An idea was thrown out the the world on Google+ (Koushik Dutta) for a root only android app store. A place for apps related to rooting your phone, or other mods, along with all the stuff that Google and Amazon have banned from their app stores.
I think it is a great idea. I would love to see this happen and would love to contribute however I can. Check out the post (at the below links) and give your own feedback.
Sources AndroidAndMe.com, Google+
I just noticed that on the GetJar.com site they are offering one of the best selling Android apps of all time for FREE. Beautiful Widgets is a widget collection that provides a fully customizable clock with weather along with a large list of toggle widgets that you can use to turn on and off things like wifi, 4g, brightness adjustments, etc.
From the Developer:
– Super Clock widget with weather, battery or just the clock 4×3 4×2 4×1 2×1
– Weather only widget 4×1 1×1
– Battery widget 1×1
– Date widget 2×1 1×1
– Text Clock simple widget 2×1
– Toggles widgets 1×1
– Home widgets with clock and weather and 300 skins 4×1 2×1
To download to your phone:
So you have an Android phone that you want to be able to make your own, or you may feel a little restricted by Google’s Android Market. What other options are out there? I do a lot of talking and linking to things in Android Market, but I also talk and link a lot about the Amazon Appstore. The Amazon Appstore (among others – see below) is an alternate place to download apps for Android and along with the below list gives you the freedom to get your apps from anywhere.
I will cover a handful of app stores below. Feel free to check them out and comment about your experiences.
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As promised, here are the Top 5 of the Top 10 Android Home Replacements/Launchers that we will be reviewing. As with any sort of "Top" list, don’t take it as the definitive list because new apps come out all the time, and I am probably missing some great launchers – I am an old robot after all… So here is my list of the top 5:
 | Name: 5. Zeam |
| Description: Zeam is a minimalistic launcher alternative for phones running Android 2.2 and above. It has a lot of the cool functions available to the larger launchers, but it will run great on just about any hardware. | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/IayVN |
| Name: 4. ADW Launcher |
| Description: ADW.Launcher, beyond tweaking your android desktop Opensource home replacement app -Customizable application drawer (old one or iphone/galaxy one) -Customizable drag&drop action buttons -Unveil the Dockbar flicking-up the app-drawer button and drop UNLIMITED shortcuts/folders! -Themes | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/V3Pnb |
| Name: 3. Launcher Pro |
| Description: – Super-smooth scrolling – Animated screen previews (like Exposé or HTC Sense) – Up to 7 home screens – App drawer (2D and 3D!) with a fly-in effect and smooth scrolling – Scrollable shortcut dock | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/QmCit |
| Name: 2. Home++ |
| Description: New home, new lifestyle Branching from the stock home app, Home++ offers more * 3rd party animated widgets & scrollable widgets support * Drag&drop uninstall * Bookmarks * Workspace looping * 3~7 screens and a screen switcher * lazy load app drawer by default | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/xH9KC |
| Name: 1. Go Launcher EX |
| Description: vLauncher has a clean look to it that reminds a lot of people of the iPhone interface. One of the main pros to this launcher is that all of your icons are on your home screen, you don’t have to open a tray to see them, plus without all the widgets and extras it runs very fast, even on an older device, like me… | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/LBpRp |
So if you like these and want to try them, follow the links and download them to you phone. After they are installed the next time you press the home key it will ask you if you want to load the current launcher or the new one. You can also set one as a default by checking the check box.
So you are sick of the main menu of your phone, you want to change it up a little but fear the idea of rooting your phone. There is a great option for Android phones that will allow you to change the menu system that loads when you press your home screen. There are a countless Home Replacement options, so I will just give you a Top 10 list here – in the form of a countdown to make it dramatic.
| Name: 10. Claystone Launcher |
| Description: What sets Claystone apart from the others is that it has a really cool icon stacking capability that has a neat 3D look. Aside from this the features look pretty standard, but I recomend it if you are looking for something a little different. Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/embed/fNMW18_aPmE | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/OsIeU |
| Name: 9. Slidescreen |
| Description: Slidescreen is a completely different home screen. It presents you with your information first. You will see your Facebook information, RSS feeds, Twitter, Etc on the home page. You have the ability to slide the center clock bar up and down to see more of one or the other. To access your apps you simply have to press the menu button. It also has a cool option for your top 8 apps at the top of the app list. | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/IdF0q |
| Name: 8. Launcher 7 |
| Description: Launcher 7 is an Android launcher that gives your Google powered phone the look and feel of a Microsoft Windows Phone 7 phone. It has the ability to scroll up and down through the main menu, and access your app list by swiping to the right. It’s very true to the original and even comparing the 2 side by side shows very few differences. The developer is really good about keeping it updated too. | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/D7LHE |
| Name: 7. Regina 3D Launcher |
| Description: Regina 3D is a launcher that at a glance looks a lot like all the other launchers, until you go to switch between the different screens and you will find that it has a 3D cube effect, much like a desktop computer can have. Looks really cool to show off to your friends, but it does get a little old after a while. | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/egA0Y |
| Name: 6. vLauncher |
| Description: vLauncher has a clean look to it that reminds a lot of people of the iPhone interface. One of the main pros to this launcher is that all of your icons are on your home screen, you don’t have to open a tray to see them, plus without all the widgets and extras it runs very fast, even on an older device, like me… | |
| Download Link: http://goo.gl/yqMKO |
So if you like these and want to try them, follow the links and download them to you phone. After they are installed the next time you press the home key it will ask you if you want to load the current launcher or the new one. You can also set one as a default by checking the check box. So check them out and stay tuned for the top 5…
