Well, this is interesting. Nokia – and with that I mean the Nokia Microsoft did not buy, but which remained in Finland – has just unveiled its very own Android launcher.
At Nokia we’ve been thinking about ways to make smartphones easier to use, and there’s one problem we’ve thought about a lot; how to find stuff right when you need it. Today, people have an average of 48 apps on their phones, and that number is growing. When you add in contacts, web content, and tasks, it’s easy to see how tricky our devices have become to use.
[…]
Finding the right app or contact – your Ace of Spades – constantly changes depending on where you are, what you’re doing, and what time of day it is. We’re introducing a pre-beta version of the Z Launcher to help change this.
They’re only distributing it outside of the Play Store for now, and only to a limited set of devices, so it’ll be hard to get your hands on it – this is clearly a case of testing the waters. Very interesting to see what this will grow into, or where this came from. Is this, perhaps, the remnant of what Nokia really wanted to do with Android?
This reminds me of Winamp releasing stuff after being acquired by AOL. Renegade employees on a ticking time bomb!
“right app or contact constantly changes depending on where you are, what you’re doing, and what time of day it is.”
WTF & srsly? Do I have another device that just, ekhm, have everything where I put it?!
Read the whole paragraph before you have a heart attack, they are trying to fix that problem, not create it:
Honestly I think it looks amazing, and I wish it worked on my Photon Q or ZTE tablet. I tried it on the Q and no dice; it crashes on launch. I’m assuming it’s a screen resolution issue, as I don’t have a 720p or above screen like the supported devices. The ZTE is Honeycomb so it’s right out.
From that paragraph – “we are trying to change this” with the release of Z, hence my misunderstanding.
Alas I’m creature of habit (and love my muscle memory) need to constantly check where things are would be highly annoying… even though it looks fine ‘on paper’
Right, I’m sure it’s not for everyone. On the surface it appeals to my task-oriented vs app-oriented mindset, but I won’t say for sure until I’ve had a chance to use it. Definitely a project to follow though.
My piece of paper is far superior in almost every way. I can even discard it if needed. So what?
A Microsoft Office icon on Android? Is it, to paraphrase Ron Paul, HAPPENING?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.o…
I just installed this on my Razr HD and am pleased to see that it works, aside from a minor graphical glitch that sometimes manifests when switching between different views. I’m not sure if it’s something I would choose over the default launcher for the Razr HD, but I’ll give it a shot for a few days. It’s definitely neat, and who knows maybe it will grow on me.
Now I just have to wait for Jolla to release their launcher next.
Jolla Launcher: https://together.jolla.com/question/47655/jolla-launcher-community-a…
Many thanks for the link!
apparently it doesn’t work if you have a rooted phone, I wonder why
What is your screen resolution? I think that’s the deciding factor, rather than a rooted device, though I may be wrong.
It definitely does not support a rooted device but you can download an Xposed module that fools it into thinking you are not rooted
I never owned an Android phone (I’m getting a Moto G next week) but I had the impression that to sideload apps you had to root your phone.
Is this not the case anymore? Has it ever been?
Otherwise, how do you install this launcher?
you can side load an apk without rooting
No rooting needed, just go into your app settings (or privacy/security settings on some phones) and tell it to allow unknown sources. This will allow sideloading by either downloading the app from a website, or putting it on your SD card and navigating to it via a file browser app.
Ah, thanks, that’s exactly what I wanted to know.
Nice kitchen.
I’ve used Go Launcher EX since day one and have been very happy with it. I used to use a whole host of Go apps but some of them got too aggressive with ads and so I uninstalled them. The launcher, however; is pretty solid and has a lot of cool features.
tricked Microsoft?
Are chinese Android smartphones with software made by Nokia in the queue?
pica