Folders and Categorizing apps

[dvdmon]

So, I've been playing around with how best to organize and present my apps and so far this is what I do: I use Folder Organizer to categorize apps into different folders, and then I put links to those folders on my home screen. I love the Folder Organizer lets me also add scrollable widgets to my launcher (currently Go Launcher) to display the contents of each folder without having to click to open it.

However, Go Launcher also seems to have their own folder system for their app drawer. And Android has their own folder system for plutting apps and shortcuts and such on launcher screens. I thought I also heard mention of ICS doing something new with folders, but I'm not sure about that.

So with these various ways of handing folders/grouping/categorizing apps, I'm wondering what the optimal method is. One reason I use Folder Organizer (other than the features I mentioned above) is because it's device-independent. I can backup my folders and then restore them if I switch phones or lose/break my current one. I suppose that Go-Launcher might have a similar method to back up your folders, but then I'd be stuck with Go Launcher and if I ever wanted to switch to a different launcher, or go back to Sense, I would have to start from scratch.

Anyway, if any of you have a different way of organizing apps that have advantages to Folder Organizer that I'm just missing, I'd love to know what you're using and why.

 

[Devinator]

I know you were looking for a different opinion, but, I also use Folder Organizer and have found it great. One of the things I like about FO is that after you install an app, it goes up as a notification and you can't forget to organize it. With the amount of things I do on my phone it's easy to forget sometimes. I also like that you can make sub folders. Not sure if you can do that with the other things you mentioned, but, to me it's been great and allowed me to organize all of my apps down to two icons on my main screen.

Another one that I was messing around with, that I forgot I actually had and need to finish testing, is Circle Launcher. I just messed with it real quick, and, it seems neat. I'm not sure if it'll really be better than FO though. I am usually more into straight up lists, but, until I fully explore all the settings and what not, I wont really know. But, might be something you want to check out. It essentially puts a widget on your screen and when you tap it, icons come up around it in a circle and you can pick your app.

Here is a screenshot of what Circle Launcher looks like if you want to see it:

http://cdn.droid-life.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/circlelauncher4.png

 

[dvdmon]

Interesting, thanks for the heads up on Circle Launcher. I use Wave Launcher myself in addition to Go Launcher EX, but I'll have to try out Circle Launcher as well...

 

[Devinator]

No problem. Like I said, I haven't really used it yet. And, I may not end up using it, as, I really like FO. But, I'll get around to testing it eventually. And, hopefully other people will post some other ideas for us!!