Database Users

Best Custom luncher App

Hi, everyone
I am new to android and smartphones. I bought an Atrix and will be getting rid of my dumbphone.
I do not really like Motoblur (its okay, but I read that lunchers are MUCH smoother and also gives you alot more options to customize).
From what I can tell, the two big players are
- LauncherPro
- AWD Launcher
I would like to hear what you guys think of those and what are thier Pros/Cons if any?
Thanks in advance

I like LauncherPro. It's super fast and has lots of cool features. ADW lets you drag and drop onto the launcher which is really annoying to me. I was constantly flinging apps on to and off of it. Hope that helps.
Sent from my X10i using XDA Premium App

Launcher Pro is great for it's speed. I like Zeam because it lets you config the swipe up (open dialer) and swipe down (bring status screen down) on the front screens.

The Bishop said:
Launcher Pro is great for it's speed. I like Zeam because it lets you config the swipe up (open dialer) and swipe down (bring status screen down) on the front screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do that on launcher pro....

Zephyrs said:
You can do that on launcher pro....
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Click to collapse
how? the closest I've found is the gestures on the buttons at the bottom. I can't find anything that lets me swipe the middle (empty) part of my screens and have it do anything (I keep my icons on the top and bottom rows so I have 2 rows with which to do that swipe).

I'll be very honest, I always seem to come back to Zeam.
It's light and fast and does the job a launcher should do and more...just lighter and faster.
The one thing I realized I couldn't live without was the double-tap action that you can set. I set it to expand my notifications, so now, instead of having to trek my wee thumb all the way up to the notifications bar and pull it down, I just double tap an empty spot on my screen and down it comes!
I've tried GO Launcher and LP...I don't know. Zeam is just the bees knees.

I had Launcher Pro Plus on my Droid and loved it so much that when I switched to the Atrix, it was the first app I put on the phone. I've fooled around with ADW in the past, but was never a big fan.

i prefer Launcher pro for speed and ADW.Launcher for drag and drop feature.
ADW also support widget resizing in free version.
Better Theming support for ADW
It is not as fast as Launcher pro but im still using ADW as it is very easy and fast to customize (change shortcuts and their icons)
i will switch to launcher pro when they add drag and drop to app drawer support (dunno if they already incorporated that since i haven't tried for atleast 3months now )

Well I use Zeam right now on my Nexus one and love it; very clean and fast.
The customization features are a little lacking (arranging of different pages after they're already made) but the speed and lightness of the overall package makes up for it.

I like the speed and feel of ADW Es but switched to Launch Pro Plus because of the widgets.

Launcher pro. Fastest, most consistent and smooth.
Sent from my Motorola Atrix using tapatalk

I use GoLauncher EX. Today it received a feature of looping homescreens. Best. Feature. Ever.

I tested both ADW and launcher pro when I first got the phone and end up getting the paid version of launcher pro. This is my first android phone, so I was learning a lot about it when I made the choice... honestly don't remember exactly why I chose launcher pro. I think I just generally liked the feel and some of the customization features, as well as widgets.

Zephyrs said:
You can do that on launcher pro....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use LP and was actually just searching my cyanogen and LP settings tonight to find a swipe setting but couldn't. Also using wave launcher which interfere with my not. Bar when sliding up so I'd really like this feature. How do you access it?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Custom launcher implies personal choice. You're better off asking why people pick and compare to what you like.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

i have had all 3, LPP, ADW Ex, GO Launcher
Launcher Pro Plus feels bulky, although it might not be
ADW Ex is very easy to use / setup, but i still feel something is missing, I was an ADW fan until i tried Go launcher 2 days ago
I like GO launcher the best, its free first of all, then it got nice folder icons, easy to delete programs in app drawer, kill active background programs in a flash, and dont forget the promise weekly update
lets just say i m now a Go launcher fan, freaking awesome combo together with GO SMS

I'm an ADW Ex guy.
love the easy resizeable widgets, have multiple columns and rows, animation transitions, awesome secret dockbar,easy to drop icons on dock, customizable docks.., move pages around, delete pages around etc.
It's fast for me :/ I dunno why it's not fast for people. :x but we all have preferences.
I do like the widgets on LP+ .. one thing i like about it
for GO, I like the app menu because it has so much more than a regular app drawer
:x

Just to clarify, you can get widgets such as beautiful widgets and the likes with custom launcheDO any of those launchers have GPU accelarated UIs?

xyrovice said:
I'll be very honest, I always seem to come back to Zeam.
It's light and fast and does the job a launcher should do and more...just lighter and faster.
The one thing I realized I couldn't live without was the double-tap action that you can set. I set it to expand my notifications, so now, instead of having to trek my wee thumb all the way up to the notifications bar and pull it down, I just double tap an empty spot on my screen and down it comes!
I've tried GO Launcher and LP...I don't know. Zeam is just the bees knees.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just installed zeam, like the clean and simple menu look. One question, any way to change the icons in the dock?

after trying launcher pro i came right back to motoblur. yea, its not as fast (although i didn't notice any slowdowns) but it looks a lot better. there is a reason why they fixed up the interface. Motorola did a slick job on this phone.

Homescreen Lag

every time I put my Xoom in portrait mode, the homescreens lag, likely around 15 - 20 fps. landscape mode is perfect, probably like 60fps. I'm just wondering if anyone knew a fix for this, or just an explanation lol

Oasisplayer311 said:
every time I put my Xoom in portrait mode, the homescreens lag, likely around 15 - 20 fps. landscape mode is perfect, probably like 60fps. I'm just wondering if anyone knew a fix for this, or just an explanation lol
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Click to collapse
I also was getting that while using stock launcher, I stopped using it last week and switched to ADW so everything is super smooth.

Oasisplayer311 said:
every time I put my Xoom in portrait mode, the homescreens lag, likely around 15 - 20 fps. landscape mode is perfect, probably like 60fps. I'm just wondering if anyone knew a fix for this, or just an explanation lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
same here. Not terrible but noticeably slower. Wondering if its because it has to render the widgets in portrait and theyre optimized for landscape? I really don't know.

p2flol said:
I also was getting that while using stock launcher, I stopped using it last week and switched to ADW so everything is super smooth.
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Click to collapse
I gave Launcher Pro a try since I use it's on my Droid X, but the small App Icons just bugged me. Is ADW any better?

martonikaj said:
same here. Not terrible but noticeably slower. Wondering if its because it has to render the widgets in portrait and theyre optimized for landscape? I really don't know.
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Click to collapse
could be. I haven't tried removing the Widgets and seeing if it increases the speed. might give that a try. But rendering Widgets in portrait shouldn't be any slower than landscape... "shouldn't" lol

Oasisplayer311 said:
I gave Launcher Pro a try since I use it's on my Droid X, but the small App Icons just bugged me. Is ADW any better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean on the homescreen? Not sure how small you're talking about, here's my HS:

p2flol said:
You mean on the homescreen? Not sure how small you're talking about, here's my HS:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm talking about the app drawer. sorry I wasn't specific

Oasisplayer311 said:
I'm talking about the app drawer. sorry I wasn't specific
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Click to collapse
I have mine setup like this, transparent background, I beleive the icons are the same size as the homescreen ones. I could set it up to have multiple pages, but I like having everything on one screen lol.
I also have the text set to white instead of black, I can see it just fine, camera doesn't really pick it up though.

martonikaj said:
same here. Not terrible but noticeably slower. Wondering if its because it has to render the widgets in portrait and theyre optimized for landscape? I really don't know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That seems logical, however, it's just as choppy and laggy when you have the Xoom upside down (camera down, HDMI up). I only observe smooth transitions when in the standard, landscape position (and even this isn't always lag-free).

p2flol said:
I have mine setup like this, transparent background, I beleive the icons are the same size as the homescreen ones. I could set it up to have multiple pages, but I like having everything on one screen lol.
I also have the text set to white instead of black, I can see it just fine, camera doesn't really pick it up though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's how launcher pro looks. I just don't like the small app icons. Plus I'm ADD so looking for an app in that is like looking for buried treasure haha

dxTop
I use dxTop Pro on my Xoom, pretty nice interaction. But I didn't set it as default. So each time I hit the home button I get a pop up to select either dxtop or launcher (the xoom default home). I find dxTop as a good alternative. That's why I don't use it as default, just when I wanna play around with a new home. Plus it offer the same exact 3D effects as the default home on the xoom. But with dxTop you have a "cube like" interface. So you can swipe up, swipe down, swipe left and right, and there is a swip for the center. So in all u have about 5 different swipe positon. Not just the current left to right position on the xoom default. You can google it for a demo and more info. Just thought i'll add my 2¢.

Launcher Pro Plus

Who is using Lpp? I love the look of the stock launcher but it is so slow when rotating the screen and moving around. Lpp is very quick and smooth, and loads the widgets instantly after rotation but doesn't have a nice of look as the stock launcher.
What do you guys think?

Can't say I've got any reason to change the vanilla launcher or KB for that matter. Very happy with stock at the moment. I'll wait to see how the developers try and one up HC as they did for 2.2.

hlaalu said:
Who is using Lpp? I love the look of the stock launcher but it is so slow when rotating the screen and moving around. Lpp is very quick and smooth, and loads the widgets instantly after rotation but doesn't have a nice of look as the stock launcher.
What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it but it just didn't feel right on the tablet. Loved the resizeable Widgets though.

I haven't used LPP but I know for ADW it can be themed. Can't you do the same for LPP?

Shigster said:
I haven't used LPP but I know for ADW it can be themed. Can't you do the same for LPP?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can. LP Forum

I use LPP for my Iconia.. I had to change the number of columns and rows to make everything fit and look better because of the additional real estate. Although I use LPP because of the Friends widget since I haven't found any other widget that does the same thing so far (although I haven't tried very hard looking).

[Q] Smoothness... I want more

I just got my TF 6 hrs ago and I am not impressed with how smooth the main screens are when scrolling sideways. It looks like it is stuttering. I want it as smooth as my Pyromod G2.
I was hoping that the 3.1 update fixes this but I just got the update and still stuttering.
Is there any solution other than rooting and overclocking to the max. Is there a launcher settings that I can adjust?

My home screen is really smooth. But I am using regular wallpaper and not the live one.

I guess the first thing to do would be to use the same launcher if it's supported on Honeycomb. I like the HC launcher myself. Every now and then it's a little slow when it first gets going or after being off for a while but nothing that effects usability. I guess the issue might be that you're comparing a hacked, customized and tweaked Android 2.x device moving 800x480 pixels to a whole new unmodified factory OS moving 1200x800 pixels so I would sort of expect it to be a little less optimized from the get go.
I'm running the Primordial 3.1 build right now with the OC kernel at 1.4 GHz and everything just moves right along for me.
So might want to start with apples to apples and go from there.

I noticed my Transformer had started feeling really sluggish and I hadn't even installed much. I was rebooting often and it seemed to help a little for a short time. Then I just removed an application I installed recently and wow, performance was smooth again.
That app was TweetCaster Pro, something I grabbed as a free app of the day from the Amazon Appstore. Don't know if it was just that app or maybe some weird combination that didn't like each other. *shrug* But things are a lot smoother. So it might be worth looking at some of your apps, especially those that install background services that like to look for updates frequently.

ADW EX you won't get any smoother than that
For twitter i use Tweetcomb, totally awesome

LauncherPro also runs really smooth on Tegra devices.
Stock Google launchers typically aren't very smooth, especially on a brand new chipset.

does other launcher show the app icon as big as hc stock launcher? more icon and widget sure will slow down the animation, but I found that by tapping the most left or right side of the screen will take you to other page with faster animation n of course it is smoother

mine is really smooth...probably one of the apps you installed is not getting along well with the honeycomb

xufuchang said:
does other launcher show the app icon as big as hc stock launcher? more icon and widget sure will slow down the animation, but I found that by tapping the most left or right side of the screen will take you to other page with faster animation n of course it is smoother
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With ADW EX you can change the size of the icons to any size you want!
Change the icon to any picture.
Change the speed of the animation.
Change the bounce!
The only thing ADW EX doesn't do is hold it for you when you take a leak
I currently have 7 pages 5 of which are full of widgets (and i mean full), no sticking EVER

checkbox111 said:
With ADW EX you can change the size of the icons to any size you want!
Change the icon to any picture.
Change the speed of the animation.
Change the bounce!
The only thing ADW EX doesn't do is hold it for you when you take a leak
I currently have 7 pages 5 of which are full of widgets (and i mean full), no sticking EVER
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice, I'm going try it then.

Do you need root to use ADW Launcher EX?

ThaiM said:
Do you need root to use ADW Launcher EX?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no need,just installed adw ex, smooth...

magicpork said:
mine is really smooth...probably one of the apps you installed is not getting along well with the honeycomb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was still a virgin TF but it was not meeting my expectations. Maybe because I am used to a smother one.
Anyway, I installed Launcher Pro Plus, (I remember I purchased this before) and the performance improved a little bit. I wonder if the ADW EX is better.
I really don't want to root this TF but I really crave the smoothness that I find in my G2 so I have no choice but to root it when I get my extra Micro SDHC. BTW, does the new ROMS support/Include ASUS MyCloud, MyNet, .. etc.
Also, I've read that Netflix and Yahoo Messenger Video chat isn't fully working yet.
All in all, other than those intangible (software) shortcomings I still like the TF hardware. Softwares will get fixed soon, but crappy hardware will stay crappy forever in the tablet world.

The rooted roms are all up to date and are built using the OTA releases so yea all the asus software is still included

Try turning off the animations.

Live wallpapers murder performance. If you select a static one, your performance will be far better. Next would be widgets; try and keep them to a minimum if you can.

jerrykur said:
Try turning off the animations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
*Daedalus said:
Live wallpapers murder performance. If you select a static one, your performance will be far better. Next would be widgets; try and keep them to a minimum if you can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it's actually the first thing I did. It did not help.
lacrossev said:
The rooted roms are all up to date and are built using the OTA releases so yea all the asus software is still included
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!

jerrykur said:
Try turning off the animations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, works nicely. Although some apps seem to turn them back on, so I need to back in and (re)set, which sucks.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

Just got the TF dock today. It's really cool, the tablet is transformed!
I haven't played that that much yet but it seems that it doesn't support a USB mouse... or does it??

it should have it...

Launcher Pro Plus... Anyone using it on Tab 10.1?

Title says it all... Is anyone using LPP on their Gal Tab 10.1? Hows it working out for you?

I did it worked great. I used it with beautiful widgets and better cut.

had it working but goes into f/c all the time so took it out.

i've used it on the xoom with no probs. have it running on a transformer and on the gt10.1 and haven't had any fc's. works great to me.

Didn't try launcher pro, but in using adw launcher ex since someone on this forum mentioned it this morning.
Hate to admit, I didn't even bother looking into it before since I didn't think they would support honeycomb. Soooo much faster than stock.. stock honeycomb needs to be this quick flying through home screens or I'm never going back.
Anyone else use ADW? Major differences vs launcher pro in honeycomb? I've used all of the launchers on my phones before.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk

Have yet to try either, but am thinking about going with launcher pro... Going to give it a shot on my Infuse as well.
Mankoorb: Are you using the larger weather widget? Im currently using tha one, but cannot get the background to actually be transparent...

Lp Is awesome on mine
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I can't wait for the tablet version of SPB Shell 3d.

How do we use these other launchers without removingthe HC notification bar at the bottom?

Heuser1 said:
Have yet to try either, but am thinking about going with launcher pro... Going to give it a shot on my Infuse as well.
Mankoorb: Are you using the larger weather widget? Im currently using tha one, but cannot get the background to actually be transparent...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually had to select opaque to get the background removed on some, while others didnt remove at all, just gotta trail and error with it.

Srikar_NBK said:
How do we use these other launchers without removingthe HC notification bar at the bottom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LP doesnt cover the notification bar.

Rhyno77 said:
Didn't try launcher pro, but in using adw launcher ex since someone on this forum mentioned it this morning.
Hate to admit, I didn't even bother looking into it before since I didn't think they would support honeycomb. Soooo much faster than stock.. stock honeycomb needs to be this quick flying through home screens or I'm never going back.
Anyone else use ADW? Major differences vs launcher pro in honeycomb? I've used all of the launchers on my phones before.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw the same post and thought I would try it.
I searched "adw launcher ex" on the market and got some 500+ hits?!?
There has got to be an easier way to find apps on market???

dannyboy22 said:
I saw the same post and thought I would try it.
I searched "adw launcher ex" on the market and got some 500+ hits?!?
There has got to be an easier way to find apps on market???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's generally the most downloaded.

dannyboy22 said:
I saw the same post and thought I would try it.
I searched "adw launcher ex" on the market and got some 500+ hits?!?
There has got to be an easier way to find apps on market???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I entered the same search string. There are a lot of matches, but "ADWLauncher EX" from AnderWeb was the very first one in the list, which is what you are looking for.

What I like about the Honeycomb launcher is how it keeps the icon spacing perfect regardless of which orientation the tablet is in. The Android 2.x based launchers mess up the spacing when you rotate the screen.
Are there any launchers that do a similar job with the icon spacing that the Honeycomb launcher does?

Ravynmagi said:
What I like about the Honeycomb launcher is how it keeps the icon spacing perfect regardless of which orientation the tablet is in. The Android 2.x based launchers mess up the spacing when you rotate the screen.
Are there any launchers that do a similar job with the icon spacing that the Honeycomb launcher does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
with LP you can adjust the spacing on the grid, and find the spacing that you like best.

Ravynmagi said:
What I like about the Honeycomb launcher is how it keeps the icon spacing perfect regardless of which orientation the tablet is in. The Android 2.x based launchers mess up the spacing when you rotate the screen.
Are there any launchers that do a similar job with the icon spacing that the Honeycomb launcher does?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Used LPP on the Xoom and now GT.
I changed the number of rows and columns to max (10 I think) and the spacing seems to stay correct in either orientation.
Also seems to get rid of all the lag with HC which I never noticed before due to going straight to LPP out of the box. Tried HC launcher on the GT for a couple of days but the lag was driving nuts! Just wish I could keep the larger icons.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Rhyno77 said:
Didn't try launcher pro, but in using adw launcher ex since someone on this forum mentioned it this morning.
Hate to admit, I didn't even bother looking into it before since I didn't think they would support honeycomb. Soooo much faster than stock.. stock honeycomb needs to be this quick flying through home screens or I'm never going back.
Anyone else use ADW? Major differences vs launcher pro in honeycomb? I've used all of the launchers on my phones before.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using ADW Launcher EX now (as of yesterday -- like you, learned from reading it on here).
It really is faster, smoother, better animations, etc. and you can have your vertical apps back! I never liked horizontal scroll for apps.
The ONLY downside, and it may be placebo, is that I think the stock widgets (bookmarks, gmail, calendar, etc.) scroll more slowly, but that is really the only downside that I can see -- at least those widgets work!
All in all, I'm now a proponent of aftermarket launchers for Honeycomb, which I never thought I would be.

Tried it and chnaged back, i didnt like the way the app draw looked. i prefured the stock set up....still think it needs more work. but on my phone thats all i rock!

ADW EX got auto-installed when I first set up the tab (it's what I use on my Evo so was in my stuff on market), and after messing with the stock launcher for a while I tried it, haven't looked back. Easier to get the look I want, plus seems quite a bit faster.