Which Home Screen?

[Frisco]

See SlideScreen Android App Replaces Homescreen With Beautiful Information - Slidescreen - Gizmodo and Slide Screen by Larva Labs

I tried it for less than an hour.. I haven't seen battery drain like that on any device I've ever had; it went from 90% to 55% in about half an hour, then down to 18% in the next ten minutes or so.

I also noticed wicked drag (my word for lag) on the resources.. it is quite the processor hog.

Tore it out. Perhaps it needs work. It is a great concept.

 

[andrizoid]

I tried it for less than an hour.. I haven't seen battery drain like that on any device I've ever had; it went from 90% to 55% in about half an hour, then down to 18% in the next ten minutes or so.

I also noticed wicked drag (my word for lag) on the resources.. it is quite the processor hog.

Tore it out. Perhaps it needs work. It is a great concept.

holy shit!

 

[Pitamakan]

If you have the new leak (v2) then there really is no reason to switch from Sense UI unless you want landscape -

I think there might still be a couple of reasons. Helix is definitely faster for me, for one thing ... but I'm also happy to be rid of that big Sense call button at the bottom of my screen. It always seemed so unnecessary, since we have a physical call button just an inch away ... and I accidentally touched that screen button a couple of times, which was annoying.

 

[Bswartz95]

Well, I put a lot of blame on Beautiful Widgets for my battery drain, so I uninstalled the app. Today, my running services is over 80% and the battery is down 12%! My phone has been in airplane mode since taking it off the charger at 8am this morning and the running time is over 4 hours! It hasn't slept! The number one program according to Spare Parts is the Helix Launcher.

Anyone else experience this? This sucks because I really like Helix.

 

[hattrick]

I'm running Helix and Beautiful Widgets and don't have any problems with battery. In fact my battery seems much better since switching from Launcher2 to Helix. Both Helix and BW are near the bottom of the list in Battery History under Spare Parts.

 

[Deleted User]

In Spare Parts, are you all looking at 'Other Usage' or 'CPU Usage' (or other) in the Battery History section? When I look at CPU Usage Helix is at the bottom. Beautiful Widgets is 3rd from the top. Maybe it could be beautiful widgets causing my battery issues.

 

[Bswartz95]

My Spare Parts says that the running time is over 80%; display is only 3% . In my settings, the battery is being consumed mostly by Helix (first on the list).

Maybe I'll uninstall and reinstall.

Beautiful Widgets can't be my problem because I removed that app yesterday - thinking it was the problem.

 

[Pitamakan]

There are definitely a lot of variables in how people use their phones, so there's not a one-size-fits-all answer to this. But for the record, I haven't found helix to be a battery hog in the least -- nor Beautiful Widgets, for that matter.

 

[ttran97]

My Spare Parts says that the running time is over 80%; display is only 3% . In my settings, the battery is being consumed mostly by Helix (first on the list).

Maybe I'll uninstall and reinstall.

Beautiful Widgets can't be my problem because I removed that app yesterday - thinking it was the problem.

I switched to regular Home and I'm using the Beautiful Small Home widget with weather to update every hour. Battery life is good so far. It's been off the charger for 7 hours and I still have 85% battery left. But then again, I haven't used my phone much today.

 

[hattrick]

In Spare Parts, are you all looking at 'Other Usage' or 'CPU Usage' (or other) in the Battery History section? When I look at CPU Usage Helix is at the bottom. Beautiful Widgets is 3rd from the top. Maybe it could be beautiful widgets causing my battery issues.

I was looking at CPU usage. Other Usage option only shows "Running" and "Screen On".

 

[Kutanks]

Since im on 1.5 im stuck with sense. when i had a phone with 2.1 leak I had helix, which i liked because of the icons on the bottom. Im waiting for a good rom so i can root, right now they all have bugs/ problems.

 

[hookem]

Installed Helix today and I like it. Really like the landscape mode and docked icons.
I find that I miss a few of the widgets available for Sense:

1."Bookmark" widget - Just like scrolling to the website i need.
2. 3G on/off widget - can't find one that is NOT a shortcut to "Mobile networks".
3. Scrollable calendar Agenda widget - found a good one. but does not scroll.

Anyone have any info on any of these?

 

[Asmith1106]

to account for the missing bookmark widget, a workable solution I found was to just make a folder named "bookmarks"... then make shortcuts for the bookmarks I have and drag them to the folder. Works and save screen space!

Might want to give that a try!

 

[ttran97]

to account for the missing bookmark widget, a workable solution I found was to just make a folder named "bookmarks"... then make shortcuts for the bookmarks I have and drag them to the folder. Works and save screen space!

Might want to give that a try!

You should try the app "Live Bookmarks". Pretty much the same as what you did, but it lists all of your bookmarks.

 

[ljbaumer]

hey does helix launcher actually add live wallpapers to android 2.1 on the droid eris? (leaked)

 

[Pitamakan]

hey does helix launcher actually add live wallpapers to android 2.1 on the droid eris? (leaked)

Nope ... you need to have root for that.

 

[hookem]

You should try the app "Live Bookmarks". Pretty much the same as what you did, but it lists all of your bookmarks.

That works for me just fine. Thanks!

 

[ljbaumer]

crap i wish i could root my droid eris with 2.1 but i guess i will have to go without live wallpapers for a few more weeks or so

 

[Deleted User]

Just an update. I've been running Helix and love it, so much faster and more responsive. The downside has been a draining battery. I then remembered that I forgot to re-install JuiceDefender after installing 2.1(v2). I reinstalled it and it's made a huge difference. During the night I've not lost more than 1% of battery.

JuiceDefender was featured in this Lifehacker article: JuiceDefender Saves Batteries by Automating Android Data - Battery Life - Lifehacker

 

[cornbreadfarts]

if anyone has screen shots of em all, could we get like side by side comparison?

 

[Bswartz95]

Anyone find a good toggle for 3g? That's about the only thing I miss from Sense - turning the mobile network off with one touch.

 

[doogald]

Anyone find a good toggle for 3g? That's about the only thing I miss from Sense - turning the mobile network off with one touch.

I never found one that I liked, so now I just press and hold the end call/power button and toggle mobile networking from there.

 

[Bswartz95]

I never found one that I liked, so now I just press and hold the end call/power button and toggle mobile networking from there.

Good call. I actually forgot you could do that. I got so used to using the Sense toggles.

 

[hookem]

Good call. I actually forgot you could do that. I got so used to using the Sense toggles.

ditto

 

[Papadroid]

Anyone find a good toggle for 3g? That's about the only thing I miss from Sense - turning the mobile network off with one touch.

Weather & toggle widget has a 3g toggle switch plus an awesome flip clock like HTC's.


As far as which home I use I prefer sense. I tried Helix and loved (loved!!!) the docked icons on the bottom but to my surprise it seemed slower than sense. Which is really weird based upon everything else I read here (great thread by the way). Plus I couldn't find a good replacement for the photo album widget (I have a 4 month old baby I just have to brag about). I may try Helix again but I really like sense.