Do you use a launcher app?

pmrich

Posted Dec 20, 2012 at 5:55 pm in Threads > Apps

I’m considering using a launcher. Which do you think is best?

58 Comments Join the discussion!

97 Thomas Biard 12/20/12 6:21 PM

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I use Launcher Pro. Its the the best for what I like to do and its great to standardize the interface between most all phones.

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- 95 Bpear96 12/20/12 9:13 PM
  
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  Are you running ICS or JB?
  
  Launcher pro hasn’t been updated for over a year
  
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  - 97 Thomas Biard 12/21/12 10:24 AM
    
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    I’m running GingerBread haha. Old phone.
    
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    - 50 gmaninvan 12/21/12 10:43 AM
      
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      I was going to say. Federico really bailed on everyone. I am on Nova and I am never going back.
      
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      - 97 Thomas Biard 12/21/12 11:36 AM
        
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        Nice, I’ll look into it when I switch phones…in another year (at this rate)
      - 71 Anthony E 12/21/12 12:38 PM
        
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        I wouldn’t really call it bailing. People paid once, and he supported the app for a long time. How long was he really expected to support the app? It’s not like the app suddenly stopped working for the platforms it was designed for.
        
        To answer the question in the OP, I don’t use any launcher app. I’ve always just used stock. I’ve toyed with a few alternative launchers in my day, but none of them were good enough for me. They always had worse performance than stock, and extra features they added were novelty items at best.
      - 50 gmaninvan 12/28/12 3:56 AM
        
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        @Anthony E. When I said he bailed it wasn’t because he stopped supporting it, it was because he promised a rewrite that he never delivered. For the longest time he would continually post that he was rewriting the app from scratch to make it faster and much better.
        
        Then, he just went silent, and nobody heard about the rewrite ever again.
      - JasonGuest 05/12/13 12:02 AM
        
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        @Anthony E
        
        So gmaninvan was 100% correct. Nice try, though.
63 sonicdeathmunky 12/20/12 6:31 PM

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I use Nova Launcher, not for any reason other than I think (I could be wrong) it was the first to be fully compatible with ICS. I regularly modify and customise my homescreen, and so far it has done everything I’ve wanted to do!

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- 97 kazahani 12/20/12 9:13 PM
  
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  I also use Nova. I like it because it runs buttery-smooth on Jellybean and because it doesn’t eat up too many system resources.
  
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  - 80 heynomi4u 12/21/12 12:38 AM
    
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    Plus one to your comment, coz you said everything I wanted to say!
    
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  - 78 kelltrash14 12/21/12 10:37 AM
    
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    2nd that. .. nova is great if you want close to stock but better
    
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  - 61 spidremann 12/23/12 9:54 AM
    
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    Nova launcher all the way. It’s smooth as silk!
    
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    - 12 Balaram Vineeth Venugopal .P 12/23/12 1:52 PM
      
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      I have some problems with it as it doesn’t display the few pages if my widgets so I cant use them. I also recommend ADW launcher if love to tweak.
      
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      - 72 w5t1h7 12/24/12 6:01 PM
        
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        i never liked nova i dont know why :/ im an apex launcher guy, and adw launcher on my tablet! its smoother than both of them for me! adw is for those who love messing with stuff!
- 50 gmaninvan 12/28/12 3:57 AM
  
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  It wasnt that it was first to be compatible, it was that it was based off of the code for the stock ICS launcher so it naturally ran smoother than all current alternatives with the exception of Apex, which is on par.
  
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40 KingCrow02 12/20/12 9:52 PM

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Go Launcher

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85 lou2cool88 12/20/12 11:01 PM

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Gosh, I think I’ve used every launcher app I could find aside from the incredibly expensive 3D launchers. Back when I had a phone with Gingerbread, I used ADW. I was never a huge fan of Go Launcher. It was really customizable but I didn’t like it’s look and feel overall.

Now that I have Jelly Bean, I’ve used both Nova and Apex. I’ve stuck with Nova because I think it runs better and smoother but it’s a tough call! I theme and customize a lot so I always use a launcher.

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32 bear831 12/20/12 11:05 PM

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I’m a fan of the Nova launcher but when I run CyanogenMod I prefer to stick with their trebuchet launcher. I recommend download a few of the free launchers mentioned here and giving them each a test run for a few days.

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47 Brandon Thomas 12/20/12 11:08 PM

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Once I updated to my thrive to rooted ice cream sandwich I switched to Apex launcher. Except for one bad update I have loved it so far. I tried a few other launchers before including launcher ex but this is my favorite so far.

Very easy to customize and it keeps getting better with each update.

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73 Fiasko 12/21/12 12:44 AM

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Add me to the list of Nova users. It just feels so smooth even if it doesn’t offer the most customization.

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- 49 scottryan78 12/21/12 12:25 PM
  
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  I’m on the Nova train too – bought it when it was on sale the last time. It’s quick and since I’m not huge into customizing, it works great for what I need it to do.
  
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77 pol biswas 12/21/12 5:47 AM

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I have tried several launchers from android market but not satisfied .presently using nova launcher which is smooth not taking that much phone resources.

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91 dino13 12/21/12 10:16 AM

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I’m currently not using a launcher, just using the standard LG optimisation of ICS. But it’s not like that I miss something. Don’t have a need to customise every last bit of the launcher.

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50 gmaninvan 12/21/12 10:44 AM

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I am on Nova and I am really happy with it but I heard that ADW just made a big come back and I am interested to try it out.

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71 herbivore83 12/21/12 11:25 AM

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I used Nova for a long time on my G2X and my Galaxy Nexus, but since I got the Nexus4 I haven’t reinstalled it yet. I haven’t even rooted or modded my phone at all yet. I like a phone that comes stock that works amazing and I haven’t had one of those since the G1. Surely I’ll get bored soon and throw some roms on there, but for now it’s buttery Jelly Bean goodness for me.

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96 uknowme 12/21/12 12:31 PM

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Before Jelly Bean I loved Zeam. Real small file, like 700k or something. Has plenty of options and its free.

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49 wickedme 12/21/12 1:50 PM

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I’ve used them all, even the newest ones out and some that aren’t on Google play. For not only the customization ( I gotta have my eye-candy) but also functional, I have chose to stay with Apex. Adw has came back in a lot of ways, but it needs more, and Nova, is just to plain for an eye-candy junky like me…… hehe

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64 Scottm 12/21/12 2:13 PM

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Tell ya what – I USED to run LauncherPro (the paid version) on my Sammy Fascinate. But then I got a Moto Droid Razr MAXX (on ICS) and didn’t really feel the need to go back to LP. The native launcher seems to work very quick (one of my main reasons for going with a different launcher on my last phone), has 5 screens which for me is enough, and just plain works (your results may vary).

I’m not really into modding, i just want a launcher that does what it should, works quickly, doesn’t lock up, and doesn’t bloat my phone any more than the big red check-mark already does.

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35 ibap 12/21/12 3:10 PM

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I use LauncherPro. I like being able to resize widgets, and using various widgets I can create a dashboard that displays the information I want to see when I look at the screen. There were some cool apps for that back in the early Windows phone days, and I’m still looking for the same utility. I’m not talking social sites, I’m talking calendar, SMS, and varied state information (wifi, data, battery) for the phone.

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10 GreenGriffin 12/21/12 3:15 PM

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Used to use ADW when I had a Galaxy S, but since going to nexus phones have just used the standard launcher and been really happy with it.

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85 thymeless 12/21/12 3:19 PM

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I haven’t tried any of them yet. I’m more tempted to try one on my phone than on my tablet of late though. Have to look at some of these on Google play and read some reviews.

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- Elleneaan KordeGuest 03/11/13 7:34 PM
  
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  I’m not sure if Nova is the best though, I’ve tried it for a few months on my HTC one X and it lags alot.. wierd. I think that Atom launcher is pretty well done, with the fancy icons, selections of themes.. etc it’s smooth and easy to use. I do recommend that. And GO LAUNCHER.. it looks great, but people found out that the company has been using some sort of hack to break into the user’s personal information. Not a good idea.
  
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  - Megan ShizabelleGuest 03/11/13 7:35 PM
    
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    DA FUCK. NOVA LAUNCHER ALL THE WAY. IDIOT.
    
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    - Darren SaysonGuest 03/11/13 7:37 PM
      
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      I’m not sure if Nova is the best though, I’ve tried it for a few months on my HTC one X and it lags alot.. wierd. I think that Atom launcher is pretty well done, with the fancy icons, selections of themes.. etc it’s smooth and easy to use. I do recommend that. And GO LAUNCHER.. it looks great, but people found out that the company has been using some sort of hack to break into the user’s personal information. Not a good idea. Oh and, I’m using Apex Launcher since I got bored of Atom Launcher, it’s funn but it gets lame. Yet Apex Launcher runs EXTREMELY smooth, gives you billions of options for transitions and a handful of themes to customize your icons. A total recommendation check them out.
      
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11 pliu.2014 12/22/12 3:04 PM

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No because i found to be at times clunky. It would slow down my HTC vivid and sometimes crash.

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87 Charlong666 12/22/12 10:15 PM

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I’m running Nova Prime on my Galaxy Nexus, and the stock launcher on my Nexus 7. GNex is on the latest build of the cataclysm ROM, and N7 is stock.

Over my 3 years with Android (Has it really been that long? Wow.) I’ve used the stock Sense Launcher for Sense v1 and v2, the stock launcher for Android 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.0, and 4.1, and GO Launcher, ADW, Launcher Pro. I’ve also used a few of the less conventional launchers which I can’t remember the names to.

All in all Nova Prime is by far my favourite; almost stock with a few tweaks that make it mine.

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85 lou2cool88 12/23/12 12:13 AM

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I like the fact that Nova and Apex can be as stock as you want it or you can expand the rows and columns or add new icons. Launcher apps are the epitome of what makes Android special to me. So many options to customize your phone exactly as you want it.

To see some of the crazy homescreens, you all should check out http://www.mycolorscreen.com

It has countless homescreens and people who post there usually tag the apps they used to make the screens look that way.

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88 sandy105 12/23/12 1:50 AM

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nova prime on my phone with all custom icon set and handy gestures .
and stock launcher on nexus 7.

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98 jamal adam 12/23/12 4:43 AM

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I’ve recently tried go launcher ex, adw, apex, and nova. Out of all 4, I really like nova but it’s a hard decision because I also think that apex launcher is also great. I currently using nova but I’ve been going back and forth between apex, adw, and nova. I really like the interface of adw launcher but it seems to be a bit slow. Nova just seems faster and it’s really noticeable on my nexus 7, which is why it’s my top choice at the moment instead of adw or apex.

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82 Laurel laurel25 12/23/12 9:14 AM

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I use Go Launcher, but on ICS it seems a bit laggy and I’m considering trying something elsem

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87 TheVoodoo 12/23/12 10:44 AM

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Trebuchet, which is the stock one on CyanogenMod.

However, on any other ROM, I’ve used ADW and Nova.

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82 digvijaya07 12/23/12 11:10 AM

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Apex & Nova are best ..!! :))

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76 LadyDi 12/23/12 2:07 PM

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ADW EX paid version. LOVE IT!!

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30 TheChez99 12/24/12 11:27 AM

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Go Launcher Ex but the GetJar Themes are getting annoying

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18 Broseph Stalin 12/24/12 4:04 PM

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Nova. Ever since the 2.0 betas, it’s been incredibly smooth (equally, if not smoother than stock 4.1/4.2). There’s a lot of customization options, and I absolutely love the option to change your app opening animation, something I haven’t seen with any other launchers.

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61 Daniel Hakimi 12/24/12 4:47 PM

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Nova.

Gee, this was a fun thread. Congrats on your imaginary internet points.

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78 Oscar Ortega 12/24/12 5:19 PM

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go launcher but if i wanna change it ill switch to ADW EX

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63 sonicdeathmunky 12/24/12 9:32 PM

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Nova Launcher on ICS Galaxy S2.
Apex Launcher on JB Nexus 7 (until recently it had higher number of columns/rows)
Both do pretty much the same things, and offer enough customisation for my needs.

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0 1kyle01 12/26/12 12:58 PM

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JellynBean stock launcher is still my fave after trying many launchers…if I had to use a alternative launcher it would be Go Launcher, I have used their stuff in the past and I’m in love with their work!

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70 Ezy03 12/27/12 12:57 AM

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Novaa

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64 scaarg 12/28/12 4:05 AM

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I use Holo Launcher HD Plus in my Razr Maxx with ICS 4.0.4 just because I like to have an extra tab for games and because it’s updated. Also I like the grade of customization it allows.

And for my Nexus 7 3G I use Nova Launcher Prime because I felt that the Holo Launcher HD Plus (that simulates JB) fell short on a device running Jelly Bean. I dont know, it just felt like it. So Nova feels great and I haven’t had any issue.

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61 Puzzled by Choice 12/28/12 8:33 AM

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I use Nova when I want to customize my phone beyond stock, but I normally return to stock (ICS but awaiting JB-Droid Razr Update Tease Anyone?). One of the reasons I normally return to stock is battery life seems to be affected just slightly with a launcher running. Also, it’s barely noticeable, but stock is smoother to me.

But as soon as I see a cool wallpaper or icon pack… I stomp around in Nova for a few weeks to show off the customization. You device can look and function very differently from other devices with these launchers.

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4 aby2aby 12/28/12 11:44 AM

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Depends on your current ROM.
Nova Launcher is very good.
ADW launcher recently updated based on New UI guidlines

You can even try out the cool Sony Launcher for all ROMs at xda.

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Darren SaysonGuest 03/11/13 7:37 PM

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I’m not sure if Nova is the best though, I’ve tried it for a few months on my HTC one X and it lags alot.. wierd. I think that Atom launcher is pretty well done, with the fancy icons, selections of themes.. etc it’s smooth and easy to use. I do recommend that. And GO LAUNCHER.. it looks great, but people found out that the company has been using some sort of hack to break into the user’s personal information. Not a good idea. Oh and, I’m using Apex Launcher since I got bored of Atom Launcher, it’s funn but it gets lame. Yet Apex Launcher runs EXTREMELY smooth, gives you billions of options for transitions and a handful of themes to customize your icons. A total recommendation check them out.

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- Graeme BGuest 03/11/13 7:39 PM
  
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  Uhh, those are pretty good suggestions.. but MI Home is really good to. The themes are really cool but you can’t do much with the widgets and the homescreen
  
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  - Darren SaysonGuest 03/11/13 7:41 PM
    
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    Eww. tried tht for a few months on my Htc One S..failed miserably. Crashed when started and chewed up my data and storage at inexpiable prices and speed.
    
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MiUI LOVA(cocaxOxOlovaa)Guest 03/11/13 7:43 PM

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WHAT THE HELL. MIUI FTW AND OTHER LAUNCHERS STFU. fUcKALLYOURLIVES. IF YOU HATE MIUI GET THE HELL OUTA HERE.

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