Launcher Pro vs Launcher Pro Plus

[gunny5821]

OK, here comes the noob everyone run and hide, LOL.. OK so I have been reading about the different launchers out there and have some questions (Using the Captivate obviously):

1. What is the difference between the Launcher Pro and the Pro Plus versions?
2. How does it stack up against the competition; ADW, Helix to name a few?
3. Since I have no idea what rooting is, and therefore have no desire to root my phone, must my phone be rooted in order for these launchers to work?

Anything else you would like to say that would help out us fellow noobs would be appreciated, and as always Thanks!

Gunny

 

[Surfer]

1. LauncherPro plus is basically a DONATE version of Launcher Pro. It costs 2.99 and that money helps him out to develop Launcher Pro Plus. He is making/has exclusive widgets for LauncherPro Plus and it seems like he is going to make larger improvements for Launcher Pro Plus (which is on sale now because it has just a few widgets)
2. It truly is your opinion. I like Launcher Pro because I am use to HTC Sense.. ADW also works well, and Open Home is very organized. I have yet to try Helix though.
3. No it does not require root

Hope that could help a fellow noob out!

 

[Jofaba]

I purchased it for the bookmarks and people widgets. Very "sense-like". Plus I don't mind donating towards the development of a great launcher with fantastic features (resizing!).

 

[ewingr]

Can you elaborate on resizing?

 

[evileyez3]

If you really love an app you should support the developer. I used LauncherPro for about a week and then bought LaunchPro Plus. It's a great Home screen alternative.

 

[akazabam]

Can you elaborate on resizing?

You can resize widgets in Launcher pro. It is not limited to just the Launcher pro widgets, either. You just long-press on any widget, don't move it, then let go. You can then make the widget any size that you want. It will make some widgets look weird since some of them are formatted to fit in a specific number of rows or columns.

 

[lordmaxx]

yes the plus version is worth getting if just to support the author of this great home screen replacement.

 

[Ferrari353]

I have Launcher Pro and I'm thinking about getting the Plus version...One of the things I like about ADW.Launcher that Launcher Pro doesn't have is a horizontal scrolling app drawer. Is there any way to get a horizontal scrolling app page in Launcher Pro?

 

[speedfreak32]

yes the plus version is worth getting if just to support the author of this great home screen replacement.

Especially since I use it every time I look at my phone.

 

[NickDblU]

Launcher Pro Plus, IMO, is worth the price of admission...

The "Friends" allows you to include both Facebook and Twitter feeds into a single widget

The calendar widget is also great...

And then if you go to the XDA forums and search for Signals23, you can download the LauncherPro APK which he's skinned to be transparent... A thing of BEAUTY!

 

[sremick]

I'm not sure I seriously use any of the features of "plus" although some of the widgets are nice. I paid for it simply to support the author as I depend on this app heavily and want to encourage him to continue.

Freeloading for the sake of saving what amounts to the cost of 2 sodas/coffees isn't worth it to me. Hopefully more users realize that supporting the authors of their favorite apps trumps the psychological thrill of "getting something for free".

 

[doctahjeph]

LauncherPro Plus is the best launcher out there IMHO. The widgets alone are worth every penny. However if you don't have the money right now to support LPP, you can just download LP and then get colorize widgets, basically the same widgets offered in LPP.

 

[fldude99]

I'm sorry.. but if you can afford the phone you can afford the 2 bucks

 

[PKSA.Tim]

If you want customization? ADW EX has it! One of my favorite things is the hidden Dock Bar. With one swipe it appears and you can set it to disappear on launch or leave open. No more cluttered home screen! The swipe motion is also customizable. Heck. . . just about everything in this launcher is! You can change Icons and resize AND Overlap Widgets (You can get some really cool looks by doing this)! You can also choose top or bottom for trash can position. It has too many themes to mention and Dock Bar Packs come with some of them plus ADW EX comes with a few extra as well both for the main Dock and the hidden Dock. Also has Very cool looking New Icon Labels!

You can try the Free ADW, but The features don't even compare to ADW EX!!!

Some people have FC issues with it but I think thats because they are using the wallpaper hack which is enabled as default. The Dev even warns you of this. I can vouch though that it does work on the Captivate with Froyo KB1! And it also worked on 2.1, both Rooted and not!

Worth every penny! IMO

And as far as Launcher Pro having it's own widgets. . . I can DL any of those types of widgets from the market. most, if not all, free.

 

[jmsnyc]

I have Launcher Pro and I almost want to buy it just for the sake of getting rid of the nag screen every time I touch one of my widgets. To support the developer is a good reason to buy it but to get rid of the nag screen is not - for principle sake alone.

I really have no need for the Plus features.

I did try ADW free very briefly and it did not seem as "smooth"

 

[Endgame715]

Where can I find Dock icons and icon packs? I found one icon pack for the apps in the market. It made the icons uber nice. My dock is kind of plain though.

 

[NightHawk877]

I prefer Go Launcher EX. It's free and can be customized a lot more than ADW and LPP.

 

[falcon7204]

I prefer Go Launcher EX. It's free and can be customized a lot more than ADW and LPP.

The problem I have with GO Launcher EX, and indeed Launcher Pro and ADW.Launcher is the fact that I get spontaneous reboots, and sometimes system freezes, when using these launchers. It seems intermittent, and is most definitely annoying. I don't seem to have the same problem with TouchWiz; however, I don't like using TouchWiz because it's not nearly as customizable.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate running Gingerbread 2.3.5, unrooted. I'd much rather be using GO Launcher EX since it is so customizable (even down to the fonts), but the occasional spontaneous reboot is quite annoying.