New app: aLauncher, application launcher & more

[Puppetmaster]

aLauncher is now available in version 2, with lots more features and radical speed improvement over version 1!

aLauncher is a launcher widget for applications, contacts, bookmarks and playlists.

I came with the idea of this application when I realized, after using my phone for a while, that I was out of space on my home and that my Application Tab was a real mess. I then decided to create a Widget that would allow to sort conveniently my stuff without losing time to find and launch an application from an overcrowded list.

Also, I wanted to be able to gather in the same place applications, contacts, bookmarks and playlists that belong to the same "realm" (my often used applications and contacts for work in one place, my favorite games and music in another...).

aLauncher addresses this with :
- a large Widget that displays 4 icons in a row on the home screen, each one giving access to a fully customizable launcher (default to: Phone & office, Internet & Navigation, Games and Others)(fee first screenshot below)
- a one icon sized Widget, you can add several and configure which Launcher is displayed
- an application shortcut, as an alternative to 1x1 Widget
- a status bar notification that brings any chosen Launcher (see status bar in third screen)

On installation, 4 Launchers are available. In settings, you can activate more Launchers.

Each Launchers comes as a screen with 1 to 3 tabs (default 3, customizable). Each tab has 16 free spots where you can freely add application shortcuts, contacts, bookmarks or playlists and move them around (so to say, a Launcher has the look'n'feel of the application tab, but behaves like the home screen).

You can customize each Launcher and all shortcuts: icon and label for Widget, tabs and items within tabs.
There is an embedded icon pack with many system icons and all icons of previously added shortcuts.

aLauncher is compatible with Better Android icon packs: it is possible to customize items with the icon packs from Better Android.
And as a bonus, the embedded icon pack is made available to other applications that user Better Android packs.

Other major feature is Live tabs. Tabs hold the shortcuts you add to them, until you define them as live tabs.
One kind of live tab is dynamic folders: they are alike the live folders (contacts, bokmarks), but with more choices and sort options.
Other kind of live tabs is favorites tabs: they sort the last used / most used shortcuts from the other tabs.


To avoid manual setup, it is possible to chose a tab where newly installed applications will be auto-added.
Shortcuts are deleted when uninstalling the target.

List of features:
- fully customizable, versatile: 4 + Launchers with 1 to 3 tabs / 2 widgets and a shortcut
- can be called from notification status bar
- all icons and labels can be customized
- standard tabs hold manually added shortcuts
- live tabs dynamically refresh content based on settings (live folder or favorite shortcuts)
- compatible with Better Android icon packs (2-way: uses packs and provides a pack)
- auto-add/auto-remove newly (un)installed apps

- fully localized to: English, French, Chinese (traditional and simplified)
- partially translated to German
- search box in "Hero style" (click search button in a tab)
- supports gestures: tilt phone / swipe finger to navigate through tabs.
- options to sort, switch, or empty tabs
- backup/restore to SDcard
- extensive help system and pop-up messages (that you can disable)
- send crash reports by email

Here are a few screenshots: widget on home, opened launcher and dialog for adding an application :



2 versions are available on the Market for Cupcake, Donut and Eclair:

• aLauncher Free is free but the number of manually added shortcuts is limited to 12 of each kind (no limit for live tabs)

• aLauncher is full and comes for 1.39€

For people who can't buy in the paid Market, you can get aLauncher Free and register it with Paypal (look in 'Menu'). You will then get a key that will remove the limit and make it behave like the paid application. The price options for Paypal are US$1.99, £1.19 and 1.39€.

I'm waiting for your comments and suggestions!

[*susan*]

Awesome, we love it when developers share their apps with us, thank you so much. Did you submit it to our "Android Apps" section?

[TheJuan]

sussan! hii

yes we love devs in here. we are a huge amount of android users/potential buyers

this is like free advertising, and at the same time were helped by having stuff here/reviewed here and so on

keep em coming devs

[Puppetmaster]

@susan

Thank you very much Actually, you're right, I should have posted this in the "Android Apps Discussions" instead of here

@TheJuan
Indeed, I'm looking forward to user comments and reviews, especially for hunting bugs or getting ideas for new features!

[alebarney]

Hi,
I can't change the icon and the name of the "games" tab, is it a bug?

Thanks

[Puppetmaster]

Indeed, this is a bug that must have appeared in the latest release of aLauncher Free...
The workaround is simply to delete the widget from the Home and add it again.

Tell me if you have any problems

[ggrant3876]

Awesome, we love it when developers share their apps with us, thank you so much. Did you submit it to our "Android Apps" section?

I think the android apps section is MIA since the web site upgrade.