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Ok, I got some noob questions.

Kaiser Soze

Kaiser Soze

Lurker
Ok I like my phone a lot so far but I'm looking to customize so here goes:

- I think Froyo is some kind of a software update. Why is it SO important that people are ready to revolt over not getting it?

- What EXACTLY is a launcher such as Launcher Pro? What does it do and why would I need it?
 
Welcome, K.S.

Froyo is a major upgrade to the whole operating system. Most, but not all, Android users want the latest and greatest. Some of those who want it post a lot about that fact. ;)

The launcher is what you see when you look at your powered up device: the layout and functionality and menus, etc. There are differences in that functionality from launcher to launcher.

You can read around about various comparisons.. here is ADW and Launcher Pro compared:

ADW Launcher Review - How does it compare to Launcher Pro? ~ Chanatown

Launcher Pro rapidly became one of the most popular across the spectrum of Android devices shortly after its appearance in Market a while back.

There is a thread/poll here in this forum you might want to check out:

http://androidforums.com/samsung-fascinate/235148-help-me-decide-launcher.html

Good luck. Have fun!
 
Kaiser Soze said:
Ok I like my phone a lot so far but I'm looking to customize so here goes:

- I think Froyo is some kind of a software update. Why is it SO important that people are ready to revolt over not getting it?

- What EXACTLY is a launcher such as Launcher Pro? What does it do and why would I need it?
Click to expand...

first of all...welcome to the fascinate community :)

1. froyo is android 2.2 and bring with it some fairly significant changes from the eclair 2.1 os we have currently. some notable changes are the addition of adobe flash which allows you to watch various shows online, as well as play certain flash based games....of course hulu and farmville (seemingly the 2 biggest reasons to want flash for the masses) are blocked...although there are ways around that.

well rather than explain the rest...ill let ya glance over it yourself ;) Android 2.2 Platform Highlights | Android Developers


2. frisco gave you some great info on the differences/advantages of alternate launchers from touchwiz (stock) i can say from personal experience the least resource intensive and quickest seem to be adw and zeam...but launcherpro is far and away the most customizable and if you pony up 2 dollars for the pro version, you get the best (imo) calendar, bookmark, and social networking widgets available in android :D
 
ADW and Launcher Pro allow scrollable widgets. Pure Calendar Agenda + scrolling = great.

Also icon/dock customization, etc.

Personally I just want to be able to edit Google docs (a Froyo-only feature). And I'm hoping Gingerbread has FINALLY fixed media scanning (it's seriously an embarassment how borked it is in Eclair and Froyo).
 
You guys should keep an eye on Go launcher. IMO it has the best parts of LP and ADW (though not LP widgets, which I don't use). At this point it still needs a little refinement. Swipe actions like ADW, can resize widgets, can also rearrange app drawer non alphabetical (tw can do this I think) which I really like plus folders in the app drawer to stuff apps you don't use. No hiding apps like lp though. Custom icons, unread labels on the dock (these need work).

I deleted lp for now :)
 
Yeah I heard some good things about Go. But then again each launcher has its own fan base some like Zeam some like TW. Its fine. I tend to get comfortable with a certain theme or launcher and its hard to move me off it
 
Thanks guys, good info here. I downloaded Zeam last night, it looked kinda cool, now I just need to find it and launch it. :D
 
davidnmegan6907 said:
Yea I was meaning if you wanted to try out multiple launchers then you can switch back and forth to decide which one you like best ;)
Click to expand...

Yup home switcher is great when you are trying to figure out what launcher to use

Once you figure it out though its best to delete/freeze/remove the other launchers....as multiple launchers will slow you down
 
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