hey i have had my droid for about a week now and like it so far. I am getting tired of the default home so i wanted to come on here to see what homereplacement has the coolest features and the most customization. Ive seen post about home replacements but notrhing that is very helpful so if you can explain the features and ect from some that you used that would be very help ....GO DROID!
After testing pandahome, home++, and dxtop, I would say pandahome by far. But it force closes and crashes almost constantly so its basically useless to me. Home++ also started force closing on me nearly everytime I used the phone. Im trying dxtop with apps organizer right now and so far so good. You can read my review on pandahome below but after I wrote the review and added more widgets/apps pandahome was garbage. PURE GARBAGE. so was home++ for me. Stock home app had been my only best friend so far. Kinda sad since I leave him for other best friends so often. But I manage to come back to him after some time. Pandahome Review: Pros: Customization and organization Up to 11 screens 2 vertical scrolling side docks with the capability to hold many apps A wide range of settings like changing dock transparency color etc Customization and organization Will make some of ur apps obselete bc this has so many features incorporated in it (i.e. no need for quick uninstaller anymore thanks to the app wheel) Has themes Very innovative app wheel that comes up when push and holding down an app icon on the homescreen that allows u to uninstall app, delete icon, check app info and icon settings Did I mention? CUSTOMIZATION AND ORGANIZATION!!! Cons: Frequent freezes/force closes/ shut downs etc (but comes back very quickly) Is not compatible with certain tasking/operational apps (I had freezing issues resolved when I removed Adv task killer but according to many posts/articles that app isnt really worth it anyways) Makes some apps obselete that you may not want to part with Does not look good or work well in landscape mode (esp the vertical scrolling side docks) I've been a heavy user of Pandahome since I downloaded it a few hours ago. And I absolutely fell in love with it, however the only flaw is that........it freezes/force closes/ stops working/etc waaay too often. Now its not like every 2 min. However, it seems to happen when ur editing, especially when you have 11 home screens like I do. Otherwise, widgets work great, I love the two side vertical docks as well as multiple pages for apps. Its great not to have to scroll through the apps. It also takes a while to come OUT of landscape mode tho it goes into it very easily. Nonetheless, it doesnt look so good in landscape mode anyways and the vert scroll side docks so its best to jus chose the option to restrict panda to portrait. If your really into customization than this is for you. You can organize all urs apps and programs that way YOU want to...alphabetically by page or categorically by folder or color coded by using side docks...the possibilities are endless. The main drawback is freezing up and i'll be honest, this happens not every two min but at least twice every hour, however, the android interface is nice enough where it brings u back to your main home page, all ur settings and changes in tact and you pick up from where you left off. It might cause a 2-5 second hiccup at most. Sometimes resetting the droid works for constant force closing, but other than that its not too bad to deal with considering all the customization and organization options it gives you. Now if GDE had 11 pages and side docks, then I may have to consider switching but I believe it only goes up to 7 pages and no support for folders (correct if Im wrong). As you read in the Cons section I did notice some increased freezing issues with certain apps, esp tasking or operational apps (apps taht help customize interface), i.e. Task killer but once these apps are removed, it works great. So you may have to do some trial and error and really find Pandahome's sweet spot. Also, Pandahome appwheel is great and with so many app options, home options, etc it really helps you do away with little apps that focus on one feature since Pandahome really has it all. Anyways, after trying Home++ and Pandahome, I'd give Pandahome 9 stars out of 10. If you're the kind of person who absolutely hates freezing issues (aka snotty former Iphone users (JK JK im only kidding I love the Iphone/itouch) again just kidding no hard feelings please) then this app will probably drive you nuts. I used to be in teh camp of having everything run perfect as the Iphone and when I had Iphone apps fail on me, I felt like calling an Army of Orcs from mordor and crushing the the device, but coolheadedness (is that even a word?) prevailed.
If you want real, hardcore customization, SweeterHome is by far the best. The only problem is it's still in a pre-release and doesn't support widgets, so it's sort of useless. Any of the home replacements that support themes are customizable to an extent. OpenHome sucked for me, crashed constantly. dxTop was very nice, but I had already grown to like Home++ so I didn't get much of a chance to play with it. I enjoyed PandaHome, the docks on the sides of the screen were very nice. Personally, GDE was my favorite customizable home replacement. Home++ is by far my favorite, but it's not very customizable. It's more about usability and stability, and doesn't support themes.
I have been experimenting with all of them, I really have not had any force close issues. I am not sure if it is due to the fact that I do not use widgets. But check out this thread and see for yourself because your opinion means the most to you. http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/26470-post-your-droid-screens.html This is my go to source for tweeking things out. Hope it helps.
for me dxtop is the winner. i have tried them all. i love the 4 screens that are accessible from any screen with one swipe,the five constant user defined icons on the bottom and the customizable folders. you can change an apps icon and name with dxtop too. i loved apps organizer but with dxtop it is not needed so i deleted it. also the custom folders are alot faster than the apps organizer folders.
