Best Launcher Apps vs. Rooting

[acousticshade]

Started messing with launcher apps yesterday and wanted to get some opinions & insight. For those who use a launcher, which one do you use and why? I'm currently trying out Apex launcher and like it, but it has a few things that are a bit problematic for me. 1. it seems quite a bit slower than stock ICS and 2. I can't seem to get some of the HTC widgets to work like the HTC e-mail widget which I really like. I really love using a 5x5 grid for icons, theme manager and some of the other features, but it looks like Golauncher and Nova have those things also. The new Chameleon launcher looks cool also, even it it's it beta.

Finally, if speed is going to be an issue with any of the launchers, I may just end up rooting. I have never rooted my phone because it's a work phone and don't want to pay to replace it if I accidentally brick it, but I may take the chance now that there are so many good options on the Rezound. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[DaDroidDude]

I tried a few awhile back.
Don't remember which exactly.
But every time I try, I always end up with Launcher Pro.
I love the dock customization, though that may be echoed in the new Sense Launcher.

As for as rooting is concerned, there are two good reasons to root; at least.
One is so that you can freeze bloatware for a nicer user experience and to free up space. ICS may have taken care of that.
The other, perhaps more important, reason is that, without root, you cannot do a true backup of your data.

The solution to that, without rooting, is to only keep data in applications that sync with the cloud somehow, but that presents security issues.

I un-rooted when I knew ICS was pending.
I may or may not root again.
I have a pretty good system for data storage and security.

B

 

[SHAK3R]

Im a Launcher user and the first one I stuck with out of many was Launcher Pro. However after a while it seemed to really slow down my D1.

That is when I discovered GO! Launcher and haven't looked back. I love everything about it. The UI, customization, lock screen.

My only complaint if you would call it one is that some of the themes are pretty cheesy.

Sent from my Rezound using Droid Forums

 

[marioval]

I'm using Holo Launcher Plus, there is a free version too. I have tried every launcher there is and none compares to Holo Plus. Go launcher came close but it had a major bug for me in several versions where the dock icons would revert back to default on reboot which was too annoying for me to deal with.

 

[MrSmith317]

The entire time I was on ICS(other than when I was trying to like Sense) I used Nova Launcher. It's so close to stock ICS(not Sense, true ICS) that I wouldn't use any other launcher.

 

[bladerunn3r]

I'm on stock, and I tried using nova launcher about 2 months ago. I loved everything about it, except it seemed a tiny bit slower (switching between panes). Every day it got a bit slower, and by week 3 or 4 it was unusable. I tried clearing the cache, but to no avail. Even reinstall only helped a little.

Anyone else have this issue? Why did I? Seems like any launcher I try is slower in transitions, or quickly becomes slower.

 

[acousticshade]

Yea, Apex is very slow. I really like it but am going to have to uninstall it due to speed. Think I'll look at the other three mentioned in the thread. Anyone know which is the fastest or most optimized for ICS?

 

[HowardZ]

My droid x phone using AOKP uses nova launcher. So, I suppose the AOKP team thinks nova launcher is the best?

I am looking forward to eventually having AOKP on my rezound.

 

[corki2]

Nova launcher for me too. You can put widgets on the dock. Real ICS experience.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Malcaver49]

I use Nemus Launcher. I used to use Go Launcher but it simply has too much bloat in it. My battery life jumped by 30-35% when I got rid of Go Launcher and went with Nemus. I have tried almost all of the launchers out there and Nemus is the best.

 

[mountainbikermark]

The entire time I was on ICS(other than when I was trying to like Sense) I used Nova Launcher. It's so close to stock ICS(not Sense, true ICS) that I wouldn't use any other launcher.

I've got that now and if I can get Multiple Picture Live Wallpaper to work right with it I'm going to make it my default. Right now only Go works right . I tried Nemus as well for its CPU sipping vs the guzzling of Go.

Support Our Troops!!!
<><
A Rezound phone was used for this Tapatalk post

 

[acousticshade]

Well, so far I think I'm going with nova. I'll check out a few others, but nova & Apex really seem to be the most powerful. Funny thing is that there seems to be no consensus on which one is faster. I really like the apex launcher best, but it is definately slower than nova on my phone & I really wish I could figue out why. Even nova has a slight lag, but I can live with it.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Well, so far I think I'm going with nova. I'll check out a few others, but nova & Apex really seem to be the most powerful. Funny thing is that there seems to be no consensus on which one is faster. I really like the apex launcher best, but it is definately slower than nova on my phone & I really wish I could figue out why. Even nova has a slight lag, but I can live with it.

I'm trying out Nova now to see if it is less of a resource user than Go. I don't see a lot of difference other than I had to pay $4 to unlock all of the Nova features. Go is plenty snappy and bug free and after the update all I had to do was uncheck Sense as default and it set itself back up just like it was on GB.
I've gotten Multiple Picture Live Wallpaper setup on Nova now so other than the way I tap this or that to get here or there, they both work about the same except Nova allows more stuff in the dock. I really like that a lot

Support Our Troops!!!
<><
A Rezound phone was used for this Tapatalk post

 

[drew96dawg]

I'm using Holo Launcher Plus, there is a free version too. I have tried every launcher there is and none compares to Holo Plus. Go launcher came close but it had a major bug for me in several versions where the dock icons would revert back to default on reboot which was too annoying for me to deal with.

I also use it and there is very little lag on my d2 so speed shouldn't be a problem with the rezound

Sent from my DROID2 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

 

[acousticshade]

Seems like most of the launchers stutter on the animation when switching between screens. It doesn't always happen, but it may be directly related to how many apps you have on screen and some widgets or weather clocks may also slow things down. Going to see if I can pin point the culprits & I may need to reduce my screen grid a bit.
Tell you what though, I'm never going back to a 4x4 grid. I've got a 5x6 now and am lovin it. Coupled with Ics, the rezound totally rocks now.