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Themer
- Thread starter Cnasty
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Been tinkering around with it (ahem, THANKS!). Here are my impressions:
So it's a launcher! Which makes perfect sense. You can play around and freely go back to your original launcher or Nova or whatever. Very nice.
This thing is quite impressive. In one click, your entire phone changes. And many of the themes are downright gorgeous.
As with anything that automates things for you, you have to strangely "learn" how to use your new set up. That can be a little daunting given the large variety of themes.
What's more is you can still customize within that theme -- that's really impressive.
You know what else is cool, too? You can slide down from anywhere on the home screen to bring down the status bar (not the actual notification pull down; I mean the actual status bar). Conversely, you can swipe up to tuck it away, giving you a super clean look.
Here's my favorite one that I'm considering and tinkering with (notice the battery widget in the lower right hand corner of the main home page? That can be moved and resized)...
Much of it is configurable... (though you can tell some of this stuff is still in Beta form. It's a a bit of a learning curve just to configure within the one-click theme itself):
I guess the idea here is, you can do a one-click theme and be happy with it, or if the tinkerer in you wants to customize further, you can. It's like customizing the customized.
Some others that I really like:
Google Now theme, if you love cards that much:
Some of these get really unique:
(<-- Really study this one. Pretty cool).
Page 2 & 3:
Again, configurable if you dare to dive into it:
Final thoughts:
I really dig the app and idea. It goes to show, customizing doesn't have to be difficult. In fact, it's really simple -- just browse, preview, and if you like, click Apply:
And by giving users the options to further customize if they so wish, you also appease the more hardcore customizers out there. Everybody wins with choice. There's definitely room to grow as you can tell there are hints of beta-ness here and there. And just as a launcher itself, I'd love to see it reach the level of stability and smoothness that is Nova launcher -- it's actually pretty stable and smooth. I just noticed a few hiccups here and there (for example, it doesn't seem to play well with Swipe Home). This is still technically in beta form, so there's plenty of room to grow.
TL;DR: Great start to an app that can really grow into something special. One-click theme really works, and you can further customize it from there, too, but only if you so wish.
So it's a launcher! Which makes perfect sense. You can play around and freely go back to your original launcher or Nova or whatever. Very nice.
This thing is quite impressive. In one click, your entire phone changes. And many of the themes are downright gorgeous.
As with anything that automates things for you, you have to strangely "learn" how to use your new set up. That can be a little daunting given the large variety of themes.
What's more is you can still customize within that theme -- that's really impressive.
You know what else is cool, too? You can slide down from anywhere on the home screen to bring down the status bar (not the actual notification pull down; I mean the actual status bar). Conversely, you can swipe up to tuck it away, giving you a super clean look.
Here's my favorite one that I'm considering and tinkering with (notice the battery widget in the lower right hand corner of the main home page? That can be moved and resized)...
Much of it is configurable... (though you can tell some of this stuff is still in Beta form. It's a a bit of a learning curve just to configure within the one-click theme itself):
I guess the idea here is, you can do a one-click theme and be happy with it, or if the tinkerer in you wants to customize further, you can. It's like customizing the customized.
Some others that I really like:
Google Now theme, if you love cards that much:
Some of these get really unique:
Page 2 & 3:
Again, configurable if you dare to dive into it:
Final thoughts:
I really dig the app and idea. It goes to show, customizing doesn't have to be difficult. In fact, it's really simple -- just browse, preview, and if you like, click Apply:
And by giving users the options to further customize if they so wish, you also appease the more hardcore customizers out there. Everybody wins with choice. There's definitely room to grow as you can tell there are hints of beta-ness here and there. And just as a launcher itself, I'd love to see it reach the level of stability and smoothness that is Nova launcher -- it's actually pretty stable and smooth. I just noticed a few hiccups here and there (for example, it doesn't seem to play well with Swipe Home). This is still technically in beta form, so there's plenty of room to grow.
TL;DR: Great start to an app that can really grow into something special. One-click theme really works, and you can further customize it from there, too, but only if you so wish.
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Things like this don't really do it for me. You have a pretty little home screen but as soon as you click on a button you're back to whatever ugly skin your phone relayed over it or stock Android. I would rather have everything having a consistent look rather than different elements scattered all over the place.
The simple solution to this is for Google to just make a better looking OS
The simple solution to this is for Google to just make a better looking OS
You missed the memo. Google isn't about robotic conformity. They just use the font.
I don't think he's telling
Good write up couch, you always know how to express yourself so thoroughly. I agree with pretty much everything, as well as the beta-ness feel to it. Unfortunately for me, it crashed again today and I need my phone for work so I think I'll hold off on the snazzy theming until it gets a little bit more polish behind it. This is still a ringing endorsement from me.
- One of my iPhone toting co-workers noticed my screens and was literally amazed Android had such capabilities. Took me forever to pry my phone out of his clammy hands.
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I can somewhat agree with this. I like all around uniformity too, which is probably why I've always been a fan of Sense.
Sounds like MIUI would be something right up your alley.
Using a launcher doesn't replace Touchwiz, it's essentially running on top of it. You still have the Touchwiz notification tray, still have the Touchwiz apps. Still have the Touchwiz status bar etc.
A PM would work
He must have prayed to the gods and the heavens obliged....
_-_
Re : themer
Must say for a beta its pretty solid, though maybe some can answer me this. How do I set the location for weather widget in the themes ? For the life of me I can't find where to modify it.
If you have used a widget creator like Zooper, it is similar. You have 'hot zones' located throughout the screen and each one links to a specific app. In your case, it looks like they may be using The Weather Channel app. So, you would download whatever app is being used and make changes within the app itself. That will update your theme page.
I am using the "Flourescent" theme and that is how I updated my weather.
Yep, got it a few hours ago.
One thing some people will need to know about this launcher is that you will not see any themes if you are not using a screen size that fits within their parameters. So, if you have a custom ROM and decided to change the pixel height of the Nav bar, you have to change it back to stock (44 pixels, I think). If you ROM creates an awkward pixel density of say something like 1136x748, you can't use the ROM, if you want to use their launcher. (Or be able to change the pixel density within the ROM).
Yep familiar with Zooper
And I have tried weather channel, accu weather, yahoo weather and my widget temp is still wrong and not updating. Strange..
Couch,those are some beautiful screens!
I am using buzz launcher right now and it is pretty cool and easy but this looks better and more refined.
Does anyone know if these type of launchers and themes slow down or create lag on the phone?
Buzz seems to slow it down a little more but may be in my head looking for it.
I am using buzz launcher right now and it is pretty cool and easy but this looks better and more refined.
Does anyone know if these type of launchers and themes slow down or create lag on the phone?
Buzz seems to slow it down a little more but may be in my head looking for it.
So far, the launcher is responsive; no slowing down. There are bugs here and there, but it's overall responsive.
It has room to grow, for sure, but a promising and fun start.
If anyone still needs a code, MSTRCD is good for 40,000 redemptions...better use it quick. Worked great for me.
I gave Themer a try this evening. I found that it was not very useful to me. My impression is that it is more form than function. The home screens seem very static. You have to have those exact apps and functions and want to have them in those exact places. They look cool, but I find that my existing home screen configuration with Nova Prime Launcher is just way more functional. I want to do more with my phone than just look at the home screen. I need to actually use it to do the things that I do most often.
I think that Themer would be good for people who just wants a menu of configurations to choose from instead of choosing exactly where to put each icon or widget. There are themes that have a combination of certain widgets and icons that people may use. It would certainly be easier and less time consuming than searching through the Play Store for each widget.
I think that Themer would be good for people who just wants a menu of configurations to choose from instead of choosing exactly where to put each icon or widget. There are themes that have a combination of certain widgets and icons that people may use. It would certainly be easier and less time consuming than searching through the Play Store for each widget.
Everything on the homescreens, for most of the themes I've tried, are actually quite customizable...are you sure you've dug deep enough into Themer?
Yeah I got my beta code yesterday and tried it out, it's cute but after a few minutes I got bored and went back to Sense. It was actually more customizable than I thought it would be, but it still feels like a pain in the ass to get my screens the way I want them to be.