using the Sony Ericsson launcher now which is a lot quicker.
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ADW is my favorite. Quick and customized to my liking.
Cranky...
MitRa

i bought spb but didn't like the fact i had to look at someone else's flicker photos so now i'm on laucher ex. it allows for 3d rotation and i've got a page with my photos on widget.

chvybeatsford said:
Hopefully this link works for u
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=589599&d=1304794751
If not click the paper clip on the cont. 5.5 post.
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Click to collapse
I downloaded this launcher just to check it out. I really like it. Very smooth and quick. Simple and I like it a lot.
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Ddot196 said:
I downloaded this launcher just to check it out. I really like it. Very smooth and quick. Simple and I like it a lot.
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Isn't this the launcher that has ads in the free version?

diablo009 said:
Isn't this the launcher that has ads in the free version?
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Click to collapse
I haven't seen any ads. I got a merry Christmas banner that fell down the screen every so often but that was it. Pretty nice actually. And my dock icons had little Santa clause hats on during the holidays.
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Launchers

I see a number of different launchers out on the market. Can anyone tell me which one works best on the skyrocket? Thanks
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Launcher pro or adw. But i stick with the touch wiz launcher it works best for me

silver03wrx said:
Launcher pro or adw. But i stick with the touch wiz launcher it works best for me
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Click to collapse
The stock touchwiz or the one from the market?
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Touch wiz is ugly I use adw
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medion. said:
Touch wiz is ugly I use adw
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Yea, looking at it, Adw does look a little better.
Thank you both.
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Adw has a really nice icecream sandwich theme too

Which one are you referring to? I know there is one that is made by "kovdev" that's for ADW but also works with Go Launcher.
https://market.android.com/details?...ult#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImtvdi50aGVtZS5pY3MiXQ..
silver03wrx said:
Adw has a really nice icecream sandwich theme too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I'm using Launcher Pro and i love it. Its clean and simple and the scrollable 5 icon dock is amazingly useful in eliminating screen clutter. I used launcher pro icons to download the ones i didnt have and now it looks slicker than ever. I'd used the free version on 2 older phones and now on the full version (only difference is being able to resize widgets and usse LP+ widgets, both which did not affect the user experience). Also great to be able to adjust animation performance and such.

I would say go launcher ex all the wayyyyyy

The touchwiz from the market is a really good imitation. Only stock touchwiz is supported by hardware acceleration, which makes it incredibly smooth.
I really like pure breeze. Having the kite anywhere on the phone is amazing. Somewhat simliar to wave launchers usefulness.
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I use ADW EX, tried a bunch of others but I always come back to it.

Development on adw and Launcher pro been dead for months. I use Go launcher looks and feel more stable.
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gr8hairy1 said:
The touchwiz from the market is a really good imitation. Only stock touchwiz is supported by hardware acceleration, which makes it incredibly smooth.
I really like pure breeze. Having the kite anywhere on the phone is amazing. Somewhat simliar to wave launchers usefulness.
Sent from my páhhōniē
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Touchwiz is NOT smooth....
Why do people keep saying that? it stutters. It Jumps. The only REALLY SMOOTH launcher is launcher pro.

Guess it depends on how many widget and background apps you have running. Mine has always been silky smooth. No jumps or skips ever.
Edit: I'm on a ogsgsii. No lag here
But I agree that launcher pro is amazing.
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What home launcher do you use

I use go launcher but notice the default home launcher way faster. Is this normal. I enjoy the options other launchers give but does it slow phone down? Can you uninstall the default launcher
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Go launcher is slow plain and simple because of all the addons. Ads ex or launcher pro are much faster.

Thanks. What can I do to change lock screen instead go launcher. New ones faster but hard to choose
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xxsicknessxx said:
Thanks. What can I do to change lock screen instead go launcher. New ones faster but hard to choose
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For the lock screen try widget locker. I use it and adw ex for the launcher. You could also try mi locker.

I've found that ADW EX and Zeam Launcher are both good, and both are faster than the TouchWiz stock launcher.
I'm using Zeam right now - not as many customization options as ADW, but I like it a lot.

Gingerbread launcher free, bye Eugene373 (currently a dev for 989). Super simple, not for those looking for super customizable.
I love it.
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Im using Zeam right now. I switch mostly between zeam and qq launcher.
Adw ex is also good.
Ive seriously tried every launcher. These are my favs.
Market search 360launcher thats gonna be really good to in a couple updates
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I like go launcher ex and adw. Adw is faster but it crashes too often. Launcher pro is nice too but I prefer it on aosp or cyanogen roms. We don't have that on the skyrocket yet.
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I have my phone underclocked to 972 MHz, and my go launcher ex is running beautifully, no lag? So I don't understand y u would want to switch. However LauncherPro is my favorite, and I only switched because of a lack of updates

I use LauncherPro and love the customization and widgets. I also have used milocker and magiclocker for custom lockscreens.

ICS Launcher, seems to have finally stable and not FC on me for the last 10 days

latinohot said:
ICS Launcher, seems to have finally stable and not FC on me for the last 10 days
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Click to collapse
Beautiful widgets always fcs ics laincher
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Has anyone tried the new TSF Shell launcher? Looks pretty cool just seems kinda pricey :-/
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I use Google Launcher and have no problems with it. For the lockscreen I use widget locker.
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Since I switched to Go Launcher from TW, it has put android system very high in the battery stats(before it was only at 6% and now over 35%). It seems to be using up more resources. It also drains the battery faster while using the phone but doesn't change the battery drain while not in use.

boost3dr3x said:
Has anyone tried the new TSF Shell launcher? Looks pretty cool just seems kinda pricey :-/
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Click to collapse
Yup. I like the idea behind it, but I didn't like using it.

i use dxhome, there is a thread about it in themes and apps section
i tried adw but the app drawer scrolling was too slow
launcher pro and go launcher worked for a while but when i found dxhome and qqlauncher it made launcher pro and twlauncher seem laggy as sh*t. i also wasted my money on spb shell 3d i never could bring myself to use it for more than a day.
i got widgetlocker and regret nothing it is amazing. on faux 010 its so smooth it looks like the real thing.

xcrazydx said:
Since I switched to Go Launcher from TW, it has put android system very high in the battery stats(before it was only at 6% and now over 35%). It seems to be using up more resources. It also drains the battery faster while using the phone but doesn't change the battery drain while not in use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3D transitions and all the other shininess will do that to your battery life.
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I've been using many different once, everytime flashing the custom ROM's, but after an hour I go back to the best one I've ever used the 360 Launcher V2, it's free and fast.
I use it with Android 4 theme, works great looks great, has good widgets.
How ever yesterday I came across a good new launcher, Claystone launcher, if you post on FB it let's you download a Transparent theme which is pretty nice, and if you get use to working the new launcher it's actually not bad.

Zeam and launcherpro have always been the fastest and cleanest for me. I prefer launcherpro because I can make the homescreen grids 10x10 so I have more adjustability with my widgets.

Insane launcher

I've recently been having lag issues with nova, so I decided to hunt for a new launcher. After trying a few, I discovered next launcher 3d. My mind is blown. I've never ever seen a launcher with so much freedom and so many options. I.e. You could place your home screen icons ANYWHERE if you wish... No grid alignment.
Yeah that could look messy, but it reminds me of the freedom in Windows to put icons wherever you want. Of course there's an option to align to the grid also. Also widgets can be sized to literally any odd size, No adhering to grids. Then there's 3d mode - it transforms the phone into an entirely different monster. It's crazy. There are too many other options to list.
Icing on the cake? Zero lag no matter what transition I pick, even 3d transitions. I'm in love.

Icing is the price
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I usually stay away from anything GO team makes.

baste07 said:
Icing is the price
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Well yeah I agree, and while I don't condone piracy, there are always ways to "try" it out..

siciliano777 said:
Well yeah I agree, and while I don't condone piracy, there are always ways to "try" it out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no issues with nova, all animatios disabled , and it is still the fastest launcher for the note 3
I have tested the OP launcher extensively and its just a memory hog that uses huge animations sequences to mimick great responsiveness and lag free interface like an IPHONE does.
To me the time I spend watching icons dancing arround and homescreens panes traveling arround in a 3d universe , until they are of some use to me , that is lag.

What's wrong with go team?
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Chinese company, many rumors
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hightoohigh said:
What's wrong with go team?
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Click to collapse
Their sms app used to constantly talk back to their servers and run literally hundreds of debug processes so they are both shady and terrible developers.

khaytsus said:
Their sms app used to constantly talk back to their servers and run literally hundreds of debug processes so they are both shady and terrible developers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just because one app is weird doesn't make them bad developers. Could be bad management etc.
Plus, if I recall correctly, the Go team acquired Next launcher, because it used to be SPS Shell or something like that. (Note, the price stayed the same, just a rebrand).
But I guess it comes to personal preference, if you want to see nice effects that don't even lag when they are 3D, vs an uber fast launcher like Nova/Apex
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I found Next to be far too messy when I tried it. (Yes, 'tried'. It's €13,00 and my prepaid credit card does not do refunds.)
Oh yes, the 3D is very flashy, and the nifty little tricks with wallpapers is fun, but it's rather sluggish as a result. Not as snappy as Apex/Nova.
I've been using Apex Launcher Pro since day one. Not a single problem. Nova is known to have issues on the Note 3.

ShadowLea said:
I found Next to be far too messy when I tried it. (Yes, 'tried'. It's €13,00 and my prepaid credit card does not do refunds.)
Oh yes, the 3D is very flashy, and the nifty little tricks with wallpapers is fun, but it's rather sluggish as a result. Not as snappy as Apex/Nova.
I've been using Apex Launcher Pro since day one. Not a single problem. Nova is known to have issues on the Note 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just curious, what issues does Nova have?
I bought Apex Launcher Pro and love it!
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danieljamie said:
Just curious, what issues does Nova have?
I bought Apex Launcher Pro and love it!
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Click to collapse
The only issue I had with nova is it would stutter slightly when swiping between home screens... maybe every 4 swipes I would notice it. I actually like to see the animations, so I prefer to keep the animations speed setting on "relaxed".
On the lightning fast animation speed of course there's no noticeable lag, but IMO on that setting it makes the ui feel older and too basic.

What functionality s-pen, air etc do you lose when you install a launcher?
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snoopycr said:
What functionality s-pen, air etc do you lose when you install a launcher?
...
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Click to collapse
Nothing in that respect, just some Touchwiz Widgets are no longer accessible, like the big calendar one. But that's typical with every manufacturer, some stock launcher widgets can't be used on other launchers.
S-pen works fine on Nova.
Edit: BTW, with Nova (Prime?), you can make the status bar transparent on the homescreen.

There is one Launcher that rules them all. Action Launcher Pro from Chris M Lacy.
Dude it is tottaly wicked. It makes interactiin with your phone so much easier!
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I'm using nova prime on my note 3 and it's brilliant no lag at all used it n my note 2 aswell very stable no force closes over all highly recommend
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danieljamie said:
Just curious, what issues does Nova have?
I bought Apex Launcher Pro and love it!
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Click to collapse
There were people who reported Nova kept crashing and lagging.

ShadowLea said:
I found Next to be far too messy when I tried it. (Yes, 'tried'. It's €13,00 and my prepaid credit card does not do refunds.)
Oh yes, the 3D is very flashy, and the nifty little tricks with wallpapers is fun, but it's rather sluggish as a result. Not as snappy as Apex/Nova.
I've been using Apex Launcher Pro since day one. Not a single problem. Nova is known to have issues on the Note 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1

I "tried" next launcher but I found it too busy. The 3D was amazing but I simply just want to switch to another page I don't need some crazy fx. I also wanted to support the developer after I found a launcher I liked but I couldn't justify $17 for Next. I am happy with nova and haven't had any lag yet.
edit: can someone link me to the nova lag problems or explain what lags ?

I like aviate launcher.