I switched over to a Samsung Note 3 from my Galaxy S4. There wasn't anything wrong with my S4 but I
felt I wanted more power and screen size.
Now I'm totally in love with my Note 3 and I use it for
EVERYTHING!
My next search has been for the perfect phone UI . Thankfully with Android we have the option to ponder about
our home screen.
After endless searching and trying loaders here's a quick
look at my experiences. Please keep in mind these are just the ones that stood out to me. There are many other launchers that I have tried which provide different experiences, the ones listed below were just specific to my needs.
Themer
I got the chance to try Themer out in closed beta and I did
like the ease of switching themes but it was crashing too much. It's definitely
the easiest app to edit your home
screen, my issue was that I liked to edit them too much so I spent hours trying
to customize the themes when it wasn't necessary.
Themer is no longer in closed
beta so if you like an easy way to switch your home screen for a fresh look
definitely check this app out.Their simple method of delivery makes this app
very attractive to a lot of people since you can just change the entire look of
your phone by selecting and applying the theme.
All themes are approved by the
dev team and they even adjust the themes to fit most size screens, as a result
there is a growing # of developers making themes for this app.
Unfortunately
this app only changes the look of my home screen and I was looking for
something that would push my phone more and provide with more information as it
learned my patterns and provided me with information on the fly.For those of
you who want easier ways to switch the look of your phone this is definitely an
app to consider, as it gets more and more popular I expect they will have a
huge selection of themes.
The Good:
Completely customize your home screen with only a few taps.
Great selection of
themes.
Not a memory
hog.
Committed
development team.
The Bad:
For me
it’s just a shell for my home screen which
is was not what I was looking for but I’m sure this will be THE launcher
for many people.
Aviate
In my search for a better theme I came across Aviate.
This is a launcher which provides you with apps depending on your location, they split it up as Home, Work, and Going
Somewhere.
Currently this is only by
invite only but all you have to do is sign up on their site. It took me about 3 days to get my invite.
As
far as customization, well there isn’t much.
You can chose between a light and a dark theme and in total there are
only 4 screens.
Spaces – this is where you can chose any of the spaces in case you need to switch
locations manually.
Home screen – This is where Aviate can provide you with your
apps according to location. There is a
section for apps that do not change regardless of where you are and this is
where you can also add widgets.
App Collections – Here your apps grouped into
categories and labeled such as games, music, news and there additional
collections which you can add manually.
You can also add apps to any of
these collections manually.
App Drawer –
This is just your listing of apps in alphabetical order.
Aviate controls the
user experience but I find that it works very well, so far my apps are always
there when I need them regardless of my location and I actually like the
simplicity of the theme, over time you start to appreciate the stability of the
launcher. This launcher is still in beta so I’m sure when the final version is
released there will be some extra customization options added without
sacrificing the stability of the app.
The Good:
Simple to use and very stable. I personally enjoy the minimalist
look.
The Bad:
Lack of customization
and lack of lock screen to match the entire theme.
Overall, because of the way Aviate customizes my home screen
with the apps I need depending on my location I have stuck with it but the lack
of matching lockscreen left me still
searching for a better option. Enter CoverScreen.
CoverScreen
“The lockscreen that learnsCover automatically
recognizes when you’re at home, work, or in the car and learns which apps you
use most in each context. So when you’re in the car, maps are right there. At
work, your calendar and documents are at your fingertips. You can set a custom
ringer volume and wallpaper for each location.”
www.coverscreen.com
I found this lock screen and after viewing the videos
it seemed like a great match for the Aviate launcher. Unfortunately this was also an invite only
app and the invites are hard to come by so I was forced to drool over the app
for 3 weeks until I finally got my hands on a copy of the APK. (I’m still
waiting for an official invite).
At first look it just seemed like a very simple
presentation but what attracted me to it was the development team who are
ex-Googlers so they worked on this from the inside out.. it follows the same
location based idea of providing you with the apps you need based on your
location. They have Home, Work, Car and Out, each location can have its own
background and you can adjust ringer prefrences. As you go through your day the
lockscreen will completely change the apps it shows you.
To get the full grasp
of this app you really need to view the video, I’m sure it will spark your curiosity
right away J
The Good:
Simple,Adjusts to
your location,Great customer service
The Bad:
Lack of customization(you can’t add any
widgets)
I’m glad to see apps are using the information they collect
to provide us with predictive functionality, with time I would even like to see
news feeds which will also predict the feed based on your location and maybe
interests(hint hint Google)
By: Andres Gallo
