Holo Launcher Beta 2 – The ICS-Like Launcher for Android
Holo Launcher brings in the Ice Cream Sandwich-like feel on non-ICS devices. It is compatible on devices running Android 2.2+ (Gingerbread) and is currently in the beta stages. Yesterday the developer of Holo Launcher released an update which has brought in significant improvements in the app.
The highlight of Holo Launcher Beta 2 is the Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich like UI. The icon sets are replaced and ICS icons are put in place. Transition effects like the Card stack can be activated from the Launcher settings which makes the screen sliding smoother.
Although the app promises to revamp the whole screen, it actually does not do so (or maybe it cannot). Yesterday evening I decided to give a try to this app although I’m not a big fan of custom launchers.
The installation went normally & the UI did change. But some of the icons, the notification bar, etc didn’t change at all. The default styling was retained and only the home screen & app list screen was changed.
Highlights of Holo Launcher
- Infinite Scrolling.
- Custom dock settings.
- Screen Previews (pinch to view).
- Hide icon labels.
- Show/Hide the status & notifications bar.
- Home Screen action.
The Lowlights
- Not all icons are replaced.
- The notifications/status bar doesn’t change.
- Widget styling is still the same.
So if you are expecting too much out of this app then let me warn you, just don’t. Holo launcher Beta 2, like many other launchers in the Play Store will not completely change the native UI & turn it into the ICS style.
As you can see from the images, some of the icons are ICS styled whereas the rest of them aren’t. Also, the widgets’ styling isn’t changed as well.
Anyway, we should be appreciative of the developer as a lot of hard-work must have gone through in making this app. So give it a try, if you like it keep it else deleting is always an open option.
You can download Holo Launcher Beta 2 app from the download link placed right below this paragraph. It is available as an .apk file for the moment & not on the Play Store.
So did you like Holo Launcher Beta 2 or still looking for a better alternative for Ice Cream Sandwich like UI ?
Installing the CM9 zip from the boot menu (like most other ROMs) should work wiuthot any problems.The last version is rather old (12-23), but there is one version that is newer (I didn’t test that one and don’t know what it brings). This build (from 01-02) can be downloaded here: multiupload. com/RWRB4HX0XU . But keep in mind: CM9/ICS is definitely not final. The builds work pretty ok and you could use them everyday but they have bugs amd can nkt even be called stable.