Database Develop

What is your favorite launcher--and why?

I've got a bunch of launchers loaded on my EVO, but my favorite ones for the G-Tab are ADW.launcher and ZEAM (XDA developed launcher).
I like both of them because they're snappy and offer a high degree of customization (e.g. being able to specify the number of columns and rows for both the workspace and the apps).
ADW.launcher seems a bit more customizable since it supports themes, but Zeam is nice because it gives you an app bar on the workspace that you can load up to 8 quick apps.

I still have a soft spot for Launcher Pro. I know that ADW has themes, but LP is fast and does what I need it to do. I have not found a reason to change, yet.

+1 for launcher pro. I liked the themes on ADW but I like the customizable buttons, configurable columns and rows and the widgets with LP.

Perchance I will try Zeam at some point, but in general I am happy with Launcher Pro.
-=Sent from my ViewSonic G Tablet (VEGAn) using Tapatalk=-

zeam cause its lightweight.

Launcher Pro here too.

I'm still playing with Sweeter Home. I like to completely customize the screen layouts. It isn't flawless in operation, but it does provide me lots of time to fidget.

LauncherPro. I like the features and being able to save/load my screen layout/setup is fantastic after flashing ROMs and reinstalling apps.

I prefer GDE but can't get it to work properly (menu's pop up flaky) on the GTab so I'm using LauncherPro.

Launcher pro. Light weight and fast.

Allways been a fan of launcher pro on my android devices it just works how i like

Do any of the themes allow more than sixteen icons per page? There is a LOT of space that more icons could go in.
Is this one of those "phone & portrait" os design constraints?

i'm an ADW fan on my Droid 1 and i tried it on my gtab but i found zeam to be better. its faster and smoother, more lightweight, and actually resizes wallpaper properly. i love adw's themes but i rather go with speed than with custom icons. also love zeam's dock, has tons of space for icons. only thing i don't like about it is that you can't save your configuration.
launcher pro i never liked. probably cuz i can get most of that stuff for free on other launchers. gotta pay to resize a widget? cmon now. also live wallpaper is really sluggish for some reason on launcher pro. keeps stuttering when i turn on the screen, no matter what live wallpaper i try.

gotwillk said:
'm an ADW fan on my Droid 1 and i tried it on my gtab but i found zeam to be better. its faster and smoother, more lightweight, and actually resizes wallpaper properly. i love adw's themes but i rather go with speed than with custom icons. also love zeam's dock, has tons of space for icons.
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Same here. Zeam Launcher + MultiPicture Livewallpaper.

thats really cool! The light effects of that background are live?

I like gde but no icons with all the the themes. But... +10 on launcher pro
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Iam I weird for not running a launcher? I always feel like they slow the system down a bit. I might have to start because all these cool looking home screens are making me jealous!

Launcher Pro... but I think I might try zeam after reading this thread.

I prefer Tap n' Tap for my launcher... OK, who am I kidding
Actually, I use Launcher Pro as well, but I also noticed the live wallpaper stuttering and always thought it was because every app seemed to want to reload itself upon wakeup. However, with all of the love out here for Zeam, I'm going to have to give that a try as well!

has anyone tried the go-launcher?
SInce there are several launchers around I'm curious what the pro's and con's are for each... I think tis thread is going a long way to that. Maybe once we managed to get all the info together we could start making a sticky with pros/cons for each launcher...
Just a thought

Best launcher?

So I think I tried every launcher in the market and I can't decide. I'm running fusion right no and adw fc on me all day. Launcher pro kills the battery, there's four other ones but they aren't customiable like adw or LP any ideas?

I use zeam

Josh K. said:
I use zeam
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Tried that too. I liked that one, but I couldn't change the darn icons

launcher pro is the best
next prob is open home full cut
also the cheaper way crazy home was alright

Go Launcher, Panda Home, Open Home

ADW Launcher EX

Neckrobeard said:
ADW Launcher EX
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+1. Its paid but worth it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App

i almost always end up back with launcher pro

I started with adw on an htc magic, switched to launcher pro, kept launcher pro when I got my captivate, started using Go, and am currently running adw. Going to check out zeam, but unless it has some feature I really love, I expect I'll buy adw ex and stick with it.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

tiuk said:
I started with adw on an htc magic, switched to launcher pro, kept launcher pro when I got my captivate, started using Go, and am currently running adw. Going to check out zeam, but unless it has some feature I really love, I expect I'll buy adw ex and stick with it.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
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I use ADW EX and it's the best launcher I've used out of Launcher Pro (massive battery drain for me), Panda Home (laggy), Open Home (laggy), Go Launcher (not my type), Zeam (very good minimalist theme but also not my type)

goob1284 said:
So I think I tried every launcher in the market and I can't decide. I'm running fusion right no and adw fc on me all day. Launcher pro kills the battery, there's four other ones but they aren't customiable like adw or LP any ideas?
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What version of LP do you use that kills your battery? Its never been a battery killer for me.

whiteguypl said:
What version of LP do you use that kills your battery? Its never been a battery killer for me.
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Launcher pro has been known to drain battery on people's battery faster than usual. I used the latest one and silk had the same issue which made me switch to ADW EX
Sent from outer space while finding another place

Go launcher ex, Go launcher ex, Go launcher ex.
Oh, and Go launcher ex. Swipe gestures on dock icons and sorting my app drawer into folders has made it by far the best launcher I have used so far.
Herp derp Captivate XDA app.

whiteguypl said:
What version of LP do you use that kills your battery? Its never been a battery killer for me.
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0.8.3 is my version

I have tried all of the above and keep going back to go launcher ex.

dethtek said:
I have tried all of the above and keep going back to go launcher ex.
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im trying it out and so far it looks pretty good

Coak5 said:
Launcher pro has been known to drain battery on people's battery faster than usual. I used the latest one and silk had the same issue which made me switch to ADW EX
Sent from outer space while finding another place
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Has it been known to drain battery or have a lot of people that don't really know what there talking about said it does. Not sarcasim I'd actually like to know this because I don't understand why it would do it to others but not me.
goob1284 said:
0.8.3 is my version
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Hmm same as the last version I used.
Side note go launcher is really nice too.

I'm using LauncherPro (paid) for a few months now and love it.. I've tried most of the popular ones always go back to LP. Haven't tried Go Launcher EX yet though, so I'll give it a spin and we'll see!

Zeam Launcher
Zeam Launcher - first tried it on DocKitchenRoms, and then kept it. It's small, simple, fast, supports customizable up and down swipes, customizable bottom buttons/icons, custom grid settings, transparent app list, auto-rotation etc. Free. Worth trying. Crashes when selecting wallpaper, but setting sticks.
I use it with Smooth Calendar widget - also transparent with custom colors.
Battery life with it pretty good on Torch 1.5 ROM, can have up to 4 days on standby and talk.

I use ADW...
It's fully customizable.
Home Screen -
Customize your homepage icons images, size and text.
Fully customize the dock. (icon size, number of icons, hide dock bg)
Customize widget sizes.
Customize number of rows and columns.
Set homescreen scroll speed and overshoot.
Add pages.
Set any page as default homescreen.
Lots more!
App Drawer -
Custom app grouping and labeling.
Customize number of rows and columns.
Set animation time.
Fade icon labels.
Switch between pages or vertical scrolling.
Much more!
Not too bad for free!
I enjoy ADW. It's simple, effective and runs VERY stable on my Captivate. I have not had ADW Force Close on me, not once. The damn thing runs flawlessly across almost all versions of Android OS.

[Q] Best Home Launcher app on g1

Which home launcher do you think is the best? AND WHY?
(i.e. Go launcher, Launcher pro, Adw Launcher, Zeam Launcher,.etc.)

I tried LauncherPro on my Nexus and didn't really like it. Using ADW on the G1, it seems fast and stable and allows me to configure quite a few things.

My choice is currently GO Launcher EX. For some reason ADW Launcher does not work too well for me.

I like LauncherPro for smoothness and the way it handles. I've not found better for that. The lack of options is a real disappointment though. There's very few configuration and customization options, especially with the App Drawer.
ADW has what I would say are those missing options, but doesn't feel as nice or responsive to me. I tend to install either GO Launcher or LauncherPro over it pretty early. I haven't tried Zeam. The "minimalistic" marketing as such doesn't appeal to me and shouts lack of functionality and economy basics. Not what I'm looking for, but then again I haven't tried it.
GO Launcher is my favourite for having so many options, also feeling nice, and a built-in manager. It's not perfect, but it's handy. I am leaning towards the smoothness of LauncherPro as of late and I just really wished it had some extra functionality.
I tried Wave Launcher last night, but I ran into a few issues with not being able to pick a default - It seemed two launchers were active and the phone halted to a crash. Now this solved itself after a reboot, but I expected more. It's not as smooth as I would've hoped and I don't like the gesture activation. I would rather the Wave was smoother and was the springboard dock itself. Also the App Drawer doesn't seem to hide background items properly.

I use zeam, eventhough it is very minimalistic, the features that it gives is great, with gesture binding, scrolling widget support, etc. try it out zeam.org it is also very light on the g1

maximo360 said:
Which home launcher do you think is the best? AND WHY?
(i.e. Go launcher, Launcher pro, Adw Launcher, Zeam Launcher,.etc.)
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I would say Go launcher Ex is best... it has lots of features plus its smooth on g1 and the cool themes that you could download... launcher 2 it also good but lacks features

Go launcher EX is the best I have tried so far.. I used to only use Launcherpro because it was smooth but launcher EX is even smoother on the G1 (and perfect on the hD2 )

I like Adw Launcher. It's pretty fast and has lots of features.

I personally prefer stock launcher2. Light and fast without all the extra customization settings. Other launchers seem to try really hard to improve on what is already pretty good.

Best Home Launcher!
Well, I think GDE was the best! But I think Zeam Launcher is more fast! I tried them both and loved them... if you want extra customizations, etc then go for the GDE launcher but if you want fast and light then Zeam Launcher is best choice for you! Hope that helped.

GO launcher vs ADW?

The only reason why I like GO launcher better is because of the Recent, and the built in easy to access task manager.
Why do you guys use the launcher you use?
What has the least amount of ram?
Customizability?

I use go launcher personally because i like the feel and look of go compared to adw
Sent from my VS910 4G using XDA

I really like Go but I won't use it anymore because it is way too bloated for me.
Try 360 launcher. It is translated in the android apps section. Not quite as much theme ability as Go but it is pretty smooth. I use adw because it averages 13 mb of ram usage and has a ton of customization.

I loved GO purely for the locker options. Young straight to sms was sweet. But damn was it hard on my battery. I haven't tried it on Broken Out yet though
Sent from my BROKEN OUT Revolution.

I used to use GO (for about 6 months), but it's all bloated with eye-candy now. I tried ADW briefly, but it didn't really impress me.
I bought the paid version of Launcher 2 (which is basically the full version of the stock LG Home launcher) a while ago and went back to using it. However, I still run GO Contacts Ex and GO SMS Pro (on Launcher 2).
The only thing I miss is the ability to group my apps. Launcher 2 only sorts them alphabetically.

I have tried ADW, launcher pro, and shell 3D, but always find myself going back to GO launcher. I really enjoy the scrolling folder widgets you can use with folder organizer and the "eye candy" transitions are tbe best. Now that I'm on Broken Out 1.1 battery hasn't been an issue.
Sent from my GalaxyTask GT-P7510 using xda premium

I am an admitted Go Launcher EX fanboy. all other launchers are just missing one thing or another. These Go guys are voracious updaters. Some call feature rich software bloated but I can't think of anything in Go Launcher that cant be turned off.
You can rest assured if you leave me alone with your device for more than 10 minutes, when you get it back it will have go Launcher EX on it.

ADW EX
For my phone, I use ADW EX. I used to be a big fan of Go Launcher EX about a year ago, but I received a widget from them that absolutely raped my battery life. Ever since then I switched to ADW EX.
For one, I think I prefer the method of putting icons on the screen on ADW EX. The dragging to a screen from a multi-screen view is a little jarring. I used to favor GO simply for the multiple app bars, but now ADW has this as well.
I guess I switched to ADW EX when I started using a modified version of ADW (VTL) on my Nook Color for its best landscape layout.
Overall, most launchers are basically the same (in portrait mode), and the ones that deviate from the basic formula (e.g. Shell 3d) end up being resource pigs with wonky functionality.

Would like to try Go Launcher. Currently running ADW on Broken Out rom. Do I have to uninstall ADW for Go to work? Or can I just install over ADW?
EDIT: Not compatible with my device? VS910 zv8

n00bzilla said:
Would like to try Go Launcher. Currently running ADW on Broken Out rom. Do I have to uninstall ADW for Go to work? Or can I just install over ADW?
EDIT: Not compatible with my device? VS910 zv8
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It is absolutely compatible. You also do not have to uninstall ADW. I was talking with GO's dev and he promised me he is expanding the functionality of the dock bar to allow 4 or less icons (like home which is my preference) and to have the dock icons expand to fill the dock like adwex does. Once that feature is available I will switch.
This app is compatible with your Verizon LGE VS910 4G.
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Nova launcher on XOOM : just fantastic !!!

Hello, I am quite new on the Xoom and Android, and I just discovered that we can easily change the ICS Launcher ... I thought we could only do this by adding a piece of software on top of ICS and I didn't want to do that for performances reasons ...
But yesterday I discovered I was totally wrong about the launchers, I tried "Nova Launcher" which is free on the market, and I was absolutly amazed about this launcher fluidity : using the stock ICS launcher, I couldn't add a widget without slowing down everything, going from icones pages to icones pages became then laggy ...
Now with Nova Launcher, no more lags !!! (well, as always, except if you use animated backgrounds but I don't).
I was feeling like having a Quad Core Xoom ! Plus the sliding effects are beautiful (3D cube effect), you can also have a dock on the bottom of the screen, chose how many columns and lines of icones you want, etc ...
Any Xoom user should install this, you will feel like having a new device with perfect fluidity !

Great info! Thanks!
Sent from my Xoom

Had to try it Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running ICS after reading about it here and WOW the speed is amazing. Stock ICS was pretty good but this is just another level. Highly recommendable!

Nice. I like this.

Thanks I'll Install That

A little trick : to have the best fluidity possible, I disabled the option which let the background image move when you change of icones page (sorry, I don't remember the exact name of this feature in the options menu).

APEX is the other high quality ICS launcher. I ended up going with Apex on both phone and tablet. Try the free one on market.

Mandelbrot.Benoit said:
APEX is the other high quality ICS launcher. I ended up going with Apex on both phone and tablet. Try the free one on market.
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Agree! I have Apex on my phone and tablet as well. Best launcher I've ever tried (out of many) and the developer is very open to suggestions and bug reports. Bought the pro version to support this great app.

I also feel Apex Launcher is the best. Plus, Apex Launcher integrates directly into the Cyanogenmod Launcher Settings. It's a neat feature if you're into that. (I am not sure if Nova Launcher does this...)
With the intention of supporting the developer and unlocking the pro features, i also bought Apex Launcher, and I am having no regrets.

I was on Apex, but switched to Nova. I like its dock better on tablets than Apex's; it's a bit bigger and spaced more normally. I also noticed Nova's search bar in both phone and tablet mode is correctly proportioned to the stock launcher's search bars and the Apex one is a bit bigger and stretched. It's picky, but I'm CDO (OCD in alphabetical order) by nature. Also, I like Nova's organization and the fact by integrating Nova Prime with TeslaUnread, I don't have to install another app for unread counts on my widget locker. There's also the issue Apex has with themes on tablets where the themed icons are tiny and look minuscule compared to the ones without a themed icon which are but normal size. I've brought this up MANY times and each time I get a "oh, we just found the bug and fixed it" every time, so Idk if they just found the wrong bug and fized something else by accident or the bug is more pesky than it appears, but I'd much prefer Nova's correct theme scaling regardless of if I have to apply it myself. Currently, however, I've switched from Lustre back to stock ICS cuz I like the rounded better. Does Apex Pro have the platform folder style? That's another thing in Nova I couldn't live without. Plus the overscroll effect on tablets in Nova has correct margines but goes way too far off the screen in Apex.

Nova isn't THAT good - ok, it's fast, but it has some bugs, like dock isn't docked - there can be icons UNDER dock, which is quite stupid (and I haven't seen option to alter that), then, placing icons into dock is frustratingly inaccurate (hovering over the icon place will place icon to RIGHT (not correct, but as direction -> left, right) place).
Not good for me. I prefer stock. Will try Apex now...

I didn't like NOVA.
I am using Go Launcher EX (not the tablet/HD version, but the regular version).

Loving NOVA!
Don't need the dock. With EOS rom, I can add quick launch items to the status bar. Who needs a dock?
Anyhow, very stable and fast.
Also the gestures are a good feature as well. Just remembered that I can also change icons easily.

ravenhr said:
Nova isn't THAT good - ok, it's fast, but it has some bugs, like dock isn't docked - there can be icons UNDER dock, which is quite stupid (and I haven't seen option to alter that), then, placing icons into dock is frustratingly inaccurate (hovering over the icon place will place icon to RIGHT (not correct, but as direction -> left, right) place).
Not good for me. I prefer stock. Will try Apex now...
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I have absolutly no problem with the dock, all is OK for me, I didn't find a single bug yet.

ADW Launcher EX (the paid version) is still the smoothest launcher. Maybe it doesn't have that ICS look that you may love, but it is the best launcher for tablets.
It is smooth even with live wallpapers (only the lightest, but it behaves far better than stock/nova/apex launcher)

Im using Nova a week now and it's awsome! And the bar ahhh it's epic

using Nova after i saw recommendation here!! im satisfied but i have one problem...when i receive sms on ics xoom they dont appear on the screen like it was in honeycombdoes anyone have this problem?

I've been using Nova since its inception, but its just not what I desire for my Xoom. Both Apex and Nova lack the small features I really want for my tablet, but I'm really leaning towards purchasing Apex. It just has a little bit more.
Nova is fantastic for my GNex, but the Xoom is a totally different experience. I can't wait for Chameleon launcher in the fall.

I went back to ADW. Too many force closes with Nova. I too am waiting for Chameleon.

RampageDeluxe said:
I've been using Nova since its inception, but its just not what I desire for my Xoom. Both Apex and Nova lack the small features I really want for my tablet, but I'm really leaning towards purchasing Apex. It just has a little bit more.
Nova is fantastic for my GNex, but the Xoom is a totally different experience. I can't wait for Chameleon launcher in the fall.
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I love them both (Apex has better themes SO FAR but Nova's are coming close already, and the tablet layout of Nova is 10X better on Nova since the overscroll effect actually works best on it and grid sizes are more correct). I prefer Nova's aesthetics (like Holo design for TeslaUnread + the option for changing the Color Theme in the latest beta that makes all of the blues whichever colour you pick). I've got Nova Prime and regular Apex since regular Apex has 9/10 the paid features of Nova anyways. I'm excited for Chameleon as well, though, so we'll see what happens!