Related
Does anyone running non hero roms use any of the home replacements out there like sweeter home, dxtop, panda , ahome or any other ones?
i used open home recently on JACxROMv1.3 to change the ugly palm pre app tray. it worked for a while, but then it really started making the phone lag.
Open home was great but im using now stock home on CM3.9.10 build.. its better
http://sweeterhomeskins.blogspot.com/search/label/Themes
Nope, only used aHome on 1.1 before I rooted. Using the stock launcher on Cyanogen 3.9.11, loving global search
Advanced Launcher + Ted's Hero. I found all of them slow compaired to a themed phone.
Open Home is awesome... But it slows your phone down way too much
With Cyans ROMs a home replacement may not slow down the phone too much. The CPU scaling could help with the slowdown issues. There may be a little slowdown, but I doubt it would ever be slower than a stock build not running a home replacement.
I use the Home program that comes with the sdk samples. It's only got one home screen, an app drawer (lower right) and 3 icon spaces that list your most recent apps. It's all very basic and it's got a bug where it loses the wallpaper when you switch portrait-landscape, but here it is anyway if you want to try it. I'll be using this app as the base for a launcher i'm working on (I'll add 4 more home screens, widget capability, I'll turn the "recent apps" strip into a scrollable "favorites" strip, and maybe toss in some default, full screen widgets (like hero's, kind of like search is bundled as a widget for Launcher). It'll be a good long while though, i'm still brushing up my java.
to install this, connect your phone, put it in your C:\, and do:
Code:
adb remount
adb push C:\Home.apk.zip /system/app/Home.apk
jubeh said:
I use the Home program that comes with the sdk samples. It's only got one home screen, an app drawer (lower right) and 3 icon spaces that list your most recent apps. It's all very basic and it's got a bug where it loses the wallpaper when you switch portrait-landscape, but here it is anyway if you want to try it. I'll be using this app as the base for a launcher i'm working on (I'll add 4 more home screens, widget capability, I'll turn the "recent apps" strip into a scrollable "favorites" strip, and maybe toss in some default, full screen widgets (like hero's, kind of like search is bundled as a widget for Launcher). It'll be a good long while though, i'm still brushing up my java.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would defeat the purpose of a home replacement. Whole point is to make it look pretty. I'm not sure how the default home and a home replacement program interacts. If the default home runs in the background even when using a home replacement, then a lighter weight default home could help the system run faster.
ahome doesnt work at the moment on latest cyanogen experimental roms, DXTOP is nice i like the "diamond" shape screen layout, the speed is good but can sometimes be a little slow loading apps in launcher, sweeter home looks amazing the preview one is not really usable but a preview 2 will be out soon and it has amazing potential with being able to customise so many aspects of the layout. I loved the standard home with advanced launcher but am having issues with the advanced launcher i think where screen goes black. Currently i am on panda, I had tried this when it came out and really didnt see the point but it has come along and has some very nice touches will probably stick with this until I can resolve the issues with advanced launcher, overall speed is good on the home replacements but the standard home is the quickest, the launcher is so smooth and there is no lag at all.
I'm using dxtop... its pretty quick now.
I was having lag issues many iterations of CM and dxtop ago. But both are working very well with eachother now. dxtop also added a categories view for the tray and you can have live folders of those categories on the desktop.
The dev is also constantly working on this to optimize it and add features. (I beta for him)
I would like for a home replacement to incorporate the sense UI bar.
I am beta testing SweeterHome right now. IT IS AWESOME. The new and improved SH will have some options that will just blow the others AWAY! (IMHO)
With the current Beta options I only need to use about three of my total screens (with widgets and ALL)... And, the third screen is used for the Application Grid.
I'll be sure to post something in the Apps section when it comes available.
There are some seriously great new options in the new SH and the image handling has all been updated - so, it works much faster.
There are a few features that just blow me away. But, I have to wait to speak about them until the app is ready!
I am looking for two things that I am not sure if they exist or not:
1. Is there any tool/hack/app/magic that will switch to a different wallpaper depending on which home screen you are on at the time?
2. Additionally, I don't see a way to create shortcuts on the home screen that will allow me to launch the app drawer, or to "jump" to a specific home screen.
Does anyone have any ideas if these are possible or am I barking up the wrong tree?
Thanks!
If you're using the (stock) Sense launcher, I don't know of any way to customize the wallpaper on a per (home)screen basis. Not sure if any third-party launcher does. I do know that Launcher Pro lets you disable the wallpaper scrolling.
The little triangle on the bottom left of the curved bar (next to the "Phone" button) opens the app drawer.
The stock launcher, besides allowing you to use the HTC widgets, offers practically no customization.
I've been using Launcher Pro for the last week, and have been very happy with it (disclaimer: if you've updated Qik, your default launcher setting frequently goes into the bit bucket (at least with the updates before the latest, which I have not tried). ADW Launcher is also very good, but I was getting intermittent force closes with it.
HTH,
-Jerry
#2 I don't know if you knew this put if you 'squeeze' the screen it shows an overview of the screens.
elegantai said:
#2 I don't know if you knew this put if you 'squeeze' the screen it shows an overview of the screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, yes. Forgot about that one...
Launcher Pro also does that, and you can also do a double-tap of the home button in Sense, for the same function.
ADW will let you assign that function to an up or down swipe on the screen, along with (or) some other choices.
Cheers,
-Jerry
adw allows you to assign a 'swipe up' and 'swipe down' command. i use them to access my preview screen (ie: see all desktops) and to show/hide notification bar.
great tool. lots of fun options to muss with.
regarding your questions
1) i dont think so. i think of it was one wallpaper covering 5 workspaces. not 5 different desktops.
2) try adw
Hi and welcome to the XDA community
First a massive thank you to everyone's work for docks, icons, threads and wallpapers in this thread ..
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INDEX
Post 1
My home screen
Minimalistic Text
Simi Clock
Advanced Clock
Docks for Launchers
Post 2
More Docks - Around 700
Simple Text
Icon Packs
Toggles
SMS Unread Count
GMAIL Unread Count
Galaxy S 2 Cases
Galaxy S 2 Screen Protectors
Desktop Visualizer - Plus Amazing Home screen
My second Home screen plus everything you need to make it
Post 3
Wallpapers
Link to people's Home Screens
Post 4
List of Launchers and descriptions
Web Browser Thread
Third Home Screen for Black Android
Widget Locker plus How to guide and lots of themes
My themes NEONGT and Beautiful Honeycomb
------------------------------------------------
This is for beginners who are new to android on how to setup a home screen using ADW Launcher EX and minimalistic Text widget plus more ......
THIS THREAD IS NEW AND BEING CHANGED AND UPDATED EVRYDAY.....LOTS MORE I HAVE TO ADD ..
Im aware there are a few threads that cover launchers and widgets but seems to get lost in the thread pages and the Questions keep getting asked over and over again..
Ive had many many requests and Questions on how to setup my homescreen pictured below..
Please remember this is a basic guide for beginners ..
MY HOME SCREEN GUIDE ...
ADW LAUNCHER EX.. PAID APP ! but worth it
This is my favourite Launcher that I always come back to and is what I use to setup my home screen up pictured abouve..
Download and purchase from the market (please note there is a free version of this Launcher call ADW LAUNCHER ...)
When the download is complete go back to your home screen and press the bottom middle button ...this should bring up the option to set your defualt Launcher...tick the box and select ADW LAUNCHER EX...
If you dont see this option when pressing the button you can download home switcher for free and use that app to set your default Launcher.
The rest of this guide is based on setting up my home screen and will give you the basic idea on how to use it ..
Ok place the icon pack, wallpaper and dock onto your sd card ..external or internal ..choice is yours ..
THE DOWNLOAD PACK HERE - http://www.multiupload.com/ZJCEOT2ESB
Now press the menu button (bottom left) and select more/ADWSettings/UI Settings/Main Dock/Main Dock style and select 5 icons.
Go back a page (bottom right button)
Press Screen Preferences and change the Desktop rows to 10 and the Desktop columns to 7 ( I use 7 as it gives you a central point on your homescreen if you want to use simi clock...more on that later)
Scroll down and tick Overlap widgets, once ticked selected back..
Press Drawer settings/App Draw Settings, from here you can choose the way the apps move and look in your app draw ...try out different ones ..I use Vertical new as its nice and smooth...
Tick Full Screen ..Now go back to your homescreen ...
Press and hold the screen and select wallpaper (gallery) ..you should see my wallpaper you put on your sd card earlier ...select the picture and make the square as big as it will go and move the square to the top..press menu buttom (bottom left) and save..
You should now have the wallpaper on the homescreen ..get rid of all the icons on your screen for the moment ..press and drag them to the bin at the top..
You should be left with something that looks like this ..(Please note my phone is themed so your internet icon will be blue )...You get the idea though..
Now long press the screen and select shortcuts/applications/messaging.
Drag the icon into the dock (next to the internet icon)..
Repeat the above for contacts and phone so you have all four icons in the dock..
Now repeat the above again but leave these icons on your homescreen....
Market,music,camera,xda (download from the market), email, gallery..
So you layout on your homescreen is like this ..
CAMERA GALLERY
MUSIC EMAIL
MARKET XDA
Now we are going to change these icons into the side icons you put on your sd card earlier ..
Long press the market icon and press edit, click on the market text and delete..now click on the market icon/setect picture/gallery ..
Select side icons ..now this is a pain because the left hand side icons are black and on mine you cant see which is which haha ...its a little guess work to find the market one ..if you select the wrong one you will have to repeat as above again ..as in delete text and press one the market icon again ect ect ..when you have the right one press OK...
Repeat for all the icons so your screen looks something like this ...
Again my dock icons will be different to yours ...
Now lets change the dock...
From the homescreen press menu (bottom left button) /more/ADWSettings/Themes Preferences.
Scroll down to the main dock and press the arrow...select custom/gallery and choose the dock you downloaded earlier...now press back to get to your home screen..
Now we can see the icons over the dock...here we are going to replace the icons with the blank icon download earlier..
Long press on the internet icon ...select edit and then press on the icon in the pop up screen (no need to delete the text) ...Select picture/gallery and select the blank icon ..should look all black...when selected you should see NO icon in the pop up screen....press OK..
Now you can see in the dock that the Internet icon has gone and you can see the dock text...now you can press on it for internet ..
Repeat the above for messaging, apps, contacts and phone icon..
Ok we have now set the home screen up ..we now need a clock and the date..
MINIMALISTIC TEXT
For this we are going to use Minimalistic Text ..Download it from the market (free)
Once downloaded go back to your homescreen...
Long press the home screen and select Widgets/Mininalistic Text/Minimalistic Text (hor) 3 x 1
Untick background
Press shadow settings ...tick Show shadow the press on Show colour..
You should see this ...
We need a light blue colour to match the left side of the wallpaper face and the side icons ..
Move the colour slider to the blue and then in the main square move the dot to the top right hand corner and select New colour..
Now click on Shadow Radius.. and set to 5 .press OK..
Press the back button (bottom right button) and scroll down to Predefined layout and press it..
Scroll to the bottom and select custom ..Now press Custom layout..
You should see this ..
We need to get rid of the three boxes..press hold and drag them into the trash bin...so they are all gone..
Now press the green plus + button and select clock...scroll through the boxes above the clock button you just scroll to find Hour (24) press and hold it and drag it into the above box. ..press the back button and scroll down to (text style) and select Non accented
This is the screen you should be on ..
So press Non accented ...press size and change to 55 and press OK..
Now press on Colour and change it to Black and press New colour
Now tick the Bold and Italic boxes and press the back button (bottom right button)..and press OK...it may ask if you want to set 3 x 1 ect ..just press ok again ..
Now you should see half the clock on the home screen (the 24 hour part) ..long press the number/clock and select edit...Note this may take a few attempts)..
Now you should see this
Now using the arrows move the clock to the top left ..so it looks nice
Now we need to repeat all the above steps for the right hand side of the clock but instead of selecting Light blue in Shadow Settings you need to select RED..
Also you need to select Minute (2 digits) instead of hour 24 which well ...would be silly haha..
Like this ....
Also remeber that the right side of the clock need to be white so no need to set it to black like before ..
Apart from those things just follow what you did for the left hand side of the clock ...
You have now set the clock ..
For the date its also the same ..left side blue shadow, black text ...right side red shadow, white text....
I'll guide you through the left hand side of the date...
Long press the home screen and select Widgets/Mininalistic Text/Minimalistic Text (hor) 3 x 1
Untick background
Press shadow settings ...tick Show shadow the press on Show colour..
We need a light blue colour to match the left side of the wallpaper face and the side icons ..
Move the colour slider to the blue and then in the main square move the dot to the top right hand corner and select New colour..
Now click on Shadow Radius.. and set to 5 .press OK..
Press the back button (bottom right button) and scroll down to Predefined layout and press it..
Scroll to the bottom and select custom ..Now press Custom layout..
Again drag and delete whats in the boxes and press the back buttoin..
Press the green plus button
Now we need to select and drag DAY ..then press the plus button and select and drag Month Text ..
Like this ..
Press the back button and select Accented and set to 25 ..press OK
Now tick the Bold and Italic boxes ..
Again we need to now change the colour to black so press on Colour...change to black and press new colour..
Press the back button and press Non accented ...repeat the steps above..as in set to 25 ...tick bold and Italic and change the colour to black..press the back button and press ok and set 3 x1 widget..
Now on the homescreen press and hold /edit ...move with arrows down to the bottom left ..
Now we just have to set the year ...by now you should know what your doing ..if not then read through my guide again..
So for the year we need to set the shadow as red ...the text as white ...Non accented as 25 tick bold and Italic ..
Heres the screen of the custom box you need ...
IMPORTANT NOTE - With the white text ..when you set it it maybe on the left hand side of the home screen and is sometimes hard to see..long press and move it to the black before editing it...
Also if you set something wrong you can always press on the widget to open it back up into settings !! ..
That has given you some idea of ADW LAUNCHER EX AND MINIMALISTIC TEXT ...You can now make your own home screen or select different options in the widget..
I really hope that has got the beginners off to a start..
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SIMI CLOCK WIDGET
Ok this is a little guide to use simi clock ..its pretty basic and easy to use..
I want an orange clock to go with this theme ...This guide is how to get simi clock to look like this ..
Heres the home screen with the clock ...
So download simi clock from the market place.
Long press on the home screen and select Widgets/gTabSMiClock - choose 3 x 1
Untick Display Week of Year
Press date format and change to 30/05/2011
Press on Textcolour and move the sliders until you have an orange colour.
Press on Divider colour and change the colour to orange ...just a little lighter
Press Background colour and move the alpha slider all the way to the left and press OK..
Now press save ..
It will be on your home screen ...I use ADW LAUNCHER EX.....long press on the clock on the home screen and press edit ...move the arrows so it looks like the one pictured above ...
Its that easy ..
The bottom showing the day is a widget called ONESEVEN ...no need to explain that really ..just make it transparent and set to large ..
Done.......
Advanced Clock
This is another great clock widget ....show weather, date, free ram, battery ect ... lots of different styles ..change the text or background ...even make it transparent or semi transparent ...
Got to love this one . ! Free from the market
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DOCKS
Here is a really fantastic selection of docks ...just right click them and save image to pc, then transfer to sd card and use with Launcher ...LOTS MORE TO UPLOAD !
BLANK ICON to use with some of the docks ...Instructions are above which gives you an idea of how to use it..
Blank Icon HERE -
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POST 2
More Docks
And the Icons to match
Thank to kaukassus for these
Not enough Docks ? Here's 700 more .......
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/20049676/1/Docks?h=29041a
Thanks to modelstudent ...
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Absolutely Massive collection of Icons Over 500 Icon packs !!! ....
Big thanks to falloutboy ...
HERE - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=824656
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SIMPLE TEXT
This is a very useful and easy app to make your own text Icons ...
Also if you look on your SD card there is a folder named simple text if you open it there should be a folder named fonts if not create it and put any font files you want to use inside as long as they are a .ttf ext they will be available to use when creating your icons.
-----------------------------------------------
A few more
And the rest (same style as above) here -
http://www.multiupload.com/6EW5DVMCD8
--------------------------------------------------
If there is no download link for some of the icons, right click them, save as image and then transfer to your SD card..
OK The blue ones pictured above are ones I make myself ....In lots of different colours ....A nice selection here ..... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=946160
If you want any different ones made please post in this thread as I hardly go into the SGS 1 forums now ..
APPS ICONS
--------------------------------------------------
ANDROID 3D ICONS
DOWNLOAD HERE - http://www.multiupload.com/9I2GTYYC0Q
SIDE ICONS
Here are the side icons in different colours ..green, red, blue, orange, grey ...Thanks to Goldieking ..
Download pack - http://www.multiupload.com/A6WQWLEM1K
Carbonized Icons ..424 Icons
DOWNLOAD PACK - http://www.multiupload.com/VWTHCWXIK0
Chrome Icons
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=378018
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Toggles
These very useful toggles are made by curvefish ...I really like them and they work very well ... All free for the market place ..
SMS Unread Count
This came about after it was reported that there SMS unread count didn't work when changing Launchers, A feature of touchwiz ? ..Anyway hopefully this is a work around....
GMAIL Unread count
As above but for gmail ...
Cases
A nice thread discussing the best cases and what people are using, very useful info ..
Thanks to chizzwhizz for starting the thread .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1026482
Screen Protectors
Again a very useful thread discussing whats good and not so good ...
Thanks to vinokirk for the thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1065384
Desktop Visualizer
This is an example of what this app can do with the right Icons ....Instruction guide below
Had alot of requests for this .....
Here is the link to it and a full guide !!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=815445
Latest Home screen - I need to stop making these .....to many requests
Widgets used
Simi Clock - including simi weather ( in with Simi Clock )
Missed it - (paid app) - Great app for missed calls, sms and emails
Tegrak Ultimate Overclock app - used to over clock stock or CF Root kernel ( comes with widget pictured)
ADW Launcher EX - Please read the start of the first post if you need help to change the icons and resize the widgets.
Fontomizer I also changed my font using this app to Zawgyi One TTF
Theme is from Litening Rom 1.4... Here is the wallpaper, dock icons (white and blue plus lots more which I made) and side icons .... The dock is in the list of docks in this thread.
Im too good to you guys lol
HERE - http://www.multiupload.com/3UL0WFW427
POST 3
Wallpapers
An awesome collection of wallpapers ...164 walls ...
A few examples ...(not true size, download is below)
To use the icons in the wallpaper...make a folder using Launcher pro or ADW Launcher EX and then use the blank icon to hide the folder ...great effect..
DOWNLOAD PACK - http://www.multiupload.com/R5AJLW11AT
Flikie HD Wallpapers
The best wallpaper app ever made .......A must app !! Pure Awesome .....
Home Screens Thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1055084
Thanks to Guitarfreak26 !!
POST 4
ANDROID LAUNCHERS
Launcher PRO (Free) ..
LauncherPro is one of the most seamless, bug-free launchers out there. With almost every aspect of the application customizable, it’s hard to make the choice to switch to anything else once you give it a go.
When you first load the application, you will see the basic home screen layout with three screens and some default widgets and icons. Unlike your default launcher, LauncherPro sports five dock icon spots for you to customize with custom icons, actions, pop-ups, and much more. These icons act as shortcuts for you to set your own favorite applications to be accessible on any screen within the home screens. By swiping these shortcut bars left or right, you will notice that there are three more shortcut bars, made up of five icons, allowing you to set 15 of your favorite applications to be accessible at any point on the home screen.
In addition, you are also able to set custom icons for the applications you choose to put into the shortcut bar as well as the dock background, ranging from the default set to any image that is appropriately sized to fit the dock dimensions.
As you begin to look through the settings, you stumble upon an abundance of things to “tweak” to your liking. LauncherPro lets you change the number of home screens, the transition effect between the screens, and the size of the grid on each home screen. Other bells and whistles include a 3D drawer, super-smooth scrolling, app drawer opening and closing animations, customizable app drawer grid size, elastic scrolling, Sense UI-style animated screen previews, and even more.
Summary:
Combined with its “free” price tag, the quality of this application is well worth the time to check it out. There is a reason the majority of the Android community opts to go for LauncherPro — it will not disappoint!
LauncherPro Plus (Paid)
By donating $2.99 to developer Federico Carnales through PayPal, you unlock the full version of LauncherPro which includes additional features, such as the ability to re-size widgets as you see fit, which comes in handy when playing around with a bigger-than-standard grid size.
The biggest and best advantage to buying the full version is the widgets, which closely resemble HTC Sense’s both visually and functionally. The list of widgets includes People, Bookmarks, Calendar, Messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and Friends, most of which have multiple styles for you to choose from.
Summary: For the low price of $2.99, you can support the developer in perfecting this application further, regardless of whether or not you need the extra features. Especially with a long-awaited complete application overhaul and rewrite coming soon, this home screen replacement solution will be well worth the money.
ADW Launcher EX (Paid)
This is the paid version of ADW Launcher ...listed below
Just like LauncherPro, ADW.Launcher also has a paid version with additional features and customization. For $3.14 USD, you can have the most customizable launcher available on the Android Market.
First off, ADWLauncher EX bumped the number of app drawer styles from two to five, which aims to satisfy all you fanatics who like change. Another big change is the ability to change the animation when swiping between home screens. You have the option to choose between eight of them which, once again, adds to that customization factor you may be considering when choosing a launcher.
Other small changes include new icons, a new look and feel, the ability to give icons backgrounds, the ability to change font sizes, and many other small new features, all of which can be saved in a new feature called “fast presets”. With these presets, you can quickly switch between your home screen styles and configurations on the fly if you get bored of one home screen too soon.
The developer has also mentioned new and better code, meaning an improvement in performance.
Summary:
ADWLauncher EX is perhaps the most customizable launcher on the Android Market, and it is well worth the money if you are looking to explore your creative side and wow your friends with your creations.
ADW Launcher (free)
This is the free version of ADW Launcher EX.....still a very good launcher though..
While LauncherPro is my first choice of launcher, the brilliant people at AnderWeb have made a close second. With most of the settings and features nearly identical to LauncherPro’s, you may find it hard to tell them apart.
Nevertheless, there are certain things that allow ADW.Launcher to stand out from its competition in addition to the features already mentioned in LauncherPro. By flicking up on the app drawer icon, you have the ability to drag and drop an unlimited number of shortcuts and folders into the dock which is useful if you have a large pile of things you need to access quickly.
Another feature that sets ADW.Launcher apart is the app drawer styles that you are able to choose rather than being stuck with one default one. If you are a fan of the Samsung Galaxy S line of phones with the side scrolling app drawer, you’re in luck. AnderWeb has made that available to you, as well as the default Android fluidly-scrolling vertical drawer.
Another feature that LauncherPro lacks but that ADW has is the ability to long press on any icon on the home screen, which reveals a menu where you are able to change the icon and name of the application. (LauncherPro requires you to remove the icon and create a new one from scratch.)
Summary:
Overall, ADW.Launcher is a solid, powerful, and free home screen replacement solution that will keep you satisfied for weeks to come. With lots of customization options, smooth scrolling, and fast response time, it is one of the best you will find.
GO Launcher EX (free)
This is a free Launcher ...very popular too ..
A relatively new launcher on the scene is GO Launcher EX by the up and coming Android development stars and authors of the GO SMS application, GO Dev Team.
One of the first things you’ll notice about this launcher is that inside the app drawer is a task killer of running applications. Rather than having a task killer running all the time and ruining your battery life, you now have the ability to shut down any running tasks on the fly, within the application, in case you are running low on memory.
By looking through the Preferences of this application, it becomes obvious that the GO Launcher Dev Team are huge fans of customizing. So many preference selections — Display, Screen, Dock, App Drawer, Operation, Advanced, and Theme Settings — may seem overwhelming at first, but after looking through all of the settings, you can customize GO Launcher EX to look like almost anything you like.
If you don’t need LauncherPro Plus’s widgets, GO Launcher Ex is definitely the best choice due to the build quality, number of features, usefulness and overall depth of the application. If you happen to have purchased LauncherPro Plus already, then GO Launcher doesn’t have any extra features that may warrant the switch after having shelled out $2.99. Regardless, it is a fantastic launcher. I cannot stress that enough.
Even though GO Launcher EX all the same features of ADW, and LauncherPro, the developers go that extra mile by including all of the incredible visual customization and are extremely active on their thread on XDA, jumping at the opportunity to include any features users suggest.
Slidescreen (free)
Im so excited about this Launcher ...I love it ..
Larva Labs Ltd have taken a different approach to the Android home screen. SlideScreen is made up of a multi-paneled screen that consists of a Phone, Messaging, Calendars, News, Stocks, and Twitter feeds. At the center of all of these is a main slider that consists of the date, time, weather information, battery status, and signal strength for both 3G and Wi-Fi, all very neatly packed into this container.
By sliding the main slider, you are able to adjust the size of each of the media section, allowing you to pick which sections you use or want the most. Access to all of your installed applications can be found through a shortcut in the menu.
By clicking on a slider section, you are greeted with the application that is associated with the section. For example, if you see that you missed a call, you tap the “phone” section, and are taken to the call history. Any upcoming appointments or important dates are shown under the “calendar” section and will take you to Slidescreen’s version of a calendar app when pressed.
Summary:
Larva Labs Ltd have broken away from the generic Android-esque look and tried something new — and it’s quite polished. There is the occasional bug or poorly coded section here and there, but an update will fix those without a doubt. It’s definitely something new if you want to get away from the same old look of every other launcher out there.
Slidescreen (Paid)
If you like the free version then Id recommend the paid version....
Android 2.3 Launcher (Paid)
Original launcher from latest android gingerbread branch.
Get latest launcher without waiting or rooting your device.
you can find my paid version by scrolling down to bottom and click "View more applications" to buy the paid version, thanks!
Feature:
* Pure Google Experience, Refined look and feel from Gingerbread.
* Choose between 2D / 3D apps drawer. (see #1)
* High quality wallpaper from Nexus S
* Add eclair (2.1) backward compatibility (Testing)
#1 3D app drawer only work on the following condition currently
1. 3D capable device (RenderScript capable and multi-context support)
2. 480*800(most mid to high end android device) or 480*854(Milestone/Droid or other mid-to-high end device)
3. Android 2.2 Aka. Froyo
How to open launcher settings:
Long press your home screen, and click "Launcher settings" in the "Add to home screen" dialog to open launcher settings.
This is a free version, if you do like this app, please buy "Android 2.3 Launcher (Home) +" to support my work, thanks!
Also checkout free "LiveWallpaper from Gingerbread" from us. It will be a good companion to your home!
Or are you looking for gingerbread keyboard, we also have one for you. just look for "Keyboard from Gingerbread"!
Zeam Launcher
This is a very fast Launcher, Zeam is not to add the most launcher functionality and extraneous eye-candy, but instead to be a “…free and lightweight launcher alternative…”, according to its website. You will find that Zeam holds true to its promise, and adds little in the way of wiz-bangs and flashy-doodads. At best it supports some relatively basic animations and transitions, which likely won’t “Wow!” anybody, and definitely won’t assist you in speeding up your phone, which is the purpose of Zeam in the first place.
Zeam does however, build upon the basic Android launcher’s basic functions with some of the following features:
Manipulation of App Grid size
Scrollable widgets
4 Fully customizable gestures
Scrolling customizable home dock
These features are all fine and dandy, but if you’re looking for feature-packed launcher goodness you’ll be better off looking at ADW or LauncherPro. Where Zeam really shines is in speeding up a heavily-loaded or aging phone. My original Motorola Droid was slowing to a crawl with the vanilla Froyo launcher, responding slowly to taps and swipes made on the home screen with only 2 widgets (Jorte Calender and Facebook)! Zeam frees up a lot of memory and is very light on its feet, allowing you to simply get things done faster and without a headache.
SPB Shell 3D Launcher
As we all know, the beauty of Android stems from the fact that you get a wide variety of choices when it comes to devices and interface, though the latter can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Luckily, users who are fed up with their bloated Android UI but don't want to (or can't) mess around with ROMs now have another easy solution. Joining the handful of Android launchers is SPB's Shell 3D app, which installs as a replacement (but removable) home screen that comes with some nifty widgets (radio switches, backlight dimmer, weather forecast with a 3D chart, clock with over 60 skins, world time with a 3D globe, etc.) and resizeable folders.
As you can see above, the highlight of the show here is a cool-looking 3D carousel for switching between up to 16 panels, and you can trigger it by either tapping or horizontally dragging the bottom-center button. Whilst in carousel mode, you can also rearrange the panels, change their colors, or flick away excess panels. All of this required no manual reading on our end, so it's safe to say that this is a pretty intuitive app. Read on to see what the performance is like.
Yes its expensive but what a launcher ..whats missing from this ...you cant customize the dock icons ...whether thats enough to put you off is up to you...
We've been playing with Shell 3D on our Xperia Play, Nexus S, and Dell Venue for a few days, and we're still surprised by its butter-like smoothness -- SPB claims that the app is rendered consistently at 60fps on most modern Android devices. The only time we see this app hiccup is when we throw in the Pictures panel (for displaying Flickr's pictures of the day), so while this feature is a nice touch, we tend to keep it tucked away for minimal irritation. Other than that, we enjoy casually spinning the carousel or flicking between the panels for the subtle 3D transition effect, without significantly affecting battery life as well.
As for the app list, it's simply a vertical scrolling list with springy effects when you hit the top or bottom, but there's also a nice addition here: apps that already have a shortcut added to a panel are marked with a little home icon. That said, there's another side to this: for some reason, SPB decided that we shouldn't be allowed to add the same shortcut to multiple panels, which can be annoying for those who want maximum accessibility to the most frequently used shortcuts. For an app costing $14.95, this shouldn't be too much to ask for, right? But otherwise, Shell 3D is a pretty neat add-on for those looking to breathe new life into their Android phones.
Android Windows 7 Launcher
There are a lot of third-party application launchers available for Android from GO Launcher EX to ADW to LauncherPro. Most Android users choose to go to a third party launcher to either get a stock look on their phone or just to customize it more. While my personal favorite launcher has always been LauncherPro (please no hate mail from ADW fans), the delays in an update to the rewrite of LauncherPro made me begin to look elsewhere for a new feel for my phone.
Launcher 7 is an attempt to replicate the simplicity of Windows Phone 7’s launcher on an Android device, and it does a great job. There are others out there (like Windows Phone Android), but Timo Kujala’s Launcher 7 easily takes the cake. From live tiles to widgets to transition animations, Launcher 7 is the way to go for someone who wants a simple launcher or who loves the look and feel of Windows Phone 7, but doesn’t want to leave the Android fold.
The Set Up
When you first open Launcher 7 it gives you a default set of icons like Phone and Browser and then lists the rest of your applications to the next screen on the right, which can be accessed by swiping over or pressing the arrow. If there is an application that you want to add as a tile to the main screen, all you have to do is long press the application and a new screen will appear allowing you to customize the tile with whatever icon you want and how large you want the tile to be (1×1, 2×1). Launcher 7 comes with a set of white icons to use if you want to try and make each tile look as close as possible to WP7, or you can just use the application’s default icon.
Live Tiles
This is where Launcher 7 really shines over and against other WP7 launcher imitations. There are options for live tiles, like the calendar tile you see above. The calendar tile will cycle through your 24 hour events or display an event that is coming up that day. Another option for live tiles is a People tile, which displays pictures of your various contacts. For those familiar with WP7, you’ll recognize that these live tiles are straight from the WP7 launcher. While the options for these lives tiles are limited right now, there is a lot of potential to make the app even more like WP7 and then to expand beyond with custom live tiles.
Widgets
Recently, support for widgets has been added. As you can see from the images above, my battery percentage and weather forecast widgets fit right in with the rest of the tiles. Any widget can be added by pressing menu and then Add Widget. While there will be some limitations for which widgets can be added (mostly size), you shouldn’t have much trouble finding a way to get the information you need onto your main screen. The widgets update automatically and respond exactly how they would if they were on a normal Android launcher.
Wrap Up
Launcher 7 isn’t for everyone, but for people who love a simple experience and want access to their information and their applications quickly, Launcher 7 is worth a try. The dev doesn’t guarantee that the launcher will work on all phones, but a quick perusal of the comments will show that most phones handle the launcher just fine. It has easily replaced LauncherPro for me because of its simplicity. I’m by no means a lover of minimalism (I would pick Fancy or Beautiful Widgets clocks over any other clock), but with a busy schedule and a need to access things quickly and easily, Launcher 7 helps me get things done. Besides all of that functionality mumbo-jumbo, it’s fun to use. I find myself choosing to use Launcher 7 more and more because I enjoy the simple beauty that it offers.
You can find both a free version (with ads on your applications list page) and an ad-free paid version in the market. Even die hard fans of Launcher Pro and ADW should give this a shot – you may be pleasantly surprised.
Web Browser Thread
Lost of info on the subject here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1101308
Thanks to Oat23
Black Android Theme Thanks to pele for the theme and nitrozk for the port
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1131746
Love this theme so much I thought Id make some screens
Here is the wallpaper, icons and dock for the above Home Screen and Lock Screen
http://www.multiupload.com/5FDEGU7MVS
Had lots of pm's about the Android Market Icon ...infact its in with the wallpaper and I just put the market icon over it and changed it to dots, there is also a blank icon that you can use instead if you prefer. The blank icon is also used for the dock apps...
Everything on the screen is from using ADW Launcher EX, more info on how to use it in post 1 ...
Screen shots of market icon ...before and after ...
Widgets used ...
Simi Clock
Simi Weather
Simi Battery (all in the same app)
Missed it (paid app)
Circle Launcher
Widget Locker
I used Dialer2 app and Better Keyboard app to fit with the Black Android theme more ...great apps too ..Screen Shots of both apps below...
[email protected] in contacts aka Jimmy, he'll kill me if he sees this haha..
Enjoy ..
Widget Locker
Please note the market is now black because of the Black Android themed vending.apk
Widget Locker How to Guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=825553
Widget Locker Themes
When you have download a theme you like...dont upzip it, place the zip file in - Internal sdcard/data/com.teslacoilsw.widgetlocker/themes then open Widget locker and select from the app ..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=968613
Since making this thread I have now made 4 themes ..
NeonGT (Jumba's Original) ...Red and Blue
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138692
And my latest and best theme to date is Beautiful Honeycomb
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1181143
God bless your soul.
Sent from galaxy S 2 using xda app
Nice post. Good work rixsta.
Props for your efforts in making this for those who want to know.
Do all those mods affect battery life at all?
Personally I've never bothered playing with all that as IMO it looks tacky and doesn't fit with the Android UI but I guess that's the beauty of Android I do use Minimalistic text though, which does take getting use to setting up custom widgets.
LawAce said:
Props for your efforts in making this for those who want to know.
Do all those mods affect battery life at all?
Personally I've never bothered playing with all that as IMO it looks tacky and doesn't fit with the Android UI but I guess that's the beauty of Android I do use Minimalistic text though, which does take getting use to setting up custom widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it wont affect battery life using a different launcher or changing your home screen....Ive never found it to anyway.
A lot of widgets may slightly though...
As in doesn't fit wth the android theme ..depends on how heavy you mod the framework or flash a theme to fit your new home screen ..I made an awesome android green home screen for my SGS 1 ..maybe I'll make it for the SGS 2 and post it ...
Its early days for that though ...new themes will come ..as will roms ..
Your right though ..its a personal choice ..but its nice to have the choice
Sure is the beauty of android ..stock or custom ..Android Rocks..
Great work rixsta.
Can't wait to get mine and start fafin about with it lol.
y0.o! said:
Great work rixsta.
Can't wait to get mine and start fafin about with it lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey mate ....really good to see you back on the forums ..the SGS 2 forums at that... !
Happy flashing
Even though i am not gonna use any of that, but your efforts are worth to Thank you...
Fantastic work as always Rixsta
Don't suppose you have anymore of those white and blue text icons do you? Gmail, Twitter and Facebook in particular ;-)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
WhiteHartMart said:
Fantastic work as always Rixsta
Don't suppose you have anymore of those white and blue text icons do you? Gmail, Twitter and Facebook in particular ;-)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll have loads of them..I'll post a link at the bottom next to them in post 2
Nice to see you on the SGS 2 forums...
EDIT I have linked the thread to more of them ...They are steel blue ones ..
hazem77 said:
Even though i am not gonna use any of that, but your efforts are worth to Thank you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats really nice of you thanks ..
rixsta said:
ICONS
And the rest (same style as above) here -
www .multiupload. com/6EW5DVMCD8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you tell me what font these are in? I like them and want to make similar ones for other apps I use, but can't get the text styled right
Thanks for the effort .. i will try doing it tomorrow
thanks again
Edit : for some weird reason the market is not allowing me to buy/install ADW LAUNCHER EX
Twomorecharacters said:
Could you tell me what font these are in? I like them and want to make similar ones for other apps I use, but can't get the text styled right
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ..Its Arial Bold on adobe photoshop ..
I can send you the PSD file if that's easier for you ..
Then you can just change text/colour yourself ..that's what I do when Im making new ones..
Dark_Lord0122 said:
Thanks for the effort .. i will try doing it tomorrow
thanks again
Edit : for some weird reason the market is not allowing me to buy/install ADW LAUNCHER EX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you have setup your account correctly using your bank card ..
I had lots of trouble doing it ..it wouldn't accept my card ..took me ages..
Paypal have been in talks with google about adding a paypal account ...nothing has come of it yet though ..Its a pain I know..
rixsta said:
Make sure you have setup your account correctly using your bank card ..
I had lots of trouble doing it ..it wouldn't accept my card ..took me ages..
Paypal have been in talks with google about adding a paypal account ...nothing has come of it yet though ..Its a pain I know..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My card is working perfectly fine and i bought other items from the market before but now its telling me that its not compatible with my device :/
Dark_Lord0122 said:
My card is working perfectly fine and i bought other items from the market before but now its telling me that its not compatible with my device :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh i see ...
That's very strange...It should work ..
I convinced my dad to get a waterproof smartphone for the free wifi calling.
Its his first smartphone and he wants me to lock down the phone so he doesnt mess anything up. Hes quite talented that way.
This thread says some of the roms dont have tmobile uma wifi calling
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=931972&page=3
I dont have the post count for that forum.
In new to android and dont know which rom to use? Motorblur has to go lol.
Phone has a red lens.
He doesnt have a data plan only wifi. He will mostly use wifi for calling but might read email and check weather once in a while but wont be surfing the web or playing games or anything.
If i could i would like a launcher with a single home screen with only about 10 apps and they would be locked from moving. There would be a largish call dock icon on the bottom and a clock widget near the top. The notification bar would have the date and a longer battery icon.
While on the home screen, the menu button would turn a flashlight on and off and the search button would launch the music player. Hitting the home button five times and entering a password would bring up the list of all the installed apps so i could go to the settings or market etc to change things.
The notification bar woud have slightly bigger icon and when swiped down would also show wifi and bluetooth controls like on my moms samsung galaxy. Also liker hers the lock screen would change to the puzzle piece swipe when theres a new message.
Get a custom launcher like Go Launcher EX and hide all the apps you dont want to use from the launcher
Stuff like browser I is a bad idea to remove, just hide the icon to launch it.
For WiFi intensive, I'd suggest going with a stock Blurless Froyo, since CM7 could have some issues when using WiFi.
Adw ex has an option to lock the homescreen so nothing moves. You can set it to be one page and lock it.
Sent from my MOTWX435KT using XDA App
adw launcher works pretty good! I was able to remove all but the one main desktop screen and then lock it. Had to set desktop overshoot to 0 to stop screen from bouncing when flicked.
Where would i ask for the following requests.
-Wider dock bar icons. having 3 or 5 dialer icons on the dock looks crappy lol.
-taller dock bar icon.
-menu button turns a flashlight app on and off
-search button launches a music player app
-home button works normally and goes home, if pressed 30 times in a row then brings up menu for me to get to settings/wallpaper/unlock/app drawer.
I am not sure on ADW EX but Go Launcher EX have the option of changing the dock background. Just use a picture with just 2 or 3 icons as back ground and use transparent icons. I set this way to mimic original DEFY launcher home with just Phone and Contacts in the dock bar. Attached the files here. Got it from here only but forgot the original post.
*** Note sure if I have explained it properly here
Try Launcher 7. You can lock the screen so icons can't be moved, and hide the rest from the app list. MIUI it's simple and easy to use, was great for my wife to learn Android, CM7 can get kind of confusing for some people.
Swyped from my MIUI 1.9.23 Defy
Angelus47 I dont like launcher 7 cant put enough icons/tiles on one screen.
Does MIUI have tmobile wifi calling app?
pprakash Is it better to have button image on the dock background and transparent icons over or is it better to cut the button image across several icon sized wide pieces.
In adw launcher the dock background is set by the theme. Im not sure how to create a theme. On the other hand if i didnt scale the split icons pieces to the right size there would be gaps between them I think.
Right now i have one visual voicemail on the left, one messaging on the right and three dialers in the middle.
perhaps i could find where the images for themes are stored and replace the dock backround image for the default theme.
tmiket said:
pprakash Is it better to have button image on the dock background and transparent icons over or is it better to cut the button image across several icon sized wide pieces.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With Go Launcher EX I find having the single image as background provided slightly bigger images rather than using individual icons. But I have attached individual icons as well here hopefully it helps you ..
Hi all,
I have jumped on the Amazon Fire Phone. I'm already a prime member, using an old LG P930 with Cyanogenmod, but as you can imagine the hardware is a bit old. For $100.00 (since I'm already a prime member the extra year of Prime would have been purchased anyways) this phone was a no brainier for me. My question is, what launcher are you guys running? The Nova launcher works well, but gives an error when installing widgets. Trebuchet fails to launch unfortunately. So far my favorite launcher is Cheetah Launcher by CC Launcher. Everything works, it's clean, and allows the use of my widgets. (Pandora and 1 weather is a must for me). Swiping up to go back works just fine. The only thing I don't like is you don't get notifications of emails or messages in the dock. Also, the default AOS status bar seems a bit weak. It notifies you and the notification goes away. I have been seeing something, wanting to grab it later, and then forget. :|
Anyone else got any launcher or good apps that go well with them to make it more user friendly? I'm very impressed what a simple launcher and side loading apps will give you with this device with out downgrading it or rooting it.
- Jeremy
I've tried nova launcher and Doodol launcher. They both seem to work with the exception of wallpapers
Anyone have any idea of what needs done to get wallpapers working?
On 3.5.0 wallpapers only work with root (xposed tweak)
Yahoo Aviate works well with sll of their built in wallpapers (no widgets work, and you can't select a picture from your gallery though)
Buzz Launcher works with wallpaper support (including your own images). No widgets work though.
I tried a bunch of launchers today and those two are the best so far
So annoying that widgets didn't work on Nova, which has always been our preference, so I set up GEL on wife's new phone. So far she's ok with it, except for being confused how to get out of the Google Now panel (she thought it was an app and was trying to swipe up to get "back" not realizing it was just the left most panel of the launcher).
One thing I did try to set up also that isn't working is Pie Control. It worked for a little bit when first loaded, but subsequent attempts to activate it haven't been successful. I suspect the swipe-in capabilities are hi-jacked by the Fire OS.
Another annoyance is the inability to make direct-dial shortcuts.
I installed, or attempted to install the GNL and wasn't successful. I'll give it a go again. I think I remember the install took, but it wouldn't open the launcher. Still, if looking around, check out that Cheetah Launcher. It just doesn't give notifications in the dock.
Speaking of notifications, does anyone know of a good notification bar? The stock bar on this phone doesn't show an icon that there is a pending kik message, voicemail, text, etc.
rEVOLVE said:
So annoying that widgets didn't work on Nova, which has always been our preference, so I set up GEL on wife's new phone. So far she's ok with it, except for being confused how to get out of the Google Now panel (she thought it was an app and was trying to swipe up to get "back" not realizing it was just the left most panel of the launcher).
One thing I did try to set up also that isn't working is Pie Control. It worked for a little bit when first loaded, but subsequent attempts to activate it haven't been successful. I suspect the swipe-in capabilities are hi-jacked by the Fire OS.
Another annoyance is the inability to make direct-dial shortcuts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I installed the Google Now Launcher .apk again. It then stated I needed google search. Downloaded that .apk. It told me to clear my launcher defaults, I did, but Google Now Launcher isn't an option in the launcher selection. Any idea?
Never mind. I restarted the phone and is good to go. I seem to like the Cheetah Launcher much better so far!
I use Vire Launcher. Its built in wallpapers work perfectly and all widgets work and can be resized. It also has some cool effects.
tried vire launcher and dodol launcher. neither launcher seems to update my missed call count or text messages count properly. ie always showing missed calls.
anybody having this issue as well, or know of a fix?
alrgeez said:
tried vire launcher and dodol launcher. neither launcher seems to update my missed call count or text messages count properly. ie always showing missed calls.
anybody having this issue as well, or know of a fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've installed a few launchers, okay - a lot of launchers. Below are the ones that I found that give the count of SMS, missed calls, etc.
- Nine Launcher (not a huge fan)
- C Launcher Lite (not bad - not very customizable)
- Solo Launcher (pretty slick - but outside widget support doesn't work)
I'm currently on the hunt for a good status bar or notifier.
The Google Now Launcher seems to work very well without any lag. Its very light weight although not very customizable. So far it seems to be a good place to start until other launchers become more compatible. I added the dashclock widget to the homescreen, with better weather addon, plus the other alerts I need and this seems a complete setup right now that matches my Nexus 4 setup.
Xyth said:
The Google Now Launcher seems to work very well without any lag. Its very light weight although not very customizable. So far it seems to be a good place to start until other launchers become more compatible. I added the dashclock widget to the homescreen, with better weather addon, plus the other alerts I need and this seems a complete setup right now that matches my Nexus 4 setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anybody know, how can i create folders in goole now launcher. I tried holding 1 app icon and pasting it over another, but straight away it takes to the main screen.
Thanks
ankitaroramba said:
Does anybody know, how can i create folders in goole now launcher. I tried holding 1 app icon and pasting it over another, but straight away it takes to the main screen.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Drag one icon and drop onto another icon. This creates a folder that you can then name.
GoLauncher Ex
GoLauncher Ex seems to work well, all widgets worked for me
Xyth said:
Drag one icon and drop onto another icon. This creates a folder that you can then name.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but this is only working at the home screen, not in the apps menu.
Is it working for you in Apps menu as well? Let me know i have tried 100 times, and soon as i try to drag 1 icon it takes me to the home screen,.
ankitaroramba said:
Thanks, but this is only working at the home screen, not in the apps menu.
Is it working for you in Apps menu as well? Let me know i have tried 100 times, and soon as i try to drag 1 icon it takes me to the home screen,.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can make folders on the apps menu. I don't seem to be able to on my Nexus 4 with its stock launcher, so its no surprise you cant do it in the Google launcher we are loading.
Thanks for this question though. I thought the launcher was limited to 3 pages but I found that you can create more empty pages by long pressing the home screen and moving the existing side pages to one side of the home page, then dragging icons to the side that now has no page to create a new page. I tried simply dragging icons earlier but it would not form a new page until I moved the old page first. Strange process but it works.
Fire Phone Lauchers - Wallpaper and Widgets
Hi All -
I've gone through just about every launcher I can find to find one that both wallpaper and Widgets work on... With no luck.
Buzz Launcher has wallpaper working, a number of launchers have widgets working, but none with both...
Has anyone else had any luck with both? Do we know what makes one or the other not work? Would rolling back to older versions of some of these launchers (pre-lollipop and kitkat) work?
Thoughts? Help? Suggestions?
Thanks!!!
Has anyone tried Action Launcher Pro? I wonder if it gets along with Fire Phone (no root).
I've tried at least 20 different launchers today. The only one that has wallpaper and widgets working is still Vire Launcher.