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[Monkeylord]

I'd love to have a go at customising my Droid.

This will probably be the dumbest question yet posed in this thread, but is there a desktop client available where I can put everything together and then simply upload the changes to my phone?

I'd find this kind of thing so much easier playing around and getting things right on a laptop or PC rather than buggering about directly on the phone.


I'm just concious of the fact that I'll likely spend hours mucking about and experimenting only to find that what I had in mind looked good only in my head and then having to spend hours to put it all right again.

 

[abunai]

I'd love to have a go at customising my Droid.

This will probably be the dumbest question yet posed in this thread, but is there a desktop client available where I can put everything together and then simply upload the changes to my phone?

I'd find this kind of thing so much easier playing around and getting things right on a laptop or PC rather than buggering about directly on the phone.


I'm just concious of the fact that I'll likely spend hours mucking about and experimenting only to find that what I had in mind looked good only in my head and then having to spend hours to put it all right again.

There is, somewhat, for MIUI. You can get theme packages which changes all manner of things and you can edit them with whatever on your PC, re-zip them and put them on the phone and install. I don't know of anything for broad spectrum theming or standard android roms, so you'll probably just have to tweak and stuff. It's part of the fun of it, though.

 

[Chairhome]

Just got ADW EX and Beautiful Widgets for 10 cents each :-D.

Now that I'm finally on board with Beautiful Widgets, any recommended skins? I'm going to browse back through a few pages, of course.

ADW EX feels a bit different (in configuration options) than ADW did. How do I allow for the "secondary dock" when I swipe up? Can I remove the background of the default dock?

 

[Threi]

secondary dock is gone now IIRC, its just one dock, just like all the other launchers.

On that note I am completely torn between ADW EX and GO Launcher. Both do what I need them to do (thanks to ADW finally implementing half-decent folders)

ADW uses a bit less memory but is a bit less smooth (and its not like either use a whole lot of memory anyways), and GO Launcher allows you to uninstall programs from the app drawer, IOS style (something I use a LOT).

On the other hand ADW handles resizing dock icons much better, while GO Launcher just resizes everything.


decisions....

 

[Chairhome]

secondary dock is gone now IIRC, its just one dock, just like all the other launchers.

On that note I am completely torn between ADW EX and GO Launcher. Both do what I need them to do (thanks to ADW finally implementing half-decent folders)

ADW uses a bit less memory but is a bit less smooth (and its not like either use a whole lot of memory anyways), and GO Launcher allows you to uninstall programs from the app drawer, IOS style (something I use a LOT).

On the other hand ADW handles resizing dock icons much better, while GO Launcher just resizes everything.


decisions....

ah, that sucks. I liked secondary dock. I guess using folders would be a good workaround. thanks.

 

[tsurugi no mai]

exam tomorrow, so nothing better to do than re-do my phone

Bulletproof MIUI 1.12.2 w/ extended settings mod
Cloudy weather status bar w/ custom carrier logo
MIUI clock
VA Asteria V4 lockscreen, with quake logo + mac os leopard wallpaper
Some random green wallpaper for homescreen, can upload if wanted
Vexillium icons

i just got my first android phone and would love to do this. could someone explain this to me?

 

[Zizbuka]

secondary dock is gone now IIRC, its just one dock, just like all the other launchers.

Not sure if this is the same thing, but Go Launcher lets you scroll the dock left or right, like sliding the home screens. I just noticed it, so not sure if it's a new feature.

 

[abunai]

i just got my first android phone and would love to do this. could someone explain this to me?

Well, I can send you the MIUI theme file which would be easy to install, but that hinges on you needing MIUI. Go to xda-developers and browse the forums for your phone. You'll need to root it (there will be a guide, depending on your phone) and then flash the new MIUI rom. This can be dangerous if you don't do it right so I'm not telling you to do it, only that it is required to do what I did.

If you do want to go ahead and have rooted/flashed MIUI, shoot me a PM and I can give you some pointers on how to edit system files like the custom lockscreen icons and so on.

 

[Threi]

still torn between GO and ADW, this is my ADW setup though (changed the minimalistic text font to Segoe WP light):

http://i.minus.com/iQvD84BPXD7Iw.png
http://i.minus.com/ib1000vx1WZu2m.png
http://i.minus.com/ibufxsccgHKdpi.png
http://i.minus.com/ilM7ZrdVXGEc4.png

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Is changing the notification bar icons and font something you can only do with new phones? I have an HTC Aria, and I don't care much for mine.

 

[kehs]

Still rocking launcher7, love this thing so much more than regular launchers.

Is changing the notification bar icons and font something you can only do with new phones? I have an HTC Aria, and I don't care much for mine.

Usually requires rooting to change the stuff in the notification bar.

 

[Threi]

Is changing the notification bar icons and font something you can only do with new phones? I have an HTC Aria, and I don't care much for mine.

There's an app for it, its a little bit buggy though:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.firezenk.ssb

A real change requires root though.

 

[crazy monkey]

Still rocking launcher7, love this thing so much more than regular launchers.

Usually requires rooting to change the stuff in the notification bar.

question: where is the call button? like how do you make a call and address book? Is it usually on front screen?

 

[kehs]

question: where is the call button? like how do you make a call and address book? Is it usually on front screen?

Contacts takes you to the dialer/phone book. (It's the one next to music, one of the contact pictures is obscure the text).

 

[Murkas]

Do alternate layouts/styles exist for the pattern lock screen? I've never actually seen any (in this thread anyway) so I'm wondering if they actually exist or not.

My Screen

No where near as impressive as others in this thread.

 

[tsurugi no mai]

Well, I can send you the MIUI theme file which would be easy to install, but that hinges on you needing MIUI. Go to xda-developers and browse the forums for your phone. You'll need to root it (there will be a guide, depending on your phone) and then flash the new MIUI rom. This can be dangerous if you don't do it right so I'm not telling you to do it, only that it is required to do what I did.

If you do want to go ahead and have rooted/flashed MIUI, shoot me a PM and I can give you some pointers on how to edit system files like the custom lockscreen icons and so on.

Sorry for the late reply, but...

I found my phone, but it's not the same one that I have. I have the Motorola Electrify for US Cellular (which is the Motorola Photon, but US Cellular has a different version for some reason) and the forums say that it's a 4G while mine is not.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1220

Also, how is it dangerous?

 

[walbertsmith]

For the Galaxy Nexus owners: I don't exactly recall where I saw it, but I remember someone posting up their homescreen with a set up that made it seem like the softkey buttons were "floating" due to an integrated background.

Does this sound remotely familiar to anyone? Or do I just sound like a crazy person?

 

[Divvy]

New Galaxy Nexus Homescreen for now:

Have yet to root it and mess around with stuff. I want to get rid of that google bar for starters and change the icons for the dock.

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

Just long-press the Google bar and drag to the trash.

I don't see the point of it since I can just hit the search button on the phone itself.

 

[Divvy]

Just long-press the Google bar and drag to the trash.

I don't see the point of it since I can just hit the search button on the phone itself.

I don't think you can get rid of the google search thing in ICS.

 

[bolbronx]

There is, somewhat, for MIUI. You can get theme packages which changes all manner of things and you can edit them with whatever on your PC, re-zip them and put them on the phone and install. I don't know of anything for broad spectrum theming or standard android roms, so you'll probably just have to tweak and stuff. It's part of the fun of it, though.

Link for the MIUI thingy?

Edit: Oh, I see what you mean

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I don't think you can get rid of the google search thing in ICS.

Isn't it just a widget?

 

[kehs]

Isn't it just a widget?

Nope, its fixed part of the launcher, unless you disable google search altogether.

 

[Circle T]

For getting rid of the On-Screen Search bar....

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1385425

....and for adding a Search button to the lower row....

http://android.modaco.com/topic/348762-30-nov-ui-patches-lhs-rhs-both-search-button-when-hidden/

Both require root and CWM, of course, but the options are out there if you want.

 

[Mercurial]

Launcher Pro crashes with ICS on my Nexus S when I use some widgets so I just have one homescreen at the moment. Which is fine since I'm keeping it simple while I'm in Korea without a plan. I need a minimal, all white music player widget for my lockscreen. Looks like Ubermusic might fit well. Just need to not be broke so I can buy some more apps, haha.

The icons don't seem to scale as well in ICS as they did with Gingerbread. They used to be so smooth.

Homescreen:
Launcher Pro
Colour Wallpaper
Desktop Visualizer
Switch Pro
Metrostation Icons

Lock:
Widgetlocker
Minimalistic Text

Having the camera and TeslaLED available from the lockscreen is nice.

 

[Blackhead]

Launcher Pro crashes with ICS on my Nexus S when I use some widgets so I just have one homescreen at the moment. Which is fine since I'm keeping it simple while I'm in Korea without a plan. I need a minimal, all white music player widget for my lockscreen. Looks like Ubermusic might fit well. Just need to not be broke so I can buy some more apps, haha.

The icons don't seem to scale as well in ICS as they did with Gingerbread. They used to be so smooth.

http://i.imgur.com/VISTz.png
Homescreen:
Launcher Pro
Colour Wallpaper
Desktop Visualizer
Switch Pro
Metrostation Icons

http://i.imgur.com/9htAy.png
Lock:
Widgetlocker
Minimalistic Text

http://i.imgur.com/BHfLS.png
Having the camera and TeslaLED available from the lockscreen is nice.

Ooh, I really want TelsaLED on the lockscreen too.

Here's mine at the moment:

Wave Launcher is amazing and really makes me not miss webOS so much. I'm using widgets a lot more often despite only placing one on my homescreen. Ingenious.

 

[SRG01]

Is there a way to customize the ICS lockscreen without widgetlocker?

 

[Blackhead]

There's an app for it, its a little bit buggy though:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.firezenk.ssb

A real change requires root though.

I only want to change the color of the icons in the status bar. Is that not possible without using this ststusbar replacement or rooting?

 

[surly]

I finally got around to rooting my HTC Desire. I wish I'd done it a long time ago! I'm running the last nightly build of CyanogenMod 7.1. I haven't done much customising though, and my main home screen looks like this: -

 

[Chopper]

Ooh, I really want TelsaLED on the lockscreen too.

Here's mine at the moment:

Wave Launcher is amazing and really makes me not miss webOS so much. I'm using widgets a lot more often despite only placing one on my homescreen. Ingenious.

Can you talk me through this? It's fucking fantastic mate.

 

[Cruceh]

Love folders. They are so awesome.
Using Nova Launcher for ICS.

 

[Blackhead]

Can you talk me through this? It's fucking fantastic mate.

I didn't use many mods for that. The widget is the stock analog clock widget and the launcher is stock as well. The clock is a placeholder until I find better similarly styled widgets. The status bar in the screenshot is from StatusBar+. I've switched to the black Android theme but it requires a particular ROM and some of the changes aren't to my liking. I also suspect the white icons are making the display a bigger drain on the battery. I'm still working out the kinks on the looks of the phone.

 

[Chopper]

I didn't use many mods for that. The widget is the stock analog clock widget and the launcher is stock as well. The clock is a placeholder until I find better similarly styled widgets. The status bar in the screenshot is from StatusBar+. I've switched to the black Android theme but it requires a particular ROM and some of the changes aren't to my liking. I also suspect the white icons are making the display a bigger drain on the battery. I'm still working out the kinks on the looks of the phone.

Are you rooted? When you say stock, what OS/launcher are you using?

 

[Blackhead]

Are you rooted? When you say stock, what OS/launcher are you using?

In that pic I'm using:
Android 4.0.2 (not rooted)
Default ICS launcher
Default ICS analog clock widget.
StatusBar+

 

[Chopper]

In that pic I'm using:
Android 4.0.2 (not rooted)
Default ICS launcher
Default ICS analog clock widget.
StatusBar+

Sorry, yeah, gotcha. I can't believe it's so simple! I look forward to getting ICS on my S2.

 

[walbertsmith]

Anyone try Nova Launcher (beta) yet? Apparently it's designed for ICS and maintains the ICS look and feel, which is awesome.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1389071

 

[MrBig]

Are there any good honeycomb launchers that retain the longpress functions of 3.1?

 

[Blackhead]

10 Best Homescreens of 2011

It’s been almost a year, since we’ve launched MyColorscreen. We’ve seen so many creativity poured down onto homescreens decoration and personalization.

To round up such a creative year, there’s no great time of the year than now with 10 Best Homescreens of 2011.

1. For Science by JOP (Android)

2. MultiHome by Filip (Android)

3. Marvel VS Capcom by Max (Android)

4. Geek Screen by Mfadzil (Android)

5. Minimal as Usual by Jason J (Android)

6. Welcome to Web 2.5 by Peachanan (Android)

7. Social Screen 2-21 by James Grassmyer (Android)

8. Storm by Filip (Android)

9. Beta by Kenny Ng (Android)

10. Simplistic by Paulo Cardoso (Android)

We would like to thank you all for the contribution you’ve made in 2011. Next year will be an exciting time for us as we’ve so many plans to improve MyColorscreen.

Merry belated Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

 

[GreenCyder]

Love folders. They are so awesome.
Using Nova Launcher for ICS.

nvm

 

[Chopper]

10 Best Homescreens of 2011

Woah. Trying very hard not to blatantly rip off the Portal one...

 

[Pacbois]

Well I finally rooted my good'old Legend and now it's a beauty !

Go Locker & Go Launcher
Beautiful Widgets
Helevetica Neue FlipFont

 

[MrBig]

I apologize for the off-screen pics, but it's the best I could do since I couldn't find a way to bypass Lenovo's stuff and get the thing to be recognized by adb.

I've had my Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet (first android device) for about a week and this is what I hath wrought

Using:
Minimalist Text
MultiPicture Live Wallpaper
Simple Notepad
Circle Battery widget
PlayerPro

 

[Nekrono]

Love folders. They are so awesome.
Using Nova Launcher for ICS.

Link for that wallpaper?

 

[thespot84]

Link for that wallpaper?

it's a stock ICS live wallpaper, not sure where to get it though.

 

[Chopper]

Well I finally rooted my good'old Legend and now it's a beauty !

Go Locker & Go Launcher
Beautiful Widgets
Helevetica Neue FlipFont

Is the font the only thing there you needed the root for?

Also, what is the best way to have multiple customization jobs that you can switch between? I mean, I want to overhaul my current setup, but would like the option to come back to it. As far as I can tell, I can only backup one set of settings at a time.

 

[Steriletom]

Welp, here's my Nexus. Still some kinks to work out but it's mostly done:

Main homescreen. Using:

-Nova Launcher to toggle the status bar on/off and to have a scrollable dock which you can see in the second picture.
-Circle Launcher to have a quick place to get to most of my favourite apps(the true favourites are on the scrollable dock). Set the widget to 100% transparency to keep it hidden unless I tap it.
-Beautiful widgets for the weather forecast with the Vos-Flat White skin.
-Circle Battery Widget for the juice counter.
-SiMi Clock for the time.
-ADW Honeycomb theme for the icons on the centre portion of the dock. You need a replacement launcher to replace icons. I've found better ones to use thanks to a poster at Somethingawful but I'm going to have to download desktop visualizer and learn how to use it before I can replace those and the off-centre icons on the dock.

The set-up at the top of the homescreen is a direct lift from another poster at Somethingawful. His is nicer because he's using a launcher that allows overlay of widgets, allowing him to make use of the dead space at the lower half of the clock widget. I'm hoping that future updates to Nova Launcher allow this as well as I am shamelessly trying to rip him off completely on that front.

Screen left of home. Using:


-Simple Calendar Widget heavily modified from default. I realize that the white android is causing some of the text to go invisible but I can deal by scrolling and prefer the form over the function. Also, the wallpaper is not likely to remain permanently.
-Standard ICS Google search bar. You need Nova Launcher to be able to remove it from all screens.

Screen right of home. Using:

Screen right of home. Using:

SwitchPro Widget. I'm likely to install widgetsoid and add all of these settings to the status bar sometime in the near future. Will delete switchpro and use the page to set up folders by theme so that if I want to access apps for a particular reason but haven't set my heart on the specific task, I can review by the theme.



Can anyone help me out with widget locker. I installed it but returned it after 10 minutes. The thing was acting very glitchy and I figure it hasn't been optimized for ICS. I just want to also remove the status bar from the lockscreen; does widget locker allow this? Also, has anyone else had problems with it on ICS? Particularly, making the LED notification light go off for no reason and showing the old lockscreen for a second before appearing itself along with delayed redraws?

 

[Chopper]

Nice work man.

Well, I failed at self-restraint and ripped off the Portal theme from the blog linked above. Plus a couple of personal tweaks, to make it more versatile. Wave Launcher became my friend here. Touching the Aperture Science logo takes you to Settings. Also, discovered a nifty Simi Clock feature, that means touching the clock brings up my alarm clock settings. Nifty.

 

[Steriletom]

Nice work man.

Also, discovered a nifty Simi Clock feature, that means touching the clock brings up my alarm clock settings. Nifty.

Gold! Didn't even think to look for such functionality.

 

[Threi]

lol @ this go locker theme

you basically cut a 3d worm in half to unlock the screen.

Very....unique.

 

[SRG01]

Circle Launcher looks pretty cool. I might have to check that one out.

It's a shame how Widgetlocker is still the only way you can customize the lock screen.