Android Launchers

Image via WikipediaNew Homescreen Transition on LauncherPro for Android Phones and Tablets (Photo credit: DanieVDM)LauncherPro (Photo credit: Johan Larsson)Image via WikipediaLauncherPro home screen (Photo credit: markuz)20-Feb-2012


There are so many launchers available in the Android Market, and there is no ‘perfect’ candidate that satisfies each and every user’s whims and wants. One would be graphically-enhanced, another functionally-boosted, and the rest are just midway deliveries, half of the functionalities, and half of the graphics.

I was thinking, why not I take the strength of each piece, and put them all in one launcher, and put it up in the Market? Wouldn’t that be the ‘final thing’ for an android phone launcher?

Definitely not. You see, our individuality is proof that we have our own preferences, and the disagreements, rather than the compatibilities, would be the major focus. What’s best for me only applies to me, and may not be true to others. We like what we like, and we don’t need to explain that.

Having said, I would just be putting up my own observation and judgment on the launchers that I have evaluated.


ADWLauncher/ADWLauncher EX

Customizable, and easy to use. I’m okay with this, but the only problem that I find, comparing with the rest, is the home dock, which only allows 2 apps other than the Home/Apps switch. Or maybe I just didn’t know how to do it… Hey, there’s no manual, as in all the rest. But that the acceptability of an app is that even without a manual, the average user (where I belong) should be able to navigate and tweak to one’s liking in the minimum time spent. Just like our old friend iPhone… still there?

There, I recommend ADWLauncher EX for those who are looking for an alternative to the phone’s stock launcher.


Regina 3D Launcher

Didn’t have much time to play with this launcher, and even just its icon is already turning me off. And why not? Every other app in the Market, even the very simple ones, are in full color, so what were they thinking when they created the drab and colorless icon? Simplicity? That would kill the cat!

One thing that could be nice is that they don’t have a grid snap. I find that very, very flexible. When adding an app to your home screen, you can position it anywhere you like within the screen bounds. I didn’t see that anywhere else.

I can’t say much anymore, so I am leaving the decision to the user whether or not to try Regina 3D Launcher.


LauncherPro

Almost within the graphics and performance level of ADWLauncher EX is LauncherPro. The home dock is easily populated with apps of your choosing. And pressing or hitting the Home button spreads out the panels on your screen, where you choose where you want to go – that I find most desirable – since you don’t need to flick and flick and flick, and turn and turn and turn the panels left and right.

Did I like LauncherPro? You bet I did. I used it for as long as I can, customized it as much as I wanted.

But all good things have to come to an end, but I highly recommend LauncherPro, as I would ADWLauncher EX.


SlideScreen

This isn’t really a launcher, but an app to show what you would want to see all in one screen. But that immediately puts up a question, ‘How many?’, since there are many things that we’d want to see, on the average 20 items (basing on my own use of the android phone), any time.

This is yours to try, all at your own risk (Okay, the risk is only losing some time, in exchange to learning something…)


GO Launcher EX

I like this launcher the second best! With so many themes to choose from, and many of them free, with some of the free items coming so close to the paid ones, this is a very, very good choice. Home dock isn’t an issue: you put in as much as you would need; there’s always a limit to what we can do, but this allows as much as I wanted.

In the apps list, I like the horizontal movement, since I would usually read left to right, or right to left; some launchers give you the vertical movement, and well, they have their own reward (and problems)!

You can even adjust the grid size to your liking: 4x4, 4x5, 5x4, 5x5, etc.

What’s more, GO array of apps is a vast array, and there just an app for each and every thing you may be needing and using: GO Dialer, GO SMS, GO Notification, GO TaskManager, Go, Go, Go!

I may just try it again sometime again (I just saw the Greenscree Theme), and I think I like it.

Highly recommended: Go Launcher EX!


GO Locker EX

I’m not a bird or a reptile, but boy, I was attracted to the 3D Worm Locker, and for this to work properly, you have to set the GO Locker as the home launcher. Works almost seamlessly with you phone, as if you are operating GO Launcher, but I got tired of the worm thing.

If you like it, this is okay. At least better than many of those out there that call themselves home launchers. They don’t even come close!


MXHome Launcher

What do I say about this launcher?

Uninstalled as soon as installed…


SPB Shell 3D

This is what I am using now. Heavy on the graphics, and the only thing that I don’t like, topping the list, is the scroll movement of the apps list: vertical. I would exchange this with Go Launcher EX, if not for the superb graphics. The others that I don’t like, well, maybe somebody else would find them useful, the extra panels of whatever.

This is resource hungry, but I have characterized my Samsung Galaxy R’s behavior, with its internal 8GB SD card.

Don’t go beyond 75% of what you have, and this launcher is performing best. All the others, you can use up to about 100MB more than 75% of capacity, before your phone starts its self-reset cycle.

So for me, that was 3GB usage of my 4GB partition, and 50% of the rest (1GB/2GB for the SD and Phone Only partitions). I would have to actually review all the apps that I have installed when the box of many-colored candy was opened up to me, pick those that I don’t use, and uninstall them. I got to free up more than 1GB afterwards – good for the launcher!


Home Manager

Home Manager app comes with Home Switcher, and that made it easy, if not easier, for me, to switch between the home launchers. No need to ‘clear the defaults’ by going to the apps’ setting, etc., etc.

You’d be better off trying out the launchers with this apps as you primary aid.


Other launchers that I haven’t tried:
Gingerbread Launcher
Ks Launcher
Launcher 7
Zeam
Balancer
Nemus Launcher
QuickDesk
HeLauncher
PandaHome
Open Home
Crazy Home Pro
MIUI ROM


Out there, what will you find?

If you will, you can Google ‘best android launchers’ and you would find many, even those that tell you the strengths and weaknesses of the apps, but then again, we all look at one picture with different eyes, and with different perception.

I ask then, when will we ever unite?

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Android and iPhone, my view

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaImage via CrunchBaseImage via CrunchBase

03-Feb-2012

I have been wanting to put this in writing, my view on the lifecycle of iPhone, the entry, the bubble, the compression, and the explosion it will go into later on (maybe sooner than we think). And all the while that this is happening, the blip, the steady spot, and the ever-growing hold of Android’s worldwide presence.

What iPhone is in my view

Come to think of it, iPhone was decided to be a very unique device: closed system, and why not? It was the only phone that got the very formula of being accepted by people all over the globe with its very user-friendly touch screen, very responsive, doesn’t need a stylus or a pen, and doesn’t need a manual to be operated even by toddlers and unlettered hawkers. And because it is a closed system, the apps that were available to users from the AppStore were simply the better make, if not the best. I could be hearing moans and groans of disagreement, but hey, that is my view. That was the catch and hold of iPhone – and it may be its own cause of demise.

What Android is to my view

The other device isn’t having an entrance to the electronic world like iPhone had, but if I were to put it in my own words, it is like an ant that crept, almost unnoticed, but once in position, it made the bite, and what a sting it made! I could be prejudiced, since I never was enamored with the iPhone, however pretty it was, there’s no amount of fairness in it that charmed me. Hey, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so you can’t blame me. But with Android being open, the entry it made was logarithmic: the single cell dividing into two, and two diving, and four dividing, and on, and on, and on. It would seem like a virus, and if it is, it is the incurable virus that will attack and hit iPhone to its very core, unrelenting, allowing no chance of recovery until complete takeover is accomplished.

Google OS

With this I bring to mind Google OS, which was not a success. The world simply wasn’t ready for that idea, I believe. That was in 2009. The size and presence of Google didn’t help Google OS, or perhaps, the timing wasn’t right, since there isn’t an accompanying electronic device to advertise the new OS. Thus the flop.

Android Phone

Android's first device was unveiled somewhere late 2007, and it was an immediate hit. And why not? Even at the inception stage, the agreement and understanding was already on an open-source, open-market foundation. And from that structure, the development and marketing was opened to the whole wide world. That’s the attack and impact that Android phone made.

What now?

Design

iPhone doesn’t change its design. It is still the same size, and the screen remains the same, since iPhone 3 till iPhone 4S. If the story is true, that iPhone 5 will all be a device of built-in accessories, battery, memory, SIM card, etc., to me that is a fiasco in process, a phone designed to doom, designed for doom. It will be on both sides. If you buy that kind of phone, and if a part breaks while under warranty, it is to the iPhone company’s cost, and out of warranty, it is to the consumer’s burden. So either way, a device will all built-in parts is not a good design at all, a lose-lose situation. I think iPhone is way out of hand in its closed-system strategy.

Well it has somehow changed, but it is on the reverse path: curved corners becoming squared and pointy, that’s all.

Implementation

iPhone remains a closed system, and it is still iPhone. Then there is iPad, but these remain a closed system. Just a very annoying limitation that it makes. It’s like saying to you: “I give you a wonderful device to use and play with, but only you can do such and such…”

Android is opened to the world, and anybody can develop, for free (iPhone isn’t), and sell your products out in the market. Now this free-ness of the Android Market is its own problem. While AppStore presents you with the better and best of the deals, you find all kinds in the Android Market. Actually there is a thing called Android Black Market, where apps are purchased and the paid versions are uploaded for anybody to ‘search and acquire’ later on. Talk about freedom…

Which is why more and more phone manufacturers are hitching to the Android bandwagon with each days that passes.

Acceptability

iPhone is very well accepted, there is no question to that. To date, iPhone still commands a queue whenever the next release is announced or simply rumored. But the experience later on could very well be described as a sudden burst, a flame that ignites and is gone as quickly as the fire was lit. Am I making the wrong judgment here?

Android gives user a much more realistic mobile experience. E-mails, browsing, YouTube, streaming media, what have you, not to mention social networks - on the go. So the initial feud between Google and Facebook can’t be avoided, but the differences have been settled, or a compromise has been reached. I now do Facebook on my Android phone.

I am able to install a lot of apps from the Android Market, try them out, uninstall, rate, reinstall, rate again, or blog about them, and even root my phone. I’m not worried about the warranty, since I got my unit for only $11 as a promotional price, but I have tried rooting many times afterwards, and I will do even more things with my Android phone. What am I saying here? Freedom to the max!

Simply put, I like a phone that enables me, and frees me to do what I want. Caveat: With freedom comes accountability.

My wife sees me installing so many apps for kids, like read-me stories, alphabets, puzzles, memory games, and our toddler is tirelessly playing with my phone and learning in the process, and she spends less time with my wife’s iPhone nowadays. What’s the message? Kids cannot lie. They like Android phones. Not so much apps of those kinds can be found in the AppStore, if not for a fee. A small fee by the millions isn’t small money, you know.

She actually asked me, “can we exchange phones?”

Verdict

iPhone got a beating, and a good one at that, making her black and blue all over. PSP also got knocked down with a right hook: who’s holding PSP nowadays, if not an iPad, a tablet, an iPhone, or an Android phone?

Finally, who knows, with the undeniable presence and impact that Android is making, stronger with each passing day, just one fine day, it will be able to rise up against Microsoft, brandishing a completely overhauled, redesigned and retrofitted Google OS that is already equally capable as, if not better than, Windows OS?

Just my wild view, fired by Android phone.

Till then!

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Test back Dolphin Browser HD

Image via Wikipedia02-Feb-2012

Today, I wanted to give the chance to Dolphin Browser HD, whether it really is causing the problem of android phones self-reset cycle. After finding the cause of my phone’s first such self-reset mystery, and finding out that the actual reason was the over-transferring of apps from the phone memory to the SD card, I believe it is just right to clear the slate for Dolphin Browser HD, and declare it a ‘clean’ apps.

And I have decided to do that today, not later, as I may forget, and things become worse later on, since having the chance now, I didn’t grab it, and I lost the opportunity, just because of procrastination.

So that’s today. I have already installed Dolphin Browser HD, and a number of its auxiliary apps installed as well: like Dolphin Google Services, Browse Faster for Dolphin, Ultimate Flag and Text Sizer.

So if my phone don’t go loco, then I will have to tell the world that Dolphin Browser HD is okay! At least on my phone it is… hey, an hour, and my phone’s not dying on me after installing Dolphin Browser HD.

But I will give it enough days to prove itself before I declare it myself.

(Just to be clear, I have installed MX Video Player together with Dolphin Browser HD, in case there is a conflict of apps, I know which ones to hunt…)

Till then!

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Some issues I encountered with my Android Phone

Image via Wikipedia01-Feb-2012

After rooting my Samsung Galaxy R phone, and my daughters' SE Neo V and LG Optimus SOL phones, I played a lot with my SGR, installing, evaluating and uninstalling all those free and not-so-free apps from the Android Market, and from the Android Black Market, if there is any color to it, and after many days, and still not tired myself, the phone seem to have been caught in some cycle of self-reset.

I cannot use it anymore, and I have to take out the battery just to stop it from its endless, useless, cycle.

I read through the forums, and I came across some articles saying that it can be due to Dolphin Browser HD, which, incidentally, I have just installed.

I uninstalled it without hesitation, and it worked. Or so I thought.

Half a day passed, and the excruciating self-reset cycle resumed.

So what now?

I decided to remove SPB Shell 3D, or what's left of it after I switched and tried LauncherPro, ADWLauncher EX and GO launcher EX, and not without a reason: it seems slow to 'rebuild' the pages, or the panels, after going to home screen, coming from some applications or screens.

And I thought that also fixed the problem. But it didn't help. SPB Shell 3D isn't the culprit, and to my relief, because I like SPB's products, then in Windows Mobile, and now, in Android phones.

What could really be the problem?

Not really knowing what the problem is, I went to desperate modes, and when I searched on self-reset problem for the android phone, I came across the many others who lament the same sad story, their own, and what was the last resort? factory reset.

And with a rooted phone, that recourse is STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED.

So the problem was aggravated, knowing that something could probably help, but at the same time, that step cannot be taken. And no, I didn't force the issue, I didn't do factory reset.

I calmed down a bit, and I observed the phone, and I was able to catch the error msg being thrown out before the screen blacks out, and it has something to do with Activity Android System being non-responsive, and what's more, it is when the phone is completing the indexing of the SD card.

The process error, and the media card scanning process, finally  brought me to some other forums, who not surprisingly, are also swamped with many users and android phone owners who experience the same: issue with the SD card media scanning process, which is just when the phone executes its self-reset.

What was the thing being observed? moving the apps from the phone to the SD card, or having some corrupted media files (video, mp3, etc).

I didn't have problems with my media files, but I have been, like a child freed into a mysterious playground, installing and installing and installing apps, one after the other, as much as my phone memory and external card can take... or so I thought.

So with each brief moment that my phone stays alive, first, I uninstall those that I believe were installed simply by impetus, not need. Then, I moved many apps from the SD card, back to the phone.

After moving about 15 apps, the phone showed some stability, and a longer 'up' time. Then some 10 more, and the phone has snapped out of its self-reset limbo.

I continued to move more of the apps back to phone, until finally, the free space was about equal, both for the phone and the SD card. And it's not even the external SD card we are talking about. It's the phone internal SD card.

Summary:

1. Android Phone entered into self-reset cycle; have to remove battery to turn off.
2. Uninstalled Dolphin Browser HD; momentarily gave relief, but self-reset resumed.
3. Uninstalled SPB Shell 3D, but problem still persisted.
4. Uninstalled other 'unwanted' apps, many apps.
5. Finally, moved remaining apps from (internal) SD card to phone.
6. This is what solved the problem.

So what's the message? Moderation. Actually, it is a kind of caveat, and a caveat emptor, this Android Phone. But I still choose it over the iPHone.

Till then!

 

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Root-ing my Samsung Galary R

Image via WikipediaImage by Yutaka Tsutano via FlickrImage via WikipediaImage by benmarvin via FlickrImage via WikipediaImage via CrunchBase16-Jan-2012

I did it last week.

I mean, I've not been doing anything with the iPhone 4 when my wife got hers, since I'm not really enamored with the iPhone, even when it was only 3, then 3S. And when my wife got hers, it was already 4, and I was simply ignoring that small device which has captivated millions (is my estimate correct?) all over the world. And it still does, but I will never be in the statistics.

You see, when I got my Samsung Galary R over a month ago, I felt it was a very good deal, unit price promo-ed at only $11 at the least plan that will have data access, not to mention that the SGR was already a dual-core device, albeit a toned-down version of the Samsung Galaxy S II.

Anyway, I was immediately introduced to the already huge world of android freebies, primarily through the Android Market, and then to the all-free spree being done in all of the major android sites - always. And this is something that I enjoyed on what the web has to offer - freebies!

Anyway, I also immediately found that many of the stronger apps out there (and yet still  free) are requiring the device to be 'rooted' - a limitless, all-access, superuser account category - that would be able to control the device from the very core.

Then I found that to root a device, it will void the warranty, and that the process of rooting, if done wrongly, may render the device unusable, 'bricked' so they say, ending up simply as a beautifully-formed glass and metal (and plastic) artwork.

Furthermore, it is a cat-and-mouse chase: while you may succeed rooting your device, phone manufacturers will eventually release a firmware update, which will unroot your device and clear any superuser accounts, and reinstate the device to its unrooted state. So hackers (developers to be precise) who are not content with that will again try to develop rooting methods and programs that will again be able to 'root' the device even with the latest firmware. Then manufacturers will release a firware update... it just never ends!

So I had my hesitation... take note, I had...

But the best of me yielded to the 'risk-taking', and on the 12th of January, I did my first rooting business - and I succeeded.

What made it all too easy is that I found several articles that offered help by laying down the process step-by-step, so I was fully familiar with that I should be doing, but finally, I found that I only have to click a button, and wait, and watch, and it's done. Is it too good to be true?

Well, it was. I used SuperOneClick. With all the hesitation in my mind, my finger steely clicked the mouse button, and I waited, and I watched, and it was a success! SU was created, and I had superuser access to the rooted device! That finally gave me the privilege to install those free apps that will help me take control of my small device from the very core.

So that's it. My small, yet very fruitful, new adventure: rooting my android device. And I showed my phone to my wife, and she wanted an exchange...

See, not everyone who gets the iPhone are really iPhone fanatics. My wife is one who would prefer the 'better' deal. She thinks the iPhone is outdated. I think all the more that it is outdated. It is like the IBM story, closed, proprietary, unaccommodating. Then PC came. Android has come, but devices will still be rooted. The limits and boundaries may be set and defined, but there are many who just can't be boxed and enclosed.

Android is freedom, and the exercise of freedom makes android users freer.

Till then!

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New iPhone 3GS heats up smartphone wars

June 18, 2009 -- Updated 1840 GMT (0240 HKT)

By A. Pawlowski

CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Consumer demand is growing for phones that act like mini-computers
  
• Apple's latest entry goes on sale Friday, faces competition from other companies
  
• iPhone is the undisputed leader when it comes to mobile applications
  
• Rivals launch competing app stores to lure customers to their devices
  

Got smartphone fever? A new version of the Apple iPhone goes on sale Friday.

(CNN) -- When Apple starts selling what it bills as the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet on Friday, the company's latest entry will only heat up the already sizzling smartphone landscape.

Fans, techies and ordinary consumers eager to purchase the new iPhone 3GS may be preparing to stand in line at Apple stores around the United States and seven other countries. But they have more choices than ever when it comes to phones that act like mini-computers.

"We expect that [smartphones are] going to be the fastest growing consumer segment for quite some time," said Ryan Reith, a senior research analyst for technology research firm IDC.

"It's all about connecting to the outside world."

The U.S. smartphone market grew by 68 percent last year and is projected to grow by 20 percent in 2009 and almost 25 percent next year, according to IDC.

No wonder companies are rushing to meet the demand for sleek mobile devices that combine e-mail, data, music, photos -- all in the palm of one's hand.

Interested in something other than the iPhone? The options include the new Palm Pre, Research in Motion's BlackBerry Storm or phones powered by Google's Android or Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating systems.

The key is having access to the Internet anytime, anywhere.

"Mobile Web browsing is a huge thing," said MG Siegler, a writer for the technology news site TechCrunch. "People especially want to get on the Internet and do the things they're doing when they are at their [home] computers, which is social networking and sharing photos."

When it comes to mobile Web surfing, the iPhone seems to be the king. A recent report by AdMob found Apple's device generated 65 percent of mobile HTML browsing, a statistic that didn't surprise Siegler.

"The Web browser on the iPhone has been up to this point far superior to what it is on some of the other phones out there," he said. "The great thing about the iPhone is that you don't have to have a mobile specific page. You can look at the regular page and just see it perfectly fine."

All about apps

While Apple has lots of buzz and appeal, it's not the dominant smartphone player. The company had only about a 20 percent share of the U.S. smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, a distant second to Research in Motion's 55 percent slice of the pie during the same period, according to IDC.

Apple is the undisputed leader, however, when it comes to mobile applications -- the software programs that let users do everything from play games to track their calorie consumption and everything in between.

Apple's App Store has a whopping 50,000 applications available, and a number of its competitors recently launched their own stores in the hopes of catching up. It won't be easy: BlackBerry's App World, Palm's App Catalog, Microsoft's Windows Mobile Catalog and Google's Android Market have only a fraction of Apple's offerings.

"It's pretty clear that Apple has the lion's share of people who want to develop mobile apps. It's a great distribution platform," said Erica Ogg, a writer for CNET News.

Some competitors are trying to lure developers to their platforms by letting them keep more of the money generated by their apps. While Apple offers a 70/30 split -- with developers getting to keep 70 percent of the revenue and the company taking 30 percent -- Research in Motion is offering a more favorable 80/20 split, Reith said.

Ironically, industry observers believe Apple's success itself may eventually drive some developers to competing stores where their apps would be less likely to get lost in the crowd and have a greater chance of standing out.

"I would think that developers would want to look at a lot of these other platforms, like the Palm Pre, because they would still be so early on in the development cycle that they could get their app out there," Siegler said.

"If the Palm Pre ends up taking off and sells millions of units then they're much more likely to be successful."

Speed matters

In fact, Siegler believes the Pre could be the biggest wildcard right now because it's the first smartphone since the iPhone to use multi-touch. The feature lets users maneuver around the interface by using their fingers -- double-tapping the screen to zoom in or out, for example, or "pinching" with their thumbs and forefingers to do the same thing.

Beyond the technology inside smartphones, the focus now is also on improving the infrastructure that services them.

"You're going to start to see in the next year Verizon and Sprint, followed by probably AT&T and T-Mobile, start to increase their networks so you'll have Internet speeds on your device that will be almost equivalent to broadband within your house," Reith said.

All of this technology comes at a price. The iPhone 3GS, for example, starts at $199, with a required two-year contract that will have consumers shelling out at least $70 a month with AT&T. Both Reith and Siegler don't see the monthly fees changing any time soon, which may cool some consumers' smartphone fever.

"Definitely more people are interested in smartphones, but I think the costs of the data plans are for a lot of people prohibitive," Ogg said.

"Especially with the way people's budgets and finances are today, there's still plenty of room for the free phone that comes with your plan that does basic things."

From CNN.com; see the source article here.

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