How to get Sense UI (or close) on N1 without rooting through apps & widgets?

[snvyas]

Have had my N1 for a few weeks (my first smartphone) and really loving it. I initially was interested in Android after seeing a friend's phone that had Sense UI on it and know that if I root I can get it on the N1 as well.

However at this time I don't want to root for a variety of reasons - don't want to void warranty, want to keep bluetooth, want to get to comfortable with phone first, want to receive OTA updates, etc.

My question is that are there widgets/apps that people have installed to get 'close' to the Sense UI experience? I have downloaded 'Beautiful Widgets' as well as 'Launcher Pro' and they are both really nice. Just looking for any other suggestions...

Thanks!

 

[ragingyeti]

Just so you know, you can root your phone and leave the stock rom on it. This lets you keep OTA and bluetooth and pretty much everything else you said except for the warranty.

Beautiful widgets is definitely thee biggest one to start with. Unfortunately I don't really know much about sense UI so I can't give you any suggestions you don't already have.

 

[ragingyeti]

Double posted by accident. My bad.

 

[Roze]

You can find the Sense keyboard, way better than our stock one

Ignore the article, just dl the HTC keyboard
Add Full Voice to Text To Android Phones Nimbu

 

[MartinS]

As already stated, Beautiful Widgets gives you the Sense style weather clock. You can download skins for it and I believe that there is a flip style clock in their.

You can also download the keyboard as already stated. There's a thread on this forum on how to do it.

LauncherPro Beta gives you the 7 home screens and the pinch to get the "Helicopter View" or whatever HTC call it now where you can jump to see all 7 screens at once and select one. You can also customise the apps tray on this without rooting.

 

[turbosol16]

I have everything listed there but the keyboard. I really love LauncherPro Beta it flies.

 

[snvyas]

Thanks all for the replies...

~ I mainly wanted to root for the Sense UI but it's good to know that I can root and still keep my N1 ROM and get OTA updates.
~ I use the Shapewriter keyboard 90% of the time so no real need for the Sense keyboard.
~ I have the 2 main things (Beautiful Widgets & LauncherPro Beta) that people are recommending so I guess I will stay unrooted for now.

Any more widget app suggestions (especially social networking ones) that Sense UI does so well would be greatly appreciated....

 

[Talderon]

Thanks all for the replies...

~ I mainly wanted to root for the Sense UI but it's good to know that I can root and still keep my N1 ROM and get OTA updates.
~ I use the Shapewriter keyboard 90% of the time so no real need for the Sense keyboard.
~ I have the 2 main things (Beautiful Widgets & LauncherPro Beta) that people are recommending so I guess I will stay unrooted for now.

Any more widget app suggestions (especially social networking ones) that Sense UI does so well would be greatly appreciated....

Pure messenger display Gmail, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, and emails (POP3/IMAP) in one widget.

Check out the info here:
Pure messenger Android 'Pure' widgets series (calendar)

Personally, worth every freaking penny, not that it was many pennies...

 

[tmzbeme]

'panda home' is an exact copy of the sense launcher

 

[mudrock1000]

It is 100 percent impossible, though i'm hoping there is someone working on it for 2.x. Oh well haters gonna hate.

Let me break this down for you why it won't work. The Desire build uses a custom framework called the Rosie Framework. This is something that works with all these widgets because they are interconnected. You can't have one widget without the framework. (I think i have my terms right. Correct me if I'm wrong.)
Rooting is just all around better though, but you'd be better off with the snappy cyanogen rom. Especially since Modaco hasn't been updating his Desire build (though he is starting up again.) And it sems utterly pointless to get the Desire because 2.2 will have most of the features.

Verdict - Root. Just do it. If you brick your phone SOMEHOW other then updating kernles and radios, you deserve it. It's just that easy and you'll never look back. I reccomend cynogen's build though. I switched to desire about 2 weeks before froyo was starting to rumor and I am up a creek without a paddle. I'd only upgrade though if it fixes the touch screen. Other then that i really don't need those features.

 

[Roze]

Oh I like the sound of that... the Rosie Framework my name is used in a framework! ... so what is a framework? XD