While Sense brings alot of benefits, I've always found that the default homepage is very wasteful in terms of screen real estate. I want to replace it with something like the default Android homepage - a search bar, and a selection of as many widgets and shortcuts as can fit on the screen. What's the best way of achieving what I want?
I've seen references to MaxManila and Co0kie's Home Tab Editor - are these what I'm looking for?
You should check out other launchers like LauncherPro from the Market
But, really you can make any homepage look like stock with widgets
itm said:
I've seen references to MaxManila and Co0kie's Home Tab Editor - are these what I'm looking for?
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Click to collapse
Whoa, you might be jumping around to different device forums a bit here. MaxManila and CHT are mods for the old Windows Mobile OS, which does not even run on the G2/Desire Z. Different devices, different OS.
On Android, the app that is tied to the home button, and constitutes your home page and apps drawer is known as the "launcher". The stock Sense launcher is really slow and a resource hog. I highly suggest trying an alternative launcher.
As mentioned above, Launcher Pro seems very popular by users here. That, and ADW Launcher seem the most popular alternative launchers. I personally like ADW Launcher, since it has the option to lock the home screen. GO Launcher also seems pretty cool, and there are others. The ones I mentioned are all free (but have paid versions with more features). So just find them on the Market and see which you like best. You can even switch back and forth easily by using the Home Switcher for Froyo app.
Related
Anyone have tested or tried this applications?
Zeam,
DXtop,
Helix Launcher,
Helix Launcher 2,
Pro Launcher
Ahome,
Ahome Mini
Open Home,
Home++
Crazy Home
Sweeter Home
Better Home
Tag Home
PandaHero
NexusHome
Live! Home
GDE
Bingo! Home
Slidescreen
AdvancedLauncher
Launcher+
ADW Launcher
Which one work on Xperia X10?and which one is the best?
thx all
I use slidescreen pro, though I would use adw launcher or launcher pro if either of them worked on x10. Also, the slidescreen dev has apparently gone awal, doesn't bother me though, it works flawlessly for me
i still havent seen a launcher as fast as the stock one.
thunderpossuem said:
I use slidescreen pro, though I would use adw launcher or launcher pro if either of them worked on x10. Also, the slidescreen dev has apparently gone awal, doesn't bother me though, it works flawlessly for me
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i'll watch the review from youtube...
There's a free version on the market to try out which I would definitely recommend before buying. It's very different from regular android. No widgets or shortcuts.
Of replacers that work on x10, zeam would be my second choice, its a bit sense-y. Though gets a but sluggish if you go a while without a reboot
Home++ is the best among the lot........try it.
jassired said:
Home++ is the best among the lot........try it.
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Click to collapse
zeam is good....
Tried almost all.My opinion is that Zeam & Home++ are best.And hide the blue taskbar that it doesnt suiys to my likes
Helix launcher runs fine for me. It's not bad and some people are saying that it actually conserves battery life if you use it. So you might want to look into that.
gulpreet said:
Helix launcher runs fine for me. It's not bad and some people are saying that it actually conserves battery life if you use it. So you might want to look into that.
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Click to collapse
yes i heard it, but still using zeam now...
What is wrong with the default one on X10?
tuxStyle said:
What is wrong with the default one on X10?
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Biggest disadvantage (for me that is), is that it only has 3 screens... I've been looking for an alternative the past few days (and so I found this forum), I think I'm gonna try the HelixLauncher Donut.
Will post when I've tested it for some time.
im running helix launcher since yesterday and my battery time has maybe doubled!!
Helix Launcher Donut HERE, the best i ever tested!
DerManiak said:
Biggest disadvantage (for me that is), is that it only has 3 screens... I've been looking for an alternative the past few days (and so I found this forum), I think I'm gonna try the HelixLauncher Donut.
Will post when I've tested it for some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have one of the screens empty, one with the clock and timescpape and another one with 4 shortcuts and the widget with wifi/bt/gps.
How 3 are not enough?
Anyway, i'll give Helix a try, maybe will improve the battery life
tuxStyle said:
I have one of the screens empty, one with the clock and timescpape and another one with 4 shortcuts and the widget with wifi/bt/gps.
How 3 are not enough?
Anyway, i'll give Helix a try, maybe will improve the battery life
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Click to collapse
After installing a bunch of apps, the menu isn't so useful anymore IMHO. So, I place shortcuts on the home screen, to have quick acces to my most used apps.
At the moment, I've got like 4 shortcuts to games, and shortcuts to apps like Market, Barcode Scanner, YouTube, ASTRO etc. Moreover, I want to have my agenda (SmoothCalendar) on my home screen as well. I had to remove the clock to have SmoothCalandar and TimeScape on the same screen...
There's just not enough space
DerManiak said:
After installing a bunch of apps, the menu isn't so useful anymore IMHO. So, I place shortcuts on the home screen, to have quick acces to my most used apps.
At the moment, I've got like 4 shortcuts to games, and shortcuts to apps like Market, Barcode Scanner, YouTube, ASTRO etc. Moreover, I want to have my agenda (SmoothCalendar) on my home screen as well. I had to remove the clock to have SmoothCalandar and TimeScape on the same screen...
There's just not enough space
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Click to collapse
Well, excepting the widgets, how is helping you to scroll 5 times left or right looking for a shortcut instead of scrolling up or down?
Personally I have tried Panda, Crazy, Zeam, Helix... Probably a few more.
The first two are nice if you like applying full themes (icons, bars, different backgrounds). I liked the possibility to slide up/down between screens in crazy. But in the end, both these two apps slowed my system down too much.
Love the docker in Helix, but at the moment I prefer the 9 screens that Zeam offers. No, I don't slide 5x sideways a lot. But I've collected everything that I need at work on one screen, for training in another, home entertainment on the third, etc.
I have tried SlideScreen a bit, looks very different and professional. However, I couldn't find a way to use other email accounts than gmail, so I gave it up.
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Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
Zeam for me.
Zeam - super light weight. HelixDonut had FC's once in awhile.
Is there a way to remove a home screen (one of the seven) after I have deleted all the apps/widgets off of it? I find that I really only need 4 or 5 of therse screens. Thanks!
pixelpop said:
Is there a way to remove a home screen (one of the seven) after I have deleted all the apps/widgets off of it? I find that I really only need 4 or 5 of therse screens. Thanks!
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Click to collapse
The only way I know to do this is remove roise and that gives you 5 screens. You can then install any custom launcher and set how many screens you want. I dont think custom launchers work with sense but i may be wrong. I have made my own rom with no sense and use custom launcher. Runs a lot faster.
pixelpop said:
Is there a way to remove a home screen (one of the seven) after I have deleted all the apps/widgets off of it? I find that I really only need 4 or 5 of therse screens. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you could get a new home replacement on the market that will let you customize how many screens you have.
some ppl reported they don't see some launchers in market..
search for "Launcher" and try these out:
LauncherPro Beta
HelixLauncher
ADW.Launcher
For 2.1 Tag Home
They are all customizable (screens, docking shortcuts, programs layout, etc)
NOTE: Sense Widgets are built into Sense, so if you're gonna use different launcher some widgets will disappear..
I have an Evo and some of the launchers don't show up, which is rather annoying...it would be nice to have LauncherPro as an alternative to the stock Launcher (hard to get to on the Evo but you can enable it) or Sense.
Hey all,
So I am not new to Android, but I am new to using a launcher or anything other than regular apps. I want to try the ADW launcher, but I have some questions since I don't really know anything about how launchers work.
Can someone explain to me the very basics of what installing a launcher will do? Also, if I don't like it or don't understand it, can I uninstall and not have to hard reset?
Is there a how-to for using ADW?
Thanks ahead of time!
Install it thru the Android market place just search adw launcher and if you don't like it uninstall like any other app from the Android market
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Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide
So I can just uninstall and not have to do any reset?
Can you explain to me what a launcher does (briefly)?
Sorry for such a basic question, but hey we all have to learn sometime.
Thanks!
go hear its anderwebs dev page the dev for adw launcher. it should be able to tell you everything about the launcher and show you some picture of what it looks like and what it does. but yea just install from android market and if you dont like just uninstall like any other app without having to reset your device just go to market/downloads then uninstall.
http://jbthemes.com/anderweb/
hears a video of it to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5gRgpuQE_k&feature=fvst
the version in this video is 0.7.1 and it is now on 0.7.8 so theres been plenty of new features since then
I really appreciate the info. I installed it this morning, but couldn't even figure out how to change the settings. I read the instructions on adw's page so I might try again.
My calendar widget wouldn't work and there were also only 5 screens instead of 7. Can you have 7?
Maybe I need to mess with it more. I guess I'm just not sure of the benefits of using it. Will it help my battery last longer? Will the MTS be faster? Or is it more of an aesthetic thing?
thnx
I didn't have any problems with it other than lag here and there. It might just need the dev to do a bit of fine tunning, or could be me with my luck. Nice interface. Good features, and a lot of flexibility. I do like sense though and I think I will just deal with all of TMobiles extra crap for the time being. All in all a great replacement though.
Press the menu key while on the home screen, then you can select the ADW settings. You can have 7 screens if you want.
The HTC Sense widgets will not work outside of the sense launcher.
Etype R said:
Press the menu key while on the home screen, then you can select the ADW settings. You can have 7 screens if you want.
The HTC Sense widgets will not work outside of the sense launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what he said
also keep in mind that My Modes function will not work with a launcher program. I tried Helix, ADW, and launcherpro and since they seem to be just a "skin" so the apps don't rearrange and stuff when you change modes. It meesses it up. Then when you uninstall you have to set up modes again. Just FYI, not sure if you use the modes or not.
Thanks for all of the info. I don't use modes, but I do like the widgets, particularly calendar and weather. Being able to see what I have to do every day right on the home screen(s) is very helpful!
http://androinica.com/2009/09/24/dont-like-the-android-calendar-widget-get-a-pure-one/
And for the weather/clock I am using beautiful widgets. There are options out there
Hey mates,
i have this friend (he's the typical iDork) who keeps annoying me with comments about how ugly he finds my homescreens...
i used to have only one scene (The Sense HD remix scene in minimal grey).
now i'd like to install launcher pro and make it look awesome, custom icons, everything designed as minimal as it gets.
only problem, every time i hit "home" my beloved desire asks me what homescreen it should return to. i know i can make it remember one of the two, but if i want to change then, i'd have to work through the settings and options...
so, here's my request:
a SIMPLE, SEXY WIDGET, that can instantly change the launcher assigned to the home button. i think it's not much work to do, if the API allows apps to change settings (not sure about that).
I'm a C++ programmer with zero experience in java, so i can't do it myself.
finally, i'd like to know how i can mod the launcher pro in the ways seen around on this forum (e.g. Mnml Icons as buttons etc.)
Thanks for your time,
Max
PS: does anyone know a widget for email/sms with a minimal style, such as Cal Widget with transparent background.
Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > LauncherPro > Clear Defaults.
Do you need a widget for that? ..
this isn't my point
i want to be able to switch between two launchers FAST, so i have, let's say a private and a business launcher, one designed for usability, and the other for style.
i don't want to reassign the home button everytime i want to switch, thats why i wnat a widget, or a shortcut, which i just touch once.
but since it seems like i'm the only person here switching frequently between launchers, i guess i'll have to code something myself.
anyway, thx for your time.
Oh.
Not a bad idea.
Good luck.
maxupp said:
Hey mates,
i have this friend (he's the typical iDork) who keeps annoying me with comments about how ugly he finds my homescreens...
i used to have only one scene (The Sense HD remix scene in minimal grey).
now i'd like to install launcher pro and make it look awesome, custom icons, everything designed as minimal as it gets.
only problem, every time i hit "home" my beloved desire asks me what homescreen it should return to. i know i can make it remember one of the two, but if i want to change then, i'd have to work through the settings and options...
so, here's my request:
a SIMPLE, SEXY WIDGET, that can instantly change the launcher assigned to the home button. i think it's not much work to do, if the API allows apps to change settings (not sure about that).
I'm a C++ programmer with zero experience in java, so i can't do it myself.
finally, i'd like to know how i can mod the launcher pro in the ways seen around on this forum (e.g. Mnml Icons as buttons etc.)
Thanks for your time,
Max
PS: does anyone know a widget for email/sms with a minimal style, such as Cal Widget with transparent background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an app on the market that can do that.
TheRedDrake said:
There is an app on the market that can do that.
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Click to collapse
HomeSwitcher.
Works from 1.5 - 2.1, I think.
Certainly doesn't support 2.2
zHk3R said:
HomeSwitcher.
Works from 1.5 - 2.1, I think.
Certainly doesn't support 2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No,not home switcher. It was called easy switcher or something like that, can't say for sure. It supported widgets for quick switching also. I found several with similar function Launcher switcher/Home manager/, don't know if this one has widgets.
thanks mates,
homeswitcher does indeed not support android 2.2.
anyway, i found "Launcher Switcher" BUT:
- doesn't provide a widget
- sends me to the android settings screen, when i want to re-bind the home button
so, i stiiiiiiiiill haven't fouuuuuuuuund, what i'm looking foooooor....
Cleardefaulthome
It takes you straight to the current launcher info page where you press clear defaults, then press home and select the one you want. Its the best option atm.
Sent from my HTC Desire
Sorry if this is posted in the wrong area.
I am looking for a launcher that just displays a list of all the applications installed on the NC. I have tried all the usual suspects (LauncherPro, ADW, Zeam, Go Launcher etc) but they all go the desktop first and then you need to open the app drawer to access the shortcuts. I could add shortcuts to the desktop but it does not seem to be a good use of time when the shortcuts to all apps are already there.
It would be nice if the launcher had a dock of favorite apps but not necessary. It would be even nicer if press the Home (N) button in the launcher displayed a list of running programs.
In summary, the launcher should work like the Home screen on iOS.
Any suggestions? Be nice now ;-)
Thanks
Have you tried the MIUI roms yet? They are basically designed to look like the iPhone design. If your just wanting a different home replacement then I always liked the Zeam Launcher because you could add like 4-5 shortcuts to the dock bar...hopefully this helps..
Sent from my HTC Pyramid using XDA Premium App
Thanks for the suggestion
I don't really want to try a non-standard ROM at the moment. I did try some of the MIUI themes for ADW and other launchers but all the themes really do is change the icons. That is, the functionality of the launcher does not change. The default screen for the launcher is the desktop and you have to add shortcuts to the desktop.
I might try loading a MIUI ROM on a bootable SD card and see how that works.
Thanks again
ugrxda said:
Sorry if this is posted in the wrong area.
I am looking for a launcher that just displays a list of all the applications installed on the NC. I have tried all the usual suspects (LauncherPro, ADW, Zeam, Go Launcher etc) but they all go the desktop first and then you need to open the app drawer to access the shortcuts. I could add shortcuts to the desktop but it does not seem to be a good use of time when the shortcuts to all apps are already there.
It would be nice if the launcher had a dock of favorite apps but not necessary. It would be even nicer if press the Home (N) button in the launcher displayed a list of running programs.
In summary, the launcher should work like the Home screen on iOS.
Any suggestions? Be nice now ;-)
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't tried it...possibly get a key remapper. I think one of the launchers has one for the home key...see if this will work...