ADW versus Launcher Pro on EVO

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-25-2010, 09:51 PM

I have been testing alternate launchers for the sake of using the phone in landscape mode on my desk.

ADW had been very cool, but has a lot of force closes. I am going to try launcher pro next, and already it seems pretty responsive...of course I dont have 7 pages full of apps and widgets yet!

Can anyone post their experiences with the two launchers? I would be interested in knowing some of the technical differences and the advantages of each. Any tips that can be offered?

**aridon#ac** · 06-25-2010, 09:57 PM

I prefer launcher pro but adw works very well. Biggest difference for me was launcher pro seemed a tad smoother overall and I like the launcher bar better.

**EVO Navian** · 06-25-2010, 10:12 PM

I had the opposite experience and kept getting force closes on LauncherPro. ADW worked, but I would get some launcher error randomly.

**Dukins** · 06-25-2010, 10:13 PM

I prefer Launcher Pro because for me it has less force close. I like the bottom launcher alot, has lots of customization, and well it just works for me.

**fifolo** · 06-25-2010, 10:59 PM

The bottom launcher is the clincher. 15 icons there, combine that with 5 rows per page, and something like Folder Organizer, and a clean interface is will within reach.

It is then possible have a nice live wallpaper, like Beautiful Live Weather, and just use the bottom 3/5 of the screens. With this setup, 5 homescreens is plenty.

I mention this because I am actually running this now, of course. Using Baked ROM.

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-25-2010, 11:11 PM

I am looking for clean...going to haber to try these tips

**fr4nk1yn** · 06-25-2010, 11:24 PM

I was getting some force closing with adw too.
For giggles I opened Sense changed the scene to clean state and reloaded adw.
Haven't had a fc yet. Coincidence maybe.

**Jerry Hildenbrand** · 06-25-2010, 11:35 PM

ADW = open source
Launcher Pro = closed source

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-26-2010, 03:34 AM

Spent an hour with launcher pro and I have to say I am impressed. The 15 shortcuts at the bottom are really nice...no force closes yet...the whole feel of it seems tight. Going to put adw on the shelf for a while.

Question: Do I need to uninstall adw or at least "clean slate it"? The backup tool is nice, and I don't want to loose my layout settings, but I don't want widgets our anything else slowing down my phone while I am using another launcher.

**Shawheim** · 06-26-2010, 08:46 AM

i like launcher pro for the simple reason that the desktop goes in landscape mode. big plus!

**pacha248** · 06-26-2010, 09:22 AM

I like LauncherPro better, still get force closes but it's not too bad considering it's still in beta. The creator updates often and has his own forum for bug reports and suggestions for newer versions.

**JuniorWWT** · 06-26-2010, 09:48 AM

Absolutely loved launcher pro. Sadly when I set it as default and loaded it up with widgets and shortcuts it started force closing and lagging. I am back to Sense for now. Plan on trying launcher pro again when it is out of beta.

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-26-2010, 01:28 PM

Fyi-adw does landscape too

So I was able to go down to 5 screens with launcher pro...def improves performance to have less going on. Using an app organizer for folder shortcuts makes a big difference.

Weird issues with changing wallpapers...still have to play with it more.

Can someone tell me if I need to clear out adw's screens or not?

**fifolo** · 06-26-2010, 01:39 PM

After adding Quick Desk and Folder Organizer "starred" apps in the notification bar to Launcher Pro, I think I could get by with a single home screen...

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-27-2010, 09:02 PM

Just a quick update: I ended up going back to Sense UI today. I liked both ADW and Launcher Pro, but my phone kept getting laggy way too often. I played with my wife's Evo for a few minutes this morning and realized how much quicker it was without my custom launcher.

I am going to miss the launch bars, but its a small price to pay for a more responsive device! Its only been 12 hours but I already love being back on the stock Sense UI, no question about how much faster it is...hopefully we got the option to go to landscape mode on the home screen and have a launch bar in the future!!!!

**Rtbar1** · 06-27-2010, 09:33 PM

I tried both out but ended up back on sense

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-27-2010, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by Rtbar1

I tried both out but ended up back on sense

Any specific reasons that are different than what I mentioned?

If anyone else can weigh in with another launcher option that doesn't have these problems, I'm all ears!

**MichaelMcEntire** · 06-27-2010, 11:08 PM

Weird. I haven't had any FC's with launcher pro on th my Fresh rom...in fact it almost seems quicker the Sense.

**tracerit** · 06-27-2010, 11:31 PM

launcherpro's latest update 2-3 days ago has been force closing and lagging when orienting the phone for me and others as well. it's a known issue.

**LikeAChampion3** · 06-28-2010, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by MichaelMcEntire

Weird. I haven't had any FC's with launcher pro on th my Fresh rom...in fact it almost seems quicker the Sense.

I would assume that "Frest rom" has something to do with it. I'm brand new to Android (and smart phones for that matter), so I am holding off on the root for at least a while. Launcher Pro didn't FC on me at first, but as soon as I set up 5 home screens and put up a downloaded background picture (not live), the thing slowed way down and started the FCs.

Neither ADW nor Launcher Pro seemed to like using pictures taken with the camera as backgrounds, for what its worth. Until something changes, Sense is the snappiest UI for us Stock users for now. Just wish it went to landscape!

**dkelley** · 06-30-2010, 11:57 AM

guys.... if you try any launcher other than sense on a sense rom, make sure you set your sense launcher to "clean slate" with NOTHING on it at all before changing launchers. otherwise sense's widgets will keep running in background all the time taking cpu and memory.

same is true when changing from ANY launcher to another: if you have 2 or more launchers installed and have widgets on any of them, those widgets will run. Admittedly it isn't clear if every widget works that way, but certainly it's proven that some do. I just learned this myself, but it explains everything to me. and I just did some quick test now and sure enough the performance and stability differences are huge when done as I described.

also with launcherpro make sure you set the memory settings correctly if using the latest version. stops FCs.

**gman eb#ac** · 06-30-2010, 02:29 PM

I use launcher pro. I wish the mail/message icons had a notification for when you had new or unread messages. Any way to get more icons for the bar?

**dkelley** · 06-30-2010, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by gman eb

I use launcher pro. I wish the mail/message icons had a notification for when you had new or unread messages. Any way to get more icons for the bar?

you should probably post that question on the official launcherpro forum. I think it's something hard to remember like launcherpro.com LoL

I agree by the way... would be nice.

**gman eb#ac** · 06-30-2010, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by dkelley

you should probably post that question on the official launcherpro forum. I think it's something hard to remember like launcherpro.com LoL

I agree by the way... would be nice.

Sorry, what was I thinking? LOL…

**Raadius** · 06-30-2010, 03:04 PM

I guess ill be the bad seed out of the group and say I didnt like Launcher Pro, I couldnt customize it the way I wanted too, I did like the 3D app drawer though. Never try ADW but I heard it was laggy and had force errors so I wont even bother.