What launcher are you using?

t35rk · Jul 18, 2012

ouch1976 said:
I don't really understand the question? You can add a direct dial and/or direct message shortcut onto a home screen if that's what you mean. But I don't think that has anything to do with the launcher. Isn't that a stock feature?

Yes, and what happens when you once press the shortcut on GO Launcher? On Apex, Nova and TouchWiz, tapping the shortcut either dials the number, or goes directly to the screen where you type your message. One tap, that's all.

When you tap those shortcuts on Launcher Pro, you are taken to a contacts page where you then tap on a phone icon or a messaging icon. Two taps to do what TW, Nova and Apex can do in one. For me this was a deal breaker, Launcher Pro which I have used for a couple of years. I am assuming this feature is enabled on ICS based launchers for the GS3.

You were wondering about advantages of the ICS based launchers. This is a big one for me, but I didn't know how GO Launcher handled these tasks.

ldivinag · Jul 18, 2012

Launcher 7 for me.

I like the tiles...

pinesal · Jul 18, 2012

I use SSLaucher it's quite good and the only Launcher I have found that doesn't force you to use a grid. I can place any widget or shortcut in any location and I can move them pixel by pixel into any place I want. You can also hide widget in text or an icon or an image and the widget will pop up if you touch it. It's really cool.

ouch1976 · Jul 18, 2012

t35rk said:
Yes, and what happens when you once press the shortcut on GO Launcher? On Apex, Nova and TouchWiz, tapping the shortcut either dials the number, or goes directly to the screen where you type your message. One tap, that's all.

When you tap those shortcuts on Launcher Pro, you are taken to a contacts page where you then tap on a phone icon or a messaging icon. Two taps to do what TW, Nova and Apex can do in one. For me this was a deal breaker, Launcher Pro which I have used for a couple of years. I am assuming this feature is enabled on ICS based launchers for the GS3.

You were wondering about advantages of the ICS based launchers. This is a big one for me, but I didn't know how GO Launcher handled these tasks.

Interesting, the "direct dial" shortcut doesn't work on my GS3, but the "direct message" shortcut does. Strange. I guess that's a short-coming of ADW.

t35rk · Jul 18, 2012

ouch1976 said:
Interesting, the "direct dial" shortcut doesn't work on my GS3, but the "direct message" shortcut does. Strange. I guess that's a short-coming of ADW.

Thanks for checking. I was assuming this feature is enabled only on ICS based launchers.

Another shortcoming of GO IMO is that 5x5 is the smallest grid option ( I think). A 4.8" can handle smaller which I prefer and is the main reason I don't use TW and its 4x4 grid.

DILands · Jul 18, 2012

Has anyone tried JellyBean 4.1 Launcher?

MentatYP · Jul 19, 2012

Hated how TouchWiz handles and displays folders, which was pretty much the main reason I started looking around for a different launcher. I landed on Apex. It's like ICS stock++. Only been using it for a couple days but happy with it so far. Added the Jelly Bean theme for it and I think it looks great.

TheXFactor · Jul 19, 2012

mikewilliams66 said:
I'm currently using Holo launcher. It gives me the features I want while not being a resource hog.

Ditto, also goes with Halo Locker (Lockscreen)

ouch1976 · Jul 19, 2012

Come on! I know other people are using ADW...someone throw me a bone and vote for it...

scooter1942 · Jul 19, 2012

ouch1976 said:
Come on! I know other people are using ADW...someone throw me a bone and vote for it...

i havent voted yet but if it makes you happy ill download ADW and test it out

i might not decide for a while though since all my friends are bombarding my phone and facebook and going through all the settings to compare them on each launcher is freaking exhausting...

naviwilliams · Jul 19, 2012

I've tried the 'others' but I always seem to end up back on the default TouchWiz...

I only wanted another launcher so I could have a landscape option for my home screen when I turned the device...

Metfanant · Jul 19, 2012

ouch1976 said:
Come on! I know other people are using ADW...someone throw me a bone and vote for it...

i think most people are moving on from the older launchers (LPP, ADW, Go) and moving towards the ICS based launchers like Apex and Nova

Dkp · Jul 19, 2012

Still on TW. I used GO on my previous Epic, but TW is good enough for me, and I guess it doesn't bother me enough to go find and setup another launcher.

substring · Jul 19, 2012

TouchWiz is simple and easy to use. There is really no need for me to venture out for other launcher.

svensett · Jul 19, 2012

Been using Nova since about the 2nd day. Couldn't stand the fact that a whole row is wasted in the stock launch with the page markers, and I prefer drag and drop folder creation.

tdperry · Jul 19, 2012

craighwk said:
Using Apex because I"ve found it to be the fastest launcher out there. Nova is good too, but Apex is my main. The stock TW launcher is good, but Apex gives me additional features I really like.

They one thing I could never figure out how to do with Apex (that Nova can do) was have multiple tabs shown in the app drawer (photo below). It's useful for dividing your apps up.

CyHawk · Jul 20, 2012

I’m using Apex right now. I don’t mind touch-wiz. However, I wish you could tweak these OEM skins like you can with Apex or Nova. Maybe the phone manufactures should pull their heads out of their a@@ and realize this.

gtrplayer150 · Jul 20, 2012

XplosiV said:
Launcher pro for me, tried apex but it just misses some features I liked in lp. Not really seeing the hype of apex at all.

I was a launcher pro guy all the way, but couldn't get it working right on the s3. Was mucho unhappy :-(
I tried nova but didn't want to pay for features so switched to apex. So far so good. I miss the native calendar and people widgets from launcher pro, but found Android Pro Widgets that look almost identical.

gtrplayer150 · Jul 20, 2012

KeyserSoze said:
Was used to launcher pro on my x2. Got the s3 and tried touch Wiz (not enough icons), gave go launcher another try, and tried nova for the first time... Landed back on LP. I don't think it's even ICS certified yet but I'm happiest w it. Maybe because I'm addicted to my "starred in android" scrollable people widget.

5 columns 7 rows.

I was addicted to Lp for the same reason... Try Android Pro Widgets, looks and feels just like the people widget from Lp

ylexot · Jul 20, 2012

CyHawk said:
I

maroonsloth · Jul 20, 2012

I started out with TouchWiz and switched to Go pretty soon after that, as I had liked using Go on my DX. I was pretty disappointed, though, with my battery life on my S3. I was losing around 6% per hour while at work throughout the day under pretty light usage (a few emails/texts, but no calls/videos/streaming). I was at my wits end trying to figure out why the battery was so awful, so after looking through this thread I tried out Apex and deleted Go. Now I'm averaging losing about 3.5% battery per hour, so I'm sticking with Apex.

I really liked having the gesture option on dock icons in Go, and I wish that Apex had that. However, I do like that in Apex you can have more than 5 icons on the dock (I'm now using 7 icons on mine).

ouch1976 · Jul 20, 2012

scooter1942 said:
i havent voted yet but if it makes you happy ill download ADW and test it out i might not decide for a while though since all my friends are bombarding my phone and facebook and going through all the settings to compare them on each launcher is freaking exhausting...

Haha! Thanks! I don't mind being a loner, but I'm shocked that nobody else is using it...it looks like I'm gonna install Apex and give that a good workout. And I'm still amazed at all the people on TouchWiz...it's smooth and all, but so limited as far as customization.

scooter1942 · Jul 21, 2012

ouch1976 said:
Haha! Thanks! I don't mind being a loner, but I'm shocked that nobody else is using it...it looks like I'm gonna install Apex and give that a good workout. And I'm still amazed at all the people on TouchWiz...it's smooth and all, but so limited as far as customization.

yeah, couldnt stand twiz on my vibrant, and cant stand it now. the only disappointing thing is you cant use the stock weather widget on custom launchers. i kinda like the way it looks. also something i noticed on apex is you cant change an app icon to a different one on the homescreen. i usually like replacing the dolphin icon with the stock browser icon because it looks more natural to me

t35rk · Jul 21, 2012

gtrplayer150 said:
I was a launcher pro guy all the way, but couldn't get it working right on the s3. Was mucho unhappy :-(
I tried nova but didn't want to pay for features so switched to apex. So far so good. I miss the native calendar and people widgets from launcher pro, but found Android Pro Widgets that look almost identical.

The permissions is what made me uninstall APW.

Optimus Prune · Jul 21, 2012

ouch1976 said:
Haha! Thanks! I don't mind being a loner, but I'm shocked that nobody else is using it...it looks like I'm gonna install Apex and give that a good workout. And I'm still amazed at all the people on TouchWiz...it's smooth and all, but so limited as far as customization.

Well, I was using ADW for a long time on my tablet, but had a few glitches with ADW when the tablet went from Honeycomb to ICS, so now I'm using SPB Mobile Shell on the tablet, of all things. Still oscillating between Go and Apex on the S3. If I have a couple hours to veg in front of the TV, I might try to mirror ADW to what I have set up with Go and Apex now. I have the full paid version, so might as well give it a shot, but they haven't updated it since December or something, which has me concerned about it fossilizing.

What launcher are you using?

Which launcher are you using on your SGS3?

Stock TouchWiz

ADW Launcher

Apex Launcher

Go Launcher

Nova Launcher

Other

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