Does anyone still use a custom launcher with ICS? if so why? what does it bring to the table that ics does not? i mean we have a full dock now in the stock launcher...and we have scrollabe widgets.
and the real reason im posting is, do you think CM9 will have ADW baked in like it always has? i dont see much point now. My fav launcher out there is by far the stock ICS launcher...
No..ithink ics launcher is great.. and i love stock
Sent from my Google Nexus S using xda premium
I haven't used ICS yet (still waiting on the Galaxy Nexus to be released in the U.S.).
Does the stock ICS launcher allow custom icons?
How about a scrollable dock (like in Launcher Pro) that gives you three panels to scroll through, with 5 customizable slots on each?
What about swipe gestures? For example, in LP you can set it so that if you swipe upwards from your browser shortcut it will pop up with a list of your bookmarks.
Those would be the only features I would miss coming from LP.
If the stock ICS launcher has those features, I don't see the need to even think about switching to anything else. Even if it doesn't, I will probably stick with stock just to stick with the overall ICS look and feel, although I would hope Google would add those features in a future update (I mean if some guy can program that kind of thing in his spare time, I'm sure Google's programmers would have no problem with it)
Gakuseinozen said:
I haven't used ICS yet (still waiting on the Galaxy Nexus to be released in the U.S.).
Does the stock ICS launcher allow custom icons?
How about a scrollable dock (like in Launcher Pro) that gives you three panels to scroll through, with 5 customizable slots on each?
What about swipe gestures? For example, in LP you can set it so that if you swipe upwards from your browser shortcut it will pop up with a list of your bookmarks.
Those would be the only features I would miss coming from LP.
If the stock ICS launcher has those features, I don't see the need to even think about switching to anything else. Even if it doesn't, I will probably stick with stock just to stick with the overall ICS look and feel, although I would hope Google would add those features in a future update (I mean if some guy can program that kind of thing in his spare time, I'm sure Google's programmers would have no problem with it)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It'd be incredibly easy for Google to add those features, the reason why they don't is because they're not intuitive features and Android caters to a very wide audience. In the past I installed LP+ on all my relatives phones, many got confused or lost.
I agree that they are more for advanced users, but one of the biggest advantages of Android is that it caters to those types of users - those who want to have the option of trading a little simplicity for more functionality. I'm not suggesting that these features be enabled by default, but perhaps there could be a toggle to enable "advanced dock settings," or something of that nature.
Just seems to me like it would be in the best interest of Google to make these kinds of features available without third party apps, especially given the amount of people that turn to alternate launchers because most OEM skins (sense, blur, touchwiz, etc) are unattractive, intrusive, and/or lacking in functionality.
As I said in my previous post, I personally probably wont switch to a third party launcher with ICS just because I want to retain the cohesive look and feel that ICS offers, but I will definitely miss the functionality of something like Launcher Pro which is why I wish that Google would offer at least the option to enable some of those additional features with ICS.
I keep going back and forth between Go Launcher EX and stock... Will do so until I configured the stock the way I like my screen.
The features from GL-EX that I'm holding out for arwe the swipe up option and the option of running 5x4 screen >>
Gakuseinozen said:
I agree that they are more for advanced users, but one of the biggest advantages of Android is that it caters to those types of users - those who want to have the option of trading a little simplicity for more functionality. I'm not suggesting that these features be enabled by default, but perhaps there could be a toggle to enable "advanced dock settings," or something of that nature.
Just seems to me like it would be in the best interest of Google to make these kinds of features available without third party apps, especially given the amount of people that turn to alternate launchers because most OEM skins (sense, blur, touchwiz, etc) are unattractive, intrusive, and/or lacking in functionality.
As I said in my previous post, I personally probably wont switch to a third party launcher with ICS just because I want to retain the cohesive look and feel that ICS offers, but I will definitely miss the functionality of something like Launcher Pro which is why I wish that Google would offer at least the option to enable some of those additional features with ICS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i see where you're coming from but you have to see it from google's side. the more options they offer with their base product, the more bewildering and off-putting it may seem to your typical end user.
but then, third party apps come in and fill the void. android itself doesn't (and shouldn't) cater to any kind of user specifically, but it allows developers to cater to them. and that's what's so great about it.
Related
Not sure if I'll get some reem'ing for asking, but...
I would absolutely love if someone could assist me in obtaining MotoBlur for my Droid Charge...???
I sell phones, and I've loved Motorola Androids the most. I started with the Droid 1, the Droid X, and then the Droid X2. I've sold plenty of Atrix, Atrix 2's, and Photons. I like the extra features that MotoBlur seems to have that others do not...
Such as the App drawer having extra features: Groups, Long-Pressing Apps to get an extra menu of options (such as Uninstall, Share, Add to Group, Add to Home), being able to change your dock icons, and the social apps, status, etc.
I think I'm willing to compensate/donate for this cause. I'm not digging Samsung's boring iPhone appeal....
Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated! Thank you to everyone that has been a great asset to my Android days! XDA has been a great asset for all my knowledge. XDA's been so great... that I've never had to post.. o.o; I've been reading for at least a year now.. ;p
[x] said:
Not sure if I'll get some reem'ing for asking, but...
I would absolutely love if someone could assist me in obtaining MotoBlur for my Droid Charge...???
I sell phones, and I've loved Motorola Androids the most. I started with the Droid 1, the Droid X, and then the Droid X2. I've sold plenty of Atrix, Atrix 2's, and Photons. I like the extra features that MotoBlur seems to have that others do not...
Such as the App drawer having extra features: Groups, Long-Pressing Apps to get an extra menu of options (such as Uninstall, Share, Add to Group, Add to Home), being able to change your dock icons, and the social apps, status, etc.
I think I'm willing to compensate/donate for this cause. I'm not digging Samsung's boring iPhone appeal....
Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated! Thank you to everyone that has been a great asset to my Android days! XDA has been a great asset for all my knowledge. XDA's been so great... that I've never had to post.. o.o; I've been reading for at least a year now.. ;p
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably won't ever see MotoBlur on this phone. First, it's very hard to port one manufacturer's customized Android user interface over to another phone. But here's why it's even more unlikely with the Charge--we can't get plain old Open-Source Android to run on the Charge yet. The only version of Android that our developer community has ever been able to get running on the Charge is Samsung's TouchWiz. All ROMs to date have been built on Samsung's base and tweaked (removing elements from TouchWiz, adding elements to, other code chages). There are two obstacles holding back further development on this phone: 1) Lack of source code for the 4G LTE Radio Interface Layer, without this new ROMs will not have 4G; 2) Lack of kernel source code sufficient to build working stock-based kernels from source that actually boot. And like I said previously, even if we had a working RIL and were able to build working kernels from source, it would still be very unlikely that anyone would port MotoBlur to run on the Charge (we would however have other ROMs such as CyanogenMod, MIUI, OMGB/OMFGB, and vanilla AOSP, etc.).
From what you've said you want, I think you can get most of that with a replacement launcher (like ADW Launcher EX or GO Launcher) and Android Pro Widgets. My absolute favorite launcher is LauncherPro Plus, but I can't recommend that to you in good faith. The app hasn't been updated in almost two years, there was hardly any Gingerbread troubleshooting done, and there is no ETA on any update at all. Until the dev for LauncherPro Plus gives us a full out update of that app, I won't recommend it (but I love the widgets so much that I can't leave it either).
Hahahahahaha. Oh wait, you're serious? Let me laugh even harder.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using xda premium
Thank you for taking the time up explain everything to me. I nearly appreciate the insight you've given me on my new device.
I've been using Launcher Pro every since my days on the Motorola Droid 1. I immediately paid for the Launcher Pro Plus, and it was practically the only app I paid fire over a year.
However, as you already know, Launcher Pro is outdated and hasn't been updated in a long time. It also has issues every once in a while. Maybe I do too much on my devices.
Do you have any recommendations for the features that I would love?
Mostly the ability to manage my apps from inside the app drawer, such as long-pressing an app in the drawer in order to Share, Uninstall, Add to Home. I also love the Groups you can create inside the app drawer with MotoBlur.
I would appreciate any more insight you have to offer.
KarateExplosion6 said:
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably won't ever see MotoBlur on this phone. First, it's very hard to port one manufacturer's customized Android user interface over to another phone. But here's why it's even more unlikely with the Charge--we can't get plain old Open-Source Android to run on the Charge yet. The only version of Android that our developer community has ever been able to get running on the Charge is Samsung's TouchWiz. All ROMs to date have been built on Samsung's base and tweaked (removing elements from TouchWiz, adding elements to, other code chages). There are two obstacles holding back further development on this phone: 1) Lack of source code for the 4G LTE Radio Interface Layer, without this new ROMs will not have 4G; 2) Lack of kernel source code sufficient to build working stock-based kernels from source that actually boot. And like I said previously, even if we had a working RIL and were able to build working kernels from source, it would still be very unlikely that anyone would port MotoBlur to run on the Charge (we would however have other ROMs such as CyanogenMod, MIUI, OMGB/OMFGB, and vanilla AOSP, etc.).
From what you've said you want, I think you can get most of that with a replacement launcher (like ADW Launcher EX or GO Launcher) and Android Pro Widgets. My absolute favorite launcher is LauncherPro Plus, but I can't recommend that to you in good faith. The app hasn't been updated in almost two years, there was hardly any Gingerbread troubleshooting done, and there is no ETA on any update at all. Until the dev for LauncherPro Plus gives us a full out update of that app, I won't recommend it (but I love the widgets so much that I can't leave it either).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA App
Go Launcher EX is my launcher of choice, and it's free. It combines the best features of LPP and ADW.
[x] said:
It also has issues every once in a while. Maybe I do too much on my devices.
Do you have any recommendations for the features that I would love?
Mostly the ability to manage my apps from inside the app drawer, such as long-pressing an app in the drawer in order to Share, Uninstall, Add to Home. I also love the Groups you can create inside the app drawer with MotoBlur.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My LauncherPro Plus used to have issues too (they pop up more in Gingerbread, unfortunately)... but, I've managed to resolve most of them by running the V6 SuperCharger script and setting my launcher to "bulletproof." I don't, personally, use V6 for anything else but others on the forum do and claim great results on the Charge.
Features? I only use a few. First, I use customized app icons and a customized background for my Dock. I also enable scrolling and carry 3 docks that scroll and loop infinitely. Of the two additional docks, one has Navigation centered and the second has my GF's speed dial centered. Next, I use two 4x4 widgets that take up my entire screen--One is the calendar widget, the other is the Friends widget, which aggregates my Facebook and Twitter feeds chronologically. I have all 3 of my home screens loop infinitely and I use the Flip transition from LauncherPro Plus.
In terms of managing apps from within the app draw, I don't think you can Share or create Groups. But if you long press an app, a trash can appears at the bottom of the app drawer. Drag the app over the trash can and wait, it will say "Drop to uninstall" and you can uninstall right from the app draw. Additionally, if you long press an app and drag it somewhere else (not the trash can) then release, it will add the app to your home screen.
I would like to thank everyone for their input. I loved my Launcher Pro, and I had actually purchased the Plus version two years ago on my Droid 1.
I have decided that Go Launcher EX definitely has more up-to-date features and benefits. I'm currently using the free version, and it has pretty much all the features I was looking for from MotoBlur.
Thanks again!
Sent from my Droid Charge using XDA App
Anyone using chameleon launcher on their infinity?
Looks like another great launcher for tablets...
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/18/chameleon-launcher-1.0-google-play/
whats so great about it?
Tried it.
Uninstalled it.
I prefer Apex launcher. Chameleon has some nice ideas but it's still buggy and not ready for release imo. It costs $10 too which is a mistake.
Basically, the main feature is that you can set it up so that your default "home" screen automatically changes depending on where you are, what time it is, etc... But really, other than that, I'm not so sure what people (including myself - I'm a "backer") were so excited about. Besides being able to set your default home screen depending on certain conditions, it really doesn't add much to the launcher experience...
I personally can't remember why it was supposed to be so great!
I un-installed it as well, mainly because you can only use widgets provided by the app - you lose access to all standard Android widgets, which makes it unusable in my opinion.
That being said, it would be nice if Nova, Apex, etc added the ability to automatically change your home screen depending on certain conditions - I think that is a cool feature...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
I am a backer, too. I am disappointed, too.
Switching things like chameleon does is really nothing special. It is still just one screen. So, i can set my apex launcher screens to reflect what chameleon tries to do very easily. The only thing is that i have to swipe. To be honest, this is not exactly true either, cause almost everything can be done with Tasker.
So yeah. I still hope chameleon starts getting better, but it has to be real quick or all the interest is going to float away and another app will go down the drain like many others.
I backed it too... it costed 10$ . But after few days i uninstalled it. Lack of Widgets , very Slow , lack of user defined wallpapers etc .
They are still in Beta i guss and they are updating the app almost everyday . Hope they come up with more nich Widgets etc soon.
thanks all for the replies!!! was trying to see if it warranted the ten dollar price
like i use a different homescreen when im in my vehicle (media oriented),but right now i just swipe right to get to it
swipe left to go back to my regular homescreen
chameleon key feature is simply to "auto-swipe" ?
At first I was disappointed, 1.0 has changed my opinion its stable and looks amazing. I was the first to complain with the beta releases now with the widget api released things good get interesting. @Apex launcher pro on my tf700t.....too buggy
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda premium
Svashtar said:
I am a backer, too. I am disappointed, too.
Switching things like chameleon does is really nothing special. It is still just one screen. So, i can set my apex launcher screens to reflect what chameleon tries to do very easily. The only thing is that i have to swipe. To be honest, this is not exactly true either, cause almost everything can be done with Tasker.
So yeah. I still hope chameleon starts getting better, but it has to be real quick or all the interest is going to float away and another app will go down the drain like many others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kickstarter backer here and I'm a little disappointed now that they have issued Ver. 1.0. There's no calendar widget, you can only place so many apps in the dock, the dock is huge and not adjustable, no pre-built Android widgets so any thing you've already paid for is wasted, and it doesn't do news feed images very well.
But the biggest disapointment is the lack of a calendar widget! That should have been a fundamental basic widget from the start. It's not so it won't be my launcher of choice untill that get's fixed.
SayWhat10 said:
thanks all for the replies!!! was trying to see if it warranted the ten dollar price
like i use a different homescreen when im in my vehicle (media oriented),but right now i just swipe right to get to it
swipe left to go back to my regular homescreen
chameleon key feature is simply to "auto-swipe" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's one key feature, but I would say the bigger draw is the aesthetic polish it brings. That's one of the reasons they won't let normal android widgets be used, as it clashes with the look of Chameleon. Give it time for more widgets to get made (especially with the API now available to developers) before deciding if it's a success or failure. IMO with 3 or 4 more of the widgets I need, I would easily use it as my day to day launcher.
whoah....cant use regular widgets? only widgets you can use are chameleon widgets?
SayWhat10 said:
whoah....cant use regular widgets? only widgets you can use are chameleon widgets?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. If you care to learn html5 you can make your own Chameleon widgets, and in the future they will add the ability to use widgets other users create. Until then, you only have the official chameleon ones to choose from. No standard Android widgets are usable in Chameleon though.
I was super hyped about it so I backed it on KS. Then I tried it and uninstalled it... nuff said...
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
Chameleon will definitely get better with further releases and more widgets added.
Like someone before me said, for me too, the polished and beautiful design is an added value of this launcher, nothing else (at least currently).
Calendar, Google+ and Music widgets are coming in near future. Custom widgets from users are coming, too, eventually. (i am hoping for beter gmail, email widgets etc...which can easily be done by others, not necessarily by teknision).
But, as i said before, they will have to act quickly - hype is on, but as with anything else it can get cold very quickly, too.
Svashtar said:
Chameleon will definitely get better with further releases and more widgets added.
Like someone before me said, for me too, the polished and beautiful design is an added value of this launcher, nothing else (at least currently).
Calendar, Google+ and Music widgets are coming in near future. Custom widgets from users are coming, too, eventually. (i am hoping for beter gmail, email widgets etc...which can easily be done by others, not necessarily by teknision).
But, as i said before, they will have to act quickly - hype is on, but as with anything else it can get cold very quickly, too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just found this I like the look of it but does it have bookmark and email widgets?
Another kickstarter backer here. I also uninstalled it. It supports my gmail and news. I don't use Twitter or Facebook so it's fairly useless to me. Maybe widgets that appeal more to me are yet to come but not using it now.
Well considering we have a good month to actually play with our phones before any real custom development begins, we could use this time to come up with ideas that would be great to have on custom ROM's specifically for the Galaxy S4. I myself believe the next two years are gonna be insane and month is nothing compared to the fun we are all about to have!
So let's hear, what do you want your GS4 to do that it can't do right now. I personally would like to see someone make use of air wave more effectively and air view.
I just want some SlimBean love.
4.2.2. Stock. That's all I want.
I want to be able to change themes on my phone with EASE!
Mass delete of the 14.7 million crapware apps that come pre-installed....
just to be able to mod the hell out of it battery,clock,wifi,themes etc.....have kick ass kernal with kick ass battery life...
Cyanogen.
a lag reduction of 290%
I'm going to be developing a slimmed down Touchwiz rom with an AOSP feel but keep the TW framework for camera and other misc features. Samsung does add quite a few software enhancements that are nice to have that AOSP will break.
akira02rex said:
I'm going to be developing a slimmed down Touchwiz rom with an AOSP feel but keep the TW framework for camera and other misc features. Samsung does add quite a few software enhancements that are nice to have that AOSP will break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I can't wait for
Ongoing Wifi Notification removed and change the Phone dialer from the playskool looking white to dark theme. Other than that I am happy with TW till we get AOSP...:highfive:
akira02rex said:
I'm going to be developing a slimmed down Touchwiz rom with an AOSP feel but keep the TW framework for camera and other misc features. Samsung does add quite a few software enhancements that are nice to have that AOSP will break.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly what I was hoping for. There's no point in buying a phone with so many "exclusive features" and immediately flashing CM and having the exact same user experience you had on your last phone. I mean, do I love AOSP? Of course I do. But why not try to get the best of both worlds? Can't wait for it, akira!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Keep stock touchwiz with aosp speed, also in the notification switches, the ability for flashlight, and play and next media buttons, also thumbs up/down button if possible
Sent from my PC36100 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
I am generally happy with my S4. Screen is great, the features I am interested in, Navigation, Translation (sTranslate), tethering ( I am on the plan), Bluetooth, and many others working. I am waiting until my 2 week return period is over before rooting and then debloating. I am using Nova launcher and have had no problems with lag. I did find that the home button with the smaller lower bezel than my SIII sometimes causes me to hit one of the dock icons; will require getting used to. Here is what I don't like and would like to see change:
1.The phone dialer. the white is awful
2. Contacts. Also in white, awful
3. Battery icon. Would love to be able to change it.
4. I personally like the 4.1 lockscreen with weather and time. I installed dashclock and used that a one of my Lockscreen widgets but still am not happy. I would love to see the opportunity to change the lockscreen style and type.
I am sure that I will find others, but that is it for now.
All Samsung features with the look & customization of AOKP, PA, Rootbox or Xylon.
idea of the year right here
and i can't believe it wasn't implemented by samsung and shown off at all the demos..
almost every website on the net today incorporates hovering the mouse to expand menus, show list options, features, toggle content, etc
this i would argue is THE biggest shortcoming of not just android, but all mobility today. there's no solid solution to imitate this on a mobile phone.
the galaxy s4 is the first phone which can overcome this shortcoming with its ability to support scree hovering. but what did Samsung choose to implement instead? a zoom in option baked into their stock browser .. which they removed flash support for, crippling one of the biggest breakthroughs in mobile innovation we've seen yet.
any developer who implements this will make front page of xda for sure
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Extended desktop mode, the status bar takes up to much screen real estate. Pie controls love them on my nexus 4!
Id love to be able to re-map the double-click of the home button. More options to edit toggles. No need to have that many toggles Im never going to use. Dark themes throughout UI. More apps that can be utilized in Multi window. Using the calculator with the browser or banking apps for example. Swipe the status bar for brightness control, no need to have the slider taking up space in the notification drawer. Swipe between tabs on phone app, same in any other tabbed touchwiz apps. Let me use Wallet dammit!
Love the idea of AOSP/touchwiz mashup. There actually are some features Id like to keep. Too bad Samsung's design team is still stuck on Gingerbread aesthetics...
Remote
A cool feature would be a timed t.v. remote to go off say at 6:30 to wake me up for school
Some PA love would be ideal! DPI changes are necessary with this awesome screen! Plus PIE and Halo would be awesome to have! Oh and remapping of hw buttons is a must for me.
I was wondering if there was a way to get all widgets to be availible on an non-stock launcher. I am using the Nova Prime launcher, and widgets for Samsung's S-Planner are not showing up in the list of available widgets. Anybody know a way to get full access to all my widgets, on this launcher (I don't have any plans to switch to another launcher)?
(The device is unrooted, if that's relevant.)
If you figure anything out please feel free to share, I've been trying to get my ****ing swidgets to work with now for a long time
Sent from my GT-N8010 using xda app-developers app
I believe they only work on the touchwiz launcher, even if you have touchwiz installed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
I guess our best bet, is for all of us to keep messaging Samsung, until they recognize that enough people want this capability, that they should work at getting it to happen. Another, that comes to mind, is to seek out a ROM, that could allow that compatibility.
For immediate purposes, I imagine that some app developer(s) have discovered this royal pain of incompatibility, and was smart enough to realize that:
A) Very few people actually keep the launcher on their devices as stock
B) Samsung is undisputed as the current most popular Android-device manufacturer, with the highest number of users & sales,
So they released what would pretty much be a clone of these Samsung apps, but with more universal compatibility to other apps. I will browse the market when I have the time. I will, and ask that other users do as well, post the best/most similar/user-friendly/useful/blah of these finding.
otherwise, we may have to set the stupid touchwiz as our default (if we prefer and wish to regularly utilize Samsung's S-planner & other launcher-picky S-widgets) and have the touchwiz default homepages remain relatively uncluttered, except for these widgets, obviously. Then put in an app icon to switch to the launcher you actually prefer most.
OR
I just did a search in the google app market for "launcher switcher". There seems to be a semi-decent number of apps to help make it easy to toggle between the use of 2+ different launchers. Again, no time for me to test them out at the moment. Will also try to report back with anything promising... this is getting to be an annoying obstacle. lol.
If, like me, you mostly just want to be able to be able to keep on top of your S-planner to-do's, & don't have a great need for that apps menu that pops out of the side when you take out your S-pen, then change the s-pen settings, so that S-planner appears whenever the pen is detached.
I just remembered I could change it. for me this is GREAT because I never used that pen-apps popup. Also, I have really bad A.D.D., alongside O.C.D. . The result is that I constantly do ocd things, like put a lot of time into making detailed lists of things to do for the day, and set a stopwatch counter to track how long a task takes me to finish, but then I Always get distracted to the point, that All the time i put into countless overboard ocd attempts to keep on top of things, become completely worthless, because I have great difficulty keeping up any platform consistently. I feel like Sisyphus, rolling the giant bolder up the hill, and having it always roll back down. Anyways, on my Note tablet, I use the S-Pen more often than I use my finger, so for me, This works well.
Tablet_JF said:
Also, I have really bad A.D.D., alongside O.C.D. . ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess we all are to some extent or we wouldn't be on this forum reading things like this...
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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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.
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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?
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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.