Database Users

For those that like and use TouchWiz

I thought I just throw it out here since there are so many people complain about how bad touchwiz is.
What do you like about TouchWiz interface on Galaxy S?

One thing I really like is how music players stack up onto the pull down taskbar as well as on the lock screen where you can stop, change track and play your musics without unlocking your phone.

I only like the lock screen missed call or missed sms notification.
Other than that it's crap.
I use adw for everything else.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

is there any way to change it to something better without rooting or anything like that?

kcharng said:
I thought I just throw it out here since there are so many people complain about how bad touchwiz is.
What do you like about TouchWiz interface on Galaxy S?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sliding across the notifications bar to adjust brightness.
The Touchwiz Corporate Email client is MUCH better than stock Android. Much.
The Notification panel is the best stock panel on Android, and nothing aftermarket even comes close.
The stock Clock application has a great "Smart Alarm".
Task Manager, which is just a long-press of the Home button away.
Built in "My Files" application, no need to download something like Astro.
Memo and Mini Diary are quite useful.
Very solid SNS integration into Contacts, complete with pictures.
A pretty damned good stock dialer.
A pretty good stock keyboard (and Swype too!)
The best stock Music Player IMHO. Equalizer presets!
The best stock Video Player, bar none. Divx, MKV, AVI, it plays them all.
AllShare actually works, and is actually useful and fun.
Ability to change system fonts on the fly, and to download or create your own.
Road SMS just for ****s and giggles.
Integrated Calendar (Exchange, Google, etc.)
Car Home and Desk Home launchers are nice.
How friendly TW3.0 is to 3rd party launchers.
I'm sure there's more, but the long and short of it is, TouchWiz 3.0 is pretty damned good. I don't use the TWLauncher either, but most of that is habit, having used ADW and LauncherPro for months.

kcharng said:
I thought I just throw it out here since there are so many people complain about how bad touchwiz is.
What do you like about TouchWiz interface on Galaxy S?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love TW3.0 I've tried all other launchers and they dont really compare to the functionality that TW3.0 offers altho most of the launchers are just home screen and application drawer replacements.
My only gripe is that samsung should have added a msg counter on the messaging icon like on the wave... everything else is great for me!

Nothing of these things have to do with touchwiz. Im on launcher pro and can do the same. The only thing missing are the samsung widgets.
Ps. On launcher pro you get msg and call counter in the dock icons
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

What i like in TW3.0 is that apps are divided to pages. I don't like scrolling, scrolling and scrolling to find my apps in other launchers. I know on which page i have app that i need right now so i jump quickly there and launch it.

I tried ADW Launcher and LauncherPro but don´t like them. They feel a lot more incomplete and slower compared to TW3. I can´t complain about the speed of TW3 and i really like the the Screenlock, and the notifications for missed calls and sms

Twlauncher isn't the only part of the phone that's changed by TouchWiz, as listed above.
I also use LauncherPro, mainly because I prefer its vertical sliding application list, but the notification icons and integration with media players is nice. I have no argument with the lock screen either - again, the music player integration is useful. The Task Manager in newer builds is also pretty decent and good to see in a stock ROM.
The TouchWiz customisations you can't remove/bypass are pretty good, and because you can change default handlers in Android, it's no big deal to use alternative launchers and applications. I was concerned about not having HTC Sense, but happy with this.

I currently switched from LauncherPro to TouchWiz recently, just because I like variation. I might use ADW instead next week. There's nothing bad about TouchWiz to make me not use it. Nice to see other people supporting the stock software.

TouchWiz 3.0 is Good!!
I am not sure why there is so much of TouchWiz hate. But once one would come out of the "only Sense/ADW is good", they would really see what all functionalities have been added to TouchWiz to make it look good and actually work well.
I really like it.
And I really wonder if Sense can do this much!!

kcharng said:
One thing I really like is how music players stack up onto the pull down taskbar as well as on the lock screen where you can stop, change track and play your musics without unlocking your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This works on Launcher Pro too, it's not unique to TW
d3a said:
is there any way to change it to something better without rooting or anything like that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just download an alternative like Launcher Pro or ADW and Home Switcher to easily switch between them.
Croak said:
Built in "My Files" application, no need to download something like Astro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just an application, irrespective of the launcher. Switch launcher and that is still there.
Memo and Mini Diary are quite useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As above, stock applications, not launcher specific.
A pretty damned good stock dialer.
A pretty good stock keyboard (and Swype too!)
The best stock Music Player IMHO. Equalizer presets!
The best stock Video Player, bar none. Divx, MKV, AVI, it plays them all.
AllShare actually works, and is actually useful and fun.
Ability to change system fonts on the fly, and to download or create your own.
Road SMS just for ****s and giggles.
Integrated Calendar (Exchange, Google, etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto, all stock, not dependent on launcher.
[/QUOTE]
yrizan said:
Nothing of these things have to do with touchwiz. Im on launcher pro and can do the same. The only thing missing are the samsung widgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed!
I like certain aspect of TW, sort of like the horizontal scroll applications page but wish there was a way to reorder things alphabetically without clearing the data. Manually sorting applications according to type etc. is useful but then sort of duplicates what the home screens are for. Like the icon display on TW as well with their button backgrounds as opposed to plain icons in Launcher Pro.

I think touchwiz is pretty good, one cool feature is sliding your finger left or right on a contact either calls them or composes s message! Until someone ports Sense to the SGS ill stick to touchwiz
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I don't "like" touchwiz, but don't hate it either. The widgets that come with it are pretty cool. I like the people(social networking) and the yahoo finance widgets in particular.

MAMBO04 said:
I think touchwiz is pretty good, one cool feature is sliding your finger left or right on a contact either calls them or composes s message! Until someone ports Sense to the SGS ill stick to touchwiz
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is a feature of the contacts manager, not Touch Wiz. It works the same under a different launcher.

No greyish pull up tab underneath? Never liked that bit.

Croak said:
Sliding across the notifications bar to adjust brightness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you, but what do you mean by this? How do you adjust the brightness from the notifications bar?
This is probably some new addition like the task manager, right? I'm still using the JF3-firmware...

Think the touchwiz is pretty well thought out. I actually like it better then Sense tbh even though I figured I would miss sense after switchin to the sgs.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I love touchwiz that when I slide, if I touched the app icons first for like 0.2 sec and slide, it will still give me a slide.
If I do it on ADW or LauncherPro, it will act like I'm holding that icon. Like I hold icons from drawer to place at home screen.
I don't know how to explain this, my english is not very good. Hope you understand.

Things you like about Touchwiz/Samsung modifications

Always seems to be a ton of threads about why people hate touchwiz and how eager they are to get rid of it but...what do you like about what Samsung did different?
I absolutely love the pulldown menu modifications
I love the music/call controls in the pull down, and like the power widget there. This is something I really wish that Google would adopt/roll into stock android later on (or at least Cyanogen).
I also like the shortcut to adjust your phone's brightness (rolling finger across the top bar).
I personally prefer the way this phone handles making a call on a 2nd line and conferencing people in...it's much better than stock android (I came from a Moto droid and conferencing in a new # was always kind of a pain in the ass).
I personally prefer the way they redid the calendar to stock (I seem to be in the minority here though).
I use google voice for all SMS, so I can't really comment on that.
I use LauncherPro, so the actual look of the launcher doesn't bug me...
Actually, the only thing I truly hate about the modifications Samsung made was the damn alarm program..it's way worse than the droids, and it's way too easy to turn off...and the snooze button is hard to differentiate from the turn off alarm button.
Overall, Samsung has some nice stuff if they just abandon the cartoony iPhones look of the launcher and work on a few of the performance hickups here and there.

hydrogenman said:
I absolutely love the pulldown menu modifications
I love the music/call controls in the pull down, and like the power widget there. This is something I really wish that Google would adopt/roll into stock android later on (or at least Cyanogen).
I also like the shortcut to adjust your phone's brightness (rolling finger across the top bar).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other than the calendar (which is a near-total fail for me; maybe others' calendars don't have the same bugs as mine - which is a scary thought, b/c it makes a global "fix" seem less likely), I really like TouchWiz - particularly the features listed above. The "Power Control" Android widget (or whatever it's called) - which is normally crucial - becomes almost unnecessary, provided you're OK with using the pulldown for toggling GPS, Wifi, etc.; and sliding finger for brightness. (The only Power Control item you can't toggle using pulldown is "Sync," which I almost never turn off anyway).
I like how the TW icons look; and I dig the app drawer, b/c I prefer the "list" view that it offers. I may try another launcher someday, but right now I feel no need -- I'm digging TW (and much prefer it to stock Android).
Don't care for the Samsung widgets at all, but their functions can easily be bested with stuff in the Market.

pavvy said:
Other than the calendar (which is a near-total fail for me; maybe others' calendars don't have the same bugs as mine - which is a scary thought, b/c it makes a global "fix" seem less likely), I really like TouchWiz - particularly the features listed above. The "Power Control" Android widget (or whatever it's called) - which is normally crucial - becomes almost unnecessary, provided you're OK with using the pulldown for toggling GPS, Wifi, etc.; and sliding finger for brightness. (The only Power Control item you can't toggle using pulldown is "Sync," which I almost never turn off anyway).
I like how the TW icons look; and I dig the app drawer, b/c I prefer the "list" view that it offers. I may try another launcher someday, but right now I feel no need -- I'm digging TW (and much prefer it to stock Android).
Don't care for the Samsung widgets at all, but their functions can easily be bested with stuff in the Market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never once used any of the TW widgets...that's one thing that was a bit of fail
BTW, you can get the TW style of app drawer on 3rd party launchers

I was rather pleasantly surprised with TouchWiz. I think it's much better than Stock Android. I'm not sure exactly why people are complaining about it.
What I like about it.
1. WebOS like UI controls for Music and Toggles in the Notification drop down.
2. Paged scrolling of apps in the App Drawer. I hate inertial list scrolling.
3. Some of the widgets like dual clock and calendar clock. If there is no place to add a widget on that screen, it finds a screen with space. Buddies Now is a nice widget, but it's slow and buggy.
4. The interface to add/remove screens and move screens around.
What I dislike.
1. It syncs all contacts instead of just "My Contacts". Of course this is not the launcher, but the app. But other than this, the contacts and dialer are much better than stock.
2. Pressing the Home button, sends it off to Screen 4 on my phone instead of the center screen. Very annoying.
3. There is an Android bug that prevents folders from being opened. With LauncherPro, I can restart the launcher which fixes the problem. No such ability in TW.
4. Can only change two of the 4 icons at the bottom.

Likes:
Messaging/calling through contacts.
Power control in notification drawer
Launcher is starting to grow on me
The interface when a call is in progress
Puzzle piece notifications
Dislikes:
Music player can't distinguish between songs and ringtones
Nearly the same issue with gallery and album art
Can't set the home screen when less than 5 screens
Lock screen but that's purely cosmetic
The media scanner, but I don't think that's TW specific (Be awesome to have it scan on demand)
I really don't like how all the Samsung widgets want to take up an entire screen.

hydrogenman said:
BTW, you can get the TW style of app drawer on 3rd party launchers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that's good to know... I'll have to try 'em sometime, I know they have lots of fans around here.

I actually prefer TW to LauncherPro or ADW. So far everything works pretty well.
I do wish that the samsung widgets were re-sizeable so they didn't take up the whole screen. I like the app drawer, it is just copying the iPhone, but I don't visit it a whole lot thanks to the FolderOrganizer widget. That widget should have come stock with the phone IMHO.

i really like some of the modifications that samsung has added, especially in the dialer and contacts apps (they have already been mentioned). i found another one last night in the calendar app, if you add a location to an entry it shows you a map of the location from the calendar entry.

wolfvgang said:
I actually prefer TW to LauncherPro or ADW. So far everything works pretty well.
I do wish that the samsung widgets were re-sizeable so they didn't take up the whole screen. ......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey. If I do understand you correctly, you are using ADW or LauncherPro and mention that 'everything is working pretty well, also referring to 'samsung widgets'?
How do you access 'samsung widgets' from say ADW Launcher - ESPECIALLY BuddiesNow ??
I can only access it from the default launcher, but do prefer ADW also - but am stuck
Thanks for your help or ideas.

I don't understand anyone wouldn't use LauncherPro.
The scrolling dock is genius. I have about 15 apps that I use regularly, so the dock does a really great job to accommodate that. Also, you can easily add your own custom icons, and do away with the default ones that come with TW and LP.
I also hate that on TW, you have the home screen # indicators at the top, giving you a lot less home screen space.
The app drawer, though not as easy to use as the Applications viewer in TW, is at least original. This phone already looks like an iPhone, so having a very Android-esque applications viewer is refreshing.
TW does a lot fantastic things, some of which you guys mentioned, but the general layout of it is pretty ****ty, and LauncherPro is just about perfect... and free.

I like the toggles on the notification pull down. I don't like how the brightness slider has no visual feedback to determine what the current bright is set at. If there was a slider widget attached to the bottom or a popup when the slider is in use that would make it easier.
I like the swipe on contacts for the call/sms.
After loading JI6, I tried using the TW launcher again, but I couldn't find any of the TW widgets compelling so I'm back to Launcherpro.

Just found this out, if you dislike the iPhone style of the app drawer, left to right, changing it to Alphabetical list gives me the normalish way we are used to the app drawer working, up and down.
Now if we could just remove the annoying outline on the icons I'd be set

Coming from an iPhone, Touchwiz was a bit too iphone-ripoff for me. I personally use Launcher+ but TW did have some good points.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

my biggest dislike is that contacts and dialer are no longer the same application. I never had a dialer shortcut on my phone before because I could just use contacts, now I have to use up 1 more space for the dialer.

Owenv said:
my biggest dislike is that contacts and dialer are no longer the same application. I never had a dialer shortcut on my phone before because I could just use contacts, now I have to use up 1 more space for the dialer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can access the contacts from the dialer, would be an extra click if you really want to not have that extra icon

z0phi3l said:
You can access the contacts from the dialer, would be an extra click if you really want to not have that extra icon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah but as far as I know you can't get to dialer from contacts, and I'm used to having the contacts icon on my home screen. I know I could just change it but you know what they say about old habits. however it isn't a problem since I have another contacts app that solved it for me.

My favorite feature is the dialer. I love the fact that it has speed dial unlike stock android. I also love the predictive dialing. These two are the biggest for me.

I will buy the first homescreen replacement launcher that has this implemented

Android i good. The scrolling homescreen with widgets is good. Only one thing is terrible: The app launcher. No categories/catalogs i launcher?!
So you have to scroll along xx times until you finally spot the application you're looking for.
Here are suggestions on different solutions:
When you open the app launcher you see custom folders ex. "Office, Games, Multimedia, Utils, Settings". When you install a app, you get a question in what folder to put the app link". Besides the folders in the launcher you can have a option to also see latest run apps.
This solution would show the usual vertical scroll down app list. But with a important twist. A line, or the backgroundcolor is different, when you are scrolling on a different category, + a OSD text stays front telling on what category you are, ex "Work, Entertainment, Hobbies, Health, Internet".
One launcher actually has almost made it, don't know if it's Launcher Pro or ADW launcher. You can have apps in different groups and click between them. Only thing missing is name of the categories so you see where you're at. And option to disable the group "All"

I'm pretty certain that Slick UI will have this when it launches.

MIUI already does this

bobjase said:
MIUI already does this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, MIUI doesn't even have an app drawer, it just puts all of your apps on the launcher and you're forced to put every app into a folder.
Hell, vanilla Android has folders, which is exactly what MIUI is using.

TooSlo said:
To be fair, MIUI doesn't even have an app drawer, it just puts all of your apps on the launcher and you're forced to put every app into a folder.
Hell, vanilla Android has folders, which is exactly what MIUI is using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oooooooooo flamed.
yeah to start with i thought Miui was amazing, but now I realise other than looking completely different its pretty sh!t

If you want categories in your home-replacement. I suggest you head over to my website http://futurinnovations.blogspot.com/ to see what I am working on. If you are a dev yourself, you can help all that you can. It's still a work in progress and I haven't come up with any fancy renderings of it, yet. I do, however, have some sketches of what it is supposed to look like and how it functions. Tell what you think of it. It will be the second post from the top (under my live wallpaper screen shots).

DxTop has an amazing implementation of categorized app drawer - with corresponding live folders.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

go launcher has app drawer sorted I believe
Swyped on my OG Droid using Tapatalk

Go launcher has app sorting, not sure about categories though.

I think LG Optimus One has that kind of launcher
Starts at 1:17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZLaId_ep68&feature=player_embedded#!
And here is thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=812302
And u can send the money to me. j/k

I wish this feature would be implemented into LauncherPro. I love all the other features of LauncherPro, so it would be nice to be able to keep those and still have this category feature.

auto app organizer .apk
create shortcut in homescreen or dock and voila you got what you want in all the launchers ...

LG Home does what you're asking its in the market but only really works for the galaxy s line up.
Sent from my phone...which is faster than my laptop.

[Q] Liberty Rom Launcher

Does anyone know if the launcher or "dock" is customizable in the Liberty Rom? I'm getting kinda tired of Launcherpro as I've been using it for 6 months now... The widgets don't seem to function like they use to for some reason, not updating like they should be, etc. I'm trying to find out if I can change the shortcuts and icons on the dock or add screens, since there are only 5... Any help would be great. Thanks.

Do you mean lack of updates with launcherpro? That is because fede(dev) is doing a complete rewrite of launcherpro so that's why there hasn't been alot of updates.. if you're tired of launcherpro why don't you change some icons around and such? i haven't really tried any other launcher.. but I've read that launcherpro is one of the few that allows customizing every aspect of it...hope i don't sound like a dbag if you already know all this
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

Yeah, I knew all that, no big deal. lol. funny thing is, maybe i'm trying to be a little more simple. I think I've used every icon, color, option possible for LP+ and I'm just a little tired of it. GO Launcher is basically the same thing just more screens. Don't like ADW. that leaves the basic launcher. Like I said, the widgets just don't seem to be acting right on LP lately. Not updating properly even when I try to do it manually. So trying to customize the stock Liberty launcher/dock is my last option right now. Maybe if fede's rewrite is updated alot, I'll go back to it.

I've tried the other major players like Adw and GoLauncher, but I always end up coming back to LP mainly for the widgets. IMO, they are the best available on the market for my needs, especially the facebook and calendar widgets. Aside from that, LP seems to be the fastest because Fede kept everything simple and clean looking instead of loading it up with hidden dock bars and window transitions (I know, he added some with the last update). If you're really looking to spice it up some, check out Dreamlyfe for some nice docks and icon sets.
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App

where do i find this dreamlyfe??? doesn't show up in market and cant find an apk online anywhere..??

nevermind. found it at androidforums... thanks. getting ready to download now. looks sweet. kinda what I was looking for to "spice" it up as you say!

[Q] First time using EB01 SC 2.4 and have some questions

Just flashed SC 2.4 voodoo rom and have some questions about it.
1. how do you delete the home screen? (I have 7 home screens now.. which is too many for me)
2. When I turn on Camera, it says update firmware. do I have to update firmware?
3. how can you customize shortcut on the bottom (a grey box that have call, app list, browser icon)? sry its kinda similar question as #1.
4. What kind of launcher does Superclean rom use? when i see task manager, icon looks like Touchwiz.. but overall interface and app list look like ADW.. but doesnt have ADW options though.. I'm confused.
I thought I had more questions but I forgot
I will edit this post if I think of more.

triple486 said:
Just flashed SC 2.4 voodoo rom and have some questions about it.
1. how do you delete the home screen? (I have 7 home screens now.. which is too many for me)
2. When I turn on Camera, it says update firmware. do I have to update firmware?
3. how can you customize shortcut on the bottom (a grey box that have call, app list, browser icon)? sry its kinda similar question as #1.
4. What kind of launcher does Superclean rom use? when i see task manager, icon looks like Touchwiz.. but overall interface and app list look like ADW.. but doesnt have ADW options though.. I'm confused.
I thought I had more questions but I forgot
I will edit this post if I think of more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1,3, 4: its pretty much the stock aosp launcher, so any kind of home screen customization is out of the question unless you get something else like launcher pro/adw. Its called launcher2, I believe, taken straight from aosp source. So, if you want to change stuff, you're going to have to look at other launchers.
2. Yes.

And if you're looking for alot of customiziation options along with neat transitions built in...try launcher pro. I've been using it for years on different androids and love it.

mrodsunshine said:
1,3, 4: its pretty much the stock aosp launcher, so any kind of home screen customization is out of the question unless you get something else like launcher pro/adw. Its called launcher2, I believe, taken straight from aosp source. So, if you want to change stuff, you're going to have to look at other launchers.
2. Yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you mean I can't even set numbers of home screen with 'launcher2'?? thats not good..
what does aosp stand for?
If I use launcher pro or adw, stock launcher will be running in background? running 2 launchers will consume more battery and RAM?

2 launchers won't affect you that much. I used to run LPro and Twiz back on DI01 and could get 24-48 hours of bat life.
From what I have read on other posts just make sure that there are no widgets running on the unused launcher, as they might sitll be using the data connection to update.
AOSP is android open source project.
http://source.android.com/
Personally I recommend Lancher Pro over ADW, but I'm sure others will tell you differently. Free versions of both exists so just try em both out.

Full Battery Popup
I didn't know where to post this but I downloaded the new superclean 2.4, and despite it including a program that should have disabled it, I still got a pop-up notifying me of my full battery in the middle of the night. Does anyone know why I got this or does the full battery popup disable not work for all phones?

If you don't like having two launchers and want more customization options, install Launcher pro and uninstall Launcher ebproductions. I use nothing but LP, none of the other launchers can cut it for me.

eboersch said:
I didn't know where to post this but I downloaded the new superclean 2.4, and despite it including a program that should have disabled it, I still got a pop-up notifying me of my full battery in the middle of the night. Does anyone know why I got this or does the full battery popup disable not work for all phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you wipe prior flashing?
And launcher pro is imho the best hands down. Try the trial and if you like it pay for the full. The twitter and facebook widgets are the best of any out there...bar none.

go launcher
re jenisiz - I used rom manager and always back up previous rom and wipe data but i did not try to do it myself in cwm but now that you mention it I will give it a shot
re triple486 - Launchers make all the difference. I have tried just about everything I could find and I personally liked Go Launcher. Launcher Pro is cool but i would say it is 100 times better for the pay version. You can resize widgets to your liking and there is a lot of support for theming the Launcher Pro widgets. Overall, any launcher seems like it offers more flexibility and features than the stock or aosp launcher. Try the free versions and see what you like.

Battery pop up still there
I cleared all data and the cache twice but the full battery popup is still there.
I did not mention this but i installed the Revolution theme over superclean 2.4. Will that prevent the battery popup from being disabled?

triple486 said:
you mean I can't even set numbers of home screen with 'launcher2'?? thats not good..
what does aosp stand for?
If I use launcher pro or adw, stock launcher will be running in background? running 2 launchers will consume more battery and RAM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the only cool thing about the stock AOSP launcher is the 3D app drawer, LauncherPro does this as well but it's not quite as good.
Once LauncherPro/ADW is installed and running, you can use the task manager to kill the other launcher so it's not running in the background.
Press your home key and set the default to LauncherPro/ADW and it will use these by default from then on and the other launchers will not run.
I personally use Launcher Pro on all my android devices and I always recommend it over ADW but they're both good and its just a matter of personal preference, you can install both and try them - it wont hurt anything and they hardly take up any space.
If you set one as a default and want to change the default again go to settings > applications > manage applications - find the launcher you set as a default, and click "Clear Defaults".