Launchers

[senecala]

I am so use to Go Launcher on my maxx, is everyone sticking with the stock ICS or have you switched to a different launcher. I have heard that apex is a pretty good launcher for ICS. If I stick with go launcher, what do I give up from stock ICS besides being able to close running apps? Do you think go launcher will provide a update to include the new features? Thanks

 

[cbruhn42]

I'm also interested in this question. Am running go launcher as well and just got the ics update last night.

Go launcher seems to be a bit slower on ics right now compared to the stock.

Any thoughts on ics vs other launchers

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[jeverts]

Stayin with Go ex here - no problems with it

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[LegalAmerican]

Go Launcher was pretty sweet on Gingerbread, but ICS fixes what I didn't like about GB so I am sticking with stock ICS for the forseeable future

 

[bigdaddytee]

I went with Nova for a couple small perks, but the ICS launcher is pretty good right out of the box. I don't know how much Moto is in your ICS, however...

Sent from my (pretty awesome) SCH-i515

 

[darkman265]

I like the launchers for the themes. Does nova have themes?

 

[rbess1965]

I prefer all of the options and transitions of my Go Launcher and still using it right now but during my investigations of lower battery life, I determined that Go Launcher uses about 80mb of ram so when I look at the Running apps in my setting, almost all of my Ram is being used up.
Can someone confirm something for me. It seemed like Go Launcher was only using about 40mb on GB. I'm looking for confirmation on that and if valid, any thoughts on why it would be doubled on ICS.
I loaded Nova to see how much it used and the answer in none. This improved my available RAM immensely and the over all feel of the device is much faster. Nova itself is a downgrade to GL regarding options but an helps with speed. I'm having a hard time with the decision and not happy that I even need to think about it.

 

[rbess1965]

I like the launchers for the themes. Does nova have themes?

Nova allowed me to use my Go Launcher Themes and Icons.

Pros over GL:
5 docks instead of 3
7 icons per dock instead of 5 (looks crowded though)
Little to no use of the ram.
Looks and acts more like ICS.

Cons on the FREE version:
Only one transistion.
Adding Apps and widgets seemed a bit tricky.
Limited on customizing compared to GL.

Both allow 9 homescreens so that's a wash. I'm sure there are way more options that I havne't seen because I moved back on GL pretty quick. Also, I didn't get the PAID version so there may be more to it.

I still have Nova on it so I really should try it a week or more to see. I'd also like to see if the paid version more simulates GL.

Edit. Videos on Nova Prime look pretty good. May be missing a couple of transistions compared to GL but if it uses less Ram, for 4 bucks it may be worth a shot.

 

[althomas39]

I still prefer my Go Launcher for a number of reasons:
Modifying app icons.
5x5 grid, so I can have 5 apps per row, compared to 4 on stock.
Removing text under app icons for a cleaner look.
Transitions.

I have noticed it's a little more laggy right now though, and another (minor) con is that I wish I could have the beautiful ICS folders look in Go Launcher. But I guess we can't have it all. Also, Go SMS won't import my contacts' pictures anymore. It's really bothersome. I can't figure out how to fix it.

If they fix the lag I've seen, Go Launcher will once again be perfect.

 

[senecala]

Thanks for all the replies, I am using go launcher right now. I am just use to it, plus I don't feel like rebuilding everything. I am interested in the go launcher using a lot of ram and thus burning up battery though.

 

[bradenfontaine]

anyone try ADW?

 

[LordAndroid]

I'm running with Nova Prime personally i like the options it has not to mention the screen transitions settings are stellar. Definitively worth the $ it works really well with ICS.

 

[dj hidroid]

I've used the paid versions of nova and apex launcher on my Gnex and found them both to be great for keeping the stock look of ics. They both have some very cool gesture actions and I prefer 7 home screens to 5 so I switch back and forth between the stock launcher, nova and apex depending on what features are added when the apps get updated. You can't go wrong either way for ics launchers.

 

[PolynesianMedic]

Apex all the way!

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[phatboy29m]

I am using Apex as well.

 

[clownin72]

I use adw and have been pretty happy with it

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[RHChan84]

Go Launcher for me. I like having 7 screens and using some of the go widgets is great. I'm using GoSwitch and GoBookmarks.

Hiding apps is also another plus like Docs2Go and the full version key that I usually hide or fancy widget or any widget that has an icon.

 

[Dukins]

Nova for me is the best and smoothest launcher for my needs.

I wonder why you can not see the wording when attempting to add a widget to a homescreen, when long pressing. Its like this on every alternative launcher. When I add the nexus it would show on ics, just wondering what the difference is.

 

[rbess1965]

If you're interested in or having issues with Go Launcher Ex try this and let me know how it goes for you. An interesting thing happened to me. In my displeasure at how my Go Launcher was using a ton of ram and transitioning slower on ics, I clicked on the News tab in my Go Launcher settings to find an update or invite if you will from the GL team to download Go Launcher EX v3.10 beta4. I don't know if the build is different than what's found at the Play Store or if reinstalling it in this way was a factor but not only has it been running perfectly since last night, the total ram used on my device has dropped into the 500mb range from the 700s it was running before the download. Also the jury is still out but I think my battery life is back. Not going to get too excited about that for a few cycles. Anyway, it's feeling better and hope it stays that way because I love GL

Check out GL before the v3.10 beta4 download

After looks much better

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Message brought to you by my Droid Razr Maxx

 

[leroybrute]

Nova for me is the best and smoothest launcher for my needs.

I wonder why you can not see the wording when attempting to add a widget to a homescreen, when long pressing. Its like this on every alternative launcher. When I add the nexus it would show on ics, just wondering what the difference is.

My Widgets do the same! Me don't like. I have to open Widgets on my tablet running Nova Prime to figure out different size Widgets for an app. I took a screen shot and sent it to my phone.