I've been experimenting with different home replacements, and although I've found many to add useful functionality and aesthetic bling, it has been a frustrating experience. For one thing, most don't import your existing icons or widgets, so you are compelled to spend a lot of time setting them up, just to discover that they might slow your Droid down considerably when fully outfitted. Also, having multiple home replacements installed seems to cause some errors (aHome, for example, just gave me cascading errors when I tried to use it; had to pull the battery). Note that I'm using a Droid with Android 2.01, and this thread was moved here from the Droid forum.
So, since we have this nice community here, I thought it might be easier to just ask you guys what you like and don't like about the various home replacements you're using or have used in the past. There was a thread earlier about how home replacements slow the Droid down - obviously that would be a major consideration, and it's the reason I stopped using dxTop - but I'm also interested in the functionality and skinning options provided.
My experiences so far
dxTop
This was the first home replacement I used, and from a functionality standpoint, probably still my overall favorite. But it really does slow things down; when I switched back to the built-in home, I was shocked at how fast it was and what I'd gotten used to using dxTop. I love the 4 home screens shaped like a diamond, so each is always accessible with one swipe, but was disappointed that 4 was the limit, since a big part of home replacements is adding screens. I also liked the added drawer (for running apps) and the customizable dock, though I wish there were a way to have them both accessible simultaneously. Finally, dxTop allows you to use nearly any theme or icon pack, even those made for other home replacements like Open Home. That was nice.
Home++
This is the one I'm using now. Doesn't seem to slow things down as much as dxTop did, and lets you have lots more screens. I also like that there's a dock at the bottom, but frustrated it isn't very customizable. Also disappointed it doesn't seem to support themes, but perhaps that's the trade-off for performance.
PandaHome
I tried this one briefly, and there seemed to be a lot to like about it - simple theme implementation, side-bar docks that were completely customizable, and lots of screens. But the themes all seemed to be made for children, and the whole app had a very pastel, nursery time quality that wasn't for me [edit: I've since discovered it can also use Open Home themes, so this opens up the possibilities for this free app]. Also, I didn't want to have to fill up 5-7 screens full of apps and widgets to find out if it slowed down considerably. I'd be interested to hear from a regular user of PandaHome regarding performance and theme availability.
aHome (does not support the Droid)
Earlier I noted that aHome Mini just crashed on my Droid. I've since looked at aHome and aHome Lite on the market, and neither supports the Droid. They specifically say so. So, no aHome for us, but at least that saves you $4.99!
Edit: Additional Home Replacement Reviews
Open Gesture
This is a unique home replacement built around a gesture engine. It includes many of the typical features found on other home apps, including 5 horizontally arranges home screens (with a nice slider at the bottom you can use to navigate between them) and theme implementation, although I only found a handful of themes in the market, and those I downloaded weren't formatted for the Droid's screen (wallpaper was too short). First, I should say that the documentation is non-existent on the app - it only comes with an ad for the paid version in place of any explanation of its features. I had to go to their website (http://www.hollowire.com/open-gesture/) to figure out what was going on. You click on the lower left of the screen, and then draw a gesture anywhere; it takes a few moments to "analyze" it, and then something launches. Seems like a cool idea, since you can have it launch apps, call specific individuals, or just about anything. But I found the process of sliding to a new screen and just hitting an app icon to be easier and faster than using the gesture engine. Also, sometimes it got my gestures wrong, even though I was never that sloppy. The paid version apparently has added features, but based on the free one, I'm not sure it has enough to beat other home replacements. Screen movement was very smooth, I should note, but the app lacked lots of the options I expect, like control of whether a theme replaces your wallpaper, and there was no place to see what the gestures (pre-programmed or user created) actually did. You just had to remember. So, cool idea that could use a good dose of polish and efficiency.
Open Home
This home replacement's most prominent feature is its well developed catalog of themes, and it can also use aHome themes. However, most Open Home themes actually cost money, which I found disappointing, since Open Home itself will set you back a cool $5. For your money, you'll get a well thought out set of options, including my favorite - a mode that artificially maintains the app's memory requirements as though it were always running in the foreground, even when it isn't - this gives better home screen performance at the expense of other apps, but still, it kept things smooth. Other than good skinning, robust setting, and extra home screens, Open Home's biggest feature is a curiously placed, slide-out dock, which (once slid out) can be scrolled horizontally to accommodate custom shortcuts. I found this to be a really strange choice on the developers' part, and was disappointed that skins/themes couldn't relocate the dock to the bottom (or top) of the screen. Sitting squarely 2/3 of the way down, the dock and the search button opposite it, compromise the harmony of the screen's layout, while proving challenging to use while also switching screens, since the dock covers part of the screen when out. So my opinion is that it is a solid replacement, especially for skinning, but which unfortunately doesn't add much functionality, and isn't worth paying $5 for, when there are free and cheaper alternatives that are as good or better.
So, since we have this nice community here, I thought it might be easier to just ask you guys what you like and don't like about the various home replacements you're using or have used in the past. There was a thread earlier about how home replacements slow the Droid down - obviously that would be a major consideration, and it's the reason I stopped using dxTop - but I'm also interested in the functionality and skinning options provided.
My experiences so far
dxTop
This was the first home replacement I used, and from a functionality standpoint, probably still my overall favorite. But it really does slow things down; when I switched back to the built-in home, I was shocked at how fast it was and what I'd gotten used to using dxTop. I love the 4 home screens shaped like a diamond, so each is always accessible with one swipe, but was disappointed that 4 was the limit, since a big part of home replacements is adding screens. I also liked the added drawer (for running apps) and the customizable dock, though I wish there were a way to have them both accessible simultaneously. Finally, dxTop allows you to use nearly any theme or icon pack, even those made for other home replacements like Open Home. That was nice.
Home++
This is the one I'm using now. Doesn't seem to slow things down as much as dxTop did, and lets you have lots more screens. I also like that there's a dock at the bottom, but frustrated it isn't very customizable. Also disappointed it doesn't seem to support themes, but perhaps that's the trade-off for performance.
PandaHome
I tried this one briefly, and there seemed to be a lot to like about it - simple theme implementation, side-bar docks that were completely customizable, and lots of screens. But the themes all seemed to be made for children, and the whole app had a very pastel, nursery time quality that wasn't for me [edit: I've since discovered it can also use Open Home themes, so this opens up the possibilities for this free app]. Also, I didn't want to have to fill up 5-7 screens full of apps and widgets to find out if it slowed down considerably. I'd be interested to hear from a regular user of PandaHome regarding performance and theme availability.
aHome (does not support the Droid)
Earlier I noted that aHome Mini just crashed on my Droid. I've since looked at aHome and aHome Lite on the market, and neither supports the Droid. They specifically say so. So, no aHome for us, but at least that saves you $4.99!
Edit: Additional Home Replacement Reviews
Open Gesture
This is a unique home replacement built around a gesture engine. It includes many of the typical features found on other home apps, including 5 horizontally arranges home screens (with a nice slider at the bottom you can use to navigate between them) and theme implementation, although I only found a handful of themes in the market, and those I downloaded weren't formatted for the Droid's screen (wallpaper was too short). First, I should say that the documentation is non-existent on the app - it only comes with an ad for the paid version in place of any explanation of its features. I had to go to their website (http://www.hollowire.com/open-gesture/) to figure out what was going on. You click on the lower left of the screen, and then draw a gesture anywhere; it takes a few moments to "analyze" it, and then something launches. Seems like a cool idea, since you can have it launch apps, call specific individuals, or just about anything. But I found the process of sliding to a new screen and just hitting an app icon to be easier and faster than using the gesture engine. Also, sometimes it got my gestures wrong, even though I was never that sloppy. The paid version apparently has added features, but based on the free one, I'm not sure it has enough to beat other home replacements. Screen movement was very smooth, I should note, but the app lacked lots of the options I expect, like control of whether a theme replaces your wallpaper, and there was no place to see what the gestures (pre-programmed or user created) actually did. You just had to remember. So, cool idea that could use a good dose of polish and efficiency.
Open Home
This home replacement's most prominent feature is its well developed catalog of themes, and it can also use aHome themes. However, most Open Home themes actually cost money, which I found disappointing, since Open Home itself will set you back a cool $5. For your money, you'll get a well thought out set of options, including my favorite - a mode that artificially maintains the app's memory requirements as though it were always running in the foreground, even when it isn't - this gives better home screen performance at the expense of other apps, but still, it kept things smooth. Other than good skinning, robust setting, and extra home screens, Open Home's biggest feature is a curiously placed, slide-out dock, which (once slid out) can be scrolled horizontally to accommodate custom shortcuts. I found this to be a really strange choice on the developers' part, and was disappointed that skins/themes couldn't relocate the dock to the bottom (or top) of the screen. Sitting squarely 2/3 of the way down, the dock and the search button opposite it, compromise the harmony of the screen's layout, while proving challenging to use while also switching screens, since the dock covers part of the screen when out. So my opinion is that it is a solid replacement, especially for skinning, but which unfortunately doesn't add much functionality, and isn't worth paying $5 for, when there are free and cheaper alternatives that are as good or better.
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