Q. Why use an App Launcher vs. Stock ?

[cynkrzy]

New to Android & SmartPhones, Having a blast, but want to understand why use an Application Launcher vs. stock ? I have searched this forum but didn't find the underlying reason or short comings of "stock"

 

[Airmaxx23]

Stock UI is laggy, slow and not very customizable at all. You can do so much more with Launcher Pro or ADW, I prefer LP.

 

[cynkrzy]

Stock UI is laggy, slow and not very customizable at all. You can do so much more with Launcher Pro or ADW, I prefer LP.

Care to elaborate, specifics would really help me understand

 

[dhoffman1421]

Stock UI is laggy, slow and not very customizable at all. You can do so much more with Launcher Pro or ADW, I prefer LP.

+1 and I liked LP so much I bought LP Plus so the dev could keep making it better. LP Icon pack is great as well.

 

[JubbaTheHutt]

Care to elaborate, specifics would really help me understand

I'd suggest searching not only the Droid X section, but the application section as well for input on 3rd Party launchers. There have already been similar threads created asking the same thing.

But as suggested before, Stock is far from being the best available launcher to you.

 

[tom108]

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/196092-launcher-pro-plus-faster-smoother-than-adw.html

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/199928-favorite-launcher.html

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/202573-launcher-pro-n-plus.html

just a few from a quick search.

 

[apinkel]

Some examples of things I use on LPP that aren't options with the stock launcher:
-Hide bloatware apps from the app drawer
-Display 5 rows of widgets instead of the stock 4... handy on a screen as large as the X's. You can also adjust the number of columns.
-Customize the look of the dock
-Have more then 4 shortcuts in the dock by scrolling the dock
-Shows number of missed calls, unread sms's and unread gmail's in the respective dock icon
-Emulate HTC's leap functionality that gives you snapshots of your homescreens and allows you to select which one to go to.

 

[cynkrzy]

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/196092-launcher-pro-plus-faster-smoother-than-adw.html

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/199928-favorite-launcher.html

http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid-x/202573-launcher-pro-n-plus.html

just a few from a quick search.

Ya I read those, and a few others. There's the LP lovers, and the ADW lovers and each will tell you why...

what I'm not understanding and I'll probably have to play with them, is what do they ADD, that the 5 home screens and apps/widgets I have on them. don't.

I'm not a huge fan of desktop Icons for apps, tho I do like widgets, I think it'd be cool to have a customized menu of the apps I use, organised by activity type, that was available from any of the home screens.

So I guess I'll need to do more research and experiment.

If anyone wants to discuss their motivation for replacing the standard DROID X Launcher/Home screens, I'm way more than willing to listen

 

[cynkrzy]

Some examples of things I use on LPP that aren't options with the stock launcher:
-Hide bloatware apps from the app drawer
-Display 5 rows of widgets instead of the stock 4... handy on a screen as large as the X's. You can also adjust the number of columns.
-Customize the look of the dock
-Have more then 4 shortcuts in the dock by scrolling the dock
-Shows number of missed calls, unread sms's and unread gmail's in the respective dock icon
-Emulate HTC's leap functionality that gives you snapshots of your homescreens and allows you to select which one to go to.

Thanks now we're getting somewhere.... so I could hide all but the apps I use regularly and then just have widgets on the home screens, and extra stuff in the dock.... I think perhaps I'm starting to see the light...

Sorry if I'm a bit slow, never was the sharpest tool in the shed...

Any way to organise the apps in the app drawer ?

 

[tom108]

launcher pro plus also has some really nice widgets.

 

[apinkel]

Thanks now we're getting somewhere.... so I could hide all but the apps I use regularly and then just have widgets on the home screens, and extra stuff in the dock.... I think perhaps I'm starting to see the light...

Sorry if I'm a bit slow, never was the sharpest tool in the shed...

Any way to organise the apps in the app drawer ?

I use my main homepage for informational widgets (date/time/weather/calendar/emails), then I use alternate home screens for shortcuts to apps. But obviously there are a number of different ways to set it up. The nice thing about LPP is that it gives you a lot of options to play with to get it setup in a way that works well for you.

I highly recommend trying it out. Use home screen switcher to switch between the stock launcher and LPP. If you decide you like LPP I'd recommend going back to stock and removing any widgets on those homescreens so they aren't sitting in the background using resources.

As for organizing the app drawer... outside of removing unused apps I'm not aware of any customization options.

 

[jbhumph]

My DX is my first android device. I tried LPP and ADW a few weeks after I got it and didn't like it much. Maybe it was too much to take in at the time? After playing with LPP for a few hours one night I began to see howh customizable it was and how much I really enjoyed it. Tried ADW again after that and just didn't care for it...so I went with LPP and still use it today. Love it and love the look it helps me create

 

[jkmasi]

For me, the decision to use LPP instead of stock was driven by the fact that I came from the Droid Incredible. After loving the UI on the Inc, the stock interface on the DX seemed like a huge step back - not slick at all. LPP widgets gave me the feeling and polish of Sense... without it I'm not sure I could stand the DX... except for the awesome call quality.

 

[Odin3]

I have all of my most used apps linked to the dock icons. With the swipe up feature of LP I seldom have to use the app drawer. For example the music icon if pressed opens DoubleTwist but a swipe up opens BeyondPod. A press on the messaging icon opens texting and a swipe up opens GMail.

 

[cynkrzy]

I have all of my most used apps linked to the dock icons. With the swipe up feature of LP I seldom have to use the app drawer. For example the music icon if pressed opens DoubleTwist but a swipe up opens BeyondPod. A press on the messaging icon opens texting and a swipe up opens GMail.

Really.... Well something else to explore, how cool is that. Oh in case anyone was wondering I just installed, un-installed (so I could remove widgets from my old home screens) and re-installed LP and have started to configure it....

Don't expect to get alot of sleep tonight

 

[tom108]

Really.... Well something else to explore, how cool is that. Oh in case anyone was wondering I just installed, un-installed (so I could remove widgets from my old home screens) and re-installed LP and have started to configure it....

Don't expect to get alot of sleep tonight

get home switcher from the market. its free and allows you to switch home apps or just launch them easier.

 

[cynkrzy]

get home switcher from the market. its free and allows you to switch home apps or just launch them easier.

I went to the market, but it said it didn't support Froyo, so I just removed the Widgets. At this point I'm having way too much fun setting up LP... Long as it's reliable I'll be good. Now If I could find some cool custom Dock Background

 

[tom108]

I went to the market, but it said it didn't support Froyo, so I just removed the Widgets. At this point I'm having way too much fun setting up LP... Long as it's reliable I'll be good. Now If I could find some cool custom Dock Background

its says that but it works fine. i have used it with my DX the whole time.

http://www.launcherpro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=854

 

[cynkrzy]

its says that but it works fine. i have used it with my DX the whole time.

LauncherPro Forum • View topic - Share your custom dock backgrounds!

Oh well, I'm not that brave yet, I'm all in now

 

[j102]

I went to the market, but it said it didn't support Froyo, so I just removed the Widgets. At this point I'm having way too much fun setting up LP... Long as it's reliable I'll be good. Now If I could find some cool custom Dock Background

lots of custom LPP icons and dock backgrounds:

LauncherPro Icons | Custom Android app icons for the awesome LauncherPro home screen replacement

 

[cynkrzy]

Ok y'all seriously "Rock". Thanks for the reasons, the ideas, the tips and j102 for the link to the Dock Backgrounds. My eyeballs are done, my Droid Does look the shit, and I have to quit for the night.

Any recommendations for a "News Widget" I have so much Home Screen space now I'd like a full screen one

 

[tom108]

Ok y'all seriously "Rock". Thanks for the reasons, the ideas, the tips and j102 for the link to the Dock Backgrounds. My eyeballs are done, my Droid Does look the shit, and I have to quit for the night.

Any recommendations for a "News Widget" I have so much Home Screen space now I'd like a full screen one

i posted the link to the dock image thread like an hour and a half ago. LOL

 

[cynkrzy]

i posted the link to the dock image thread like an hour and a half ago. LOL

Ya well I'm a little OCD.

 

[jcash3]

Some examples of things I use on LPP that aren't options with the stock launcher:
-Hide bloatware apps from the app drawer
-Display 5 rows of widgets instead of the stock 4... handy on a screen as large as the X's. You can also adjust the number of columns.
-Customize the look of the dock
-Have more then 4 shortcuts in the dock by scrolling the dock
-Shows number of missed calls, unread sms's and unread gmail's in the respective dock icon
-Emulate HTC's leap functionality that gives you snapshots of your homescreens and allows you to select which one to go to.

I was messing around with the appearance settings last night, and saw that you can actually do a 10 x 10 layout for your home screens. I'm not sure if this is something that LPP added in there for tablets or something, but it looks pretty terrible in action. I think the best setup for me was 5(rows)x4(columns). The extra row really helps me fit more on the screen though.

I would definitely recommend widget locker as well. It gives you different options for sliders and lets you add widgets to the lock screen. And does away with the laggy stock slider.

 

[apinkel]

I was messing around with the appearance settings last night, and saw that you can actually do a 10 x 10 layout for your home screens. I'm not sure if this is something that LPP added in there for tablets or something, but it looks pretty terrible in action. I think the best setup for me was 5(rows)x4(columns). The extra row really helps me fit more on the screen though.

I would definitely recommend widget locker as well. It gives you different options for sliders and lets you add widgets to the lock screen. And does away with the laggy stock slider.

I agree about the 5x4 format. It's a really good fit for the X's taller than usual fwvga screen.

Have you found widget locker to be stable and non-impacting on battery life? I don't really care about having widgets on my lock screen but I would like to get rid of the lag.