WHy I think Dxtop is the best home app.

Pinesal

Senior Member
Jan 28, 2009
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I'm writing this because I see a lot of people using Home++ or GDE and I admit I have them installed too, even purchased GDE but I find myself always going back to Dxtop. But it seems hardly anyone uses it I think I know why.

Most of the options and cool things the app does are not obvious. I will attempt to explain it's unique features and why I think it's the best.

Ok the first thing you notice when you start it, is the two tab interface, one tab is your "regular" apps tab, the other is a tab of currently open and recently used apps. I find the most useful thing about the second tab is when you try out a newly installed app for the first time, you like it and you want to put the icon on the desktop somewhere. Instead of searching through all your apps to find it, it will be at the top of the recently used apps tap.

A complaint dxtop gets alot is the dual tab system. People just don't like seeing two tabs for some reason. Well you can hide the tabs by sliding them to the left or right, a bonus is this reveals dxtop's app dock. In the place where your tabs used to be, you now have space to put your favorite 5 apps or if you have any 1x1 widgets, they can go into the dock to. You can customize the dock's color and transparency. With the tabs gone you can access them by long pressing the menu key for apps tab and back key for open and recent tab.

The "regular" tab is more than meets the eye as well, when you open the apps tab and press menu, you get some extra sorting option for the tab. You can sort alphabetically, by size, by last installed or by category that you set yourself.

When you long press and icon in the tab and drop it without moving it, a context menu will pop up asking you if you want to change the category with other options to uninstall, locate on market and view app info. This context menu can also be used with icons on the desktop giving you the option to rename the shortcut, change the icon as well as the uninstall and info options.

Sadly, dxtop only has 4 screens. They are laid out in a unique diamond shape. It is laid out like this so that all screens are only one swipe away no matter which screen you are one. A swipe left always takes you to the left screen, a swipe up always takes you to the top screen etc.

Dxtop supports themes and can use themes designed other for dxtop, ahome or open home, giving you lots of options.

My favorite features are the category sorting in the app drawer and the app dock which is persistent on all screens.

I hope this will at least encourage people to try dxtop.

Oh and I don't work for them, I'm just a fan.
 
Last edited:
Jan 16, 2009
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Kansas City
Been using it since day 1. Love this thing. The unique diamond 4 screens is what i love the most. It's like a default feature I need in every phone from now on. One swipe to any screen is the feature that puts this home screen on another level.
 

MontAlbert

Senior Member
Jan 10, 2007
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why I think dxtop now sucks arse...

I used to use dxtop exclusively and recommend ed it to everyone. But since access one have bought out master Baron it has added useless features slowing it down. The lock screen etc. I do not want my android phones to look like an iPhone .

I too have used it since day 1 but the last straw for me was when access one first didn't update the theme template to match the new features and then they pulled the template totally! Supposedly so that no third party themes could compete with their paid themes. As a maker of several free themes for dxtop I think this is so wrong. I now boycott dxtop and recommend gde to all. Gde is better than dxtop in many areas and will eventually have as mant features.
Gde is faster with less lag too.

Corporate greed. Fight the power and all that.
 

Freedomcaller

Senior Member
Jan 24, 2009
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i used it religously untill last week when i discovered that games like i dracula runn full speed on my g1 if i disable it. maybe i shuold just turn off persistant mode, but for the time being im not using it, and enjoying games like i-dracula and raging thunder....
 

2leaponover1

Senior Member
May 18, 2009
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I hate all the home screen replacements. They are damn slow compared to the default. Everyone i've used sucks ass. I haven't tried GDE and i hear people talking about lag from that one too. A home replacement should have NO LAG whatsoever and if it does it's just another app, not a homescreen replacement.
 

Icebergxx

Senior Member
Mar 16, 2009
307
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I hate all the home screen replacements. They are damn slow compared to the default. Everyone i've used sucks ass. I haven't tried GDE and i hear people talking about lag from that one too. A home replacement should have NO LAG whatsoever and if it does it's just another app, not a homescreen replacement.
I saw someone make a similar comment in the market and I was rude to them, so let me be nice to you.
I think you don't know to CLEAR THE STANDARD ANDROID HOME DESKTOP OF ALL IT'S APPLICATIONS AND WIDGETS WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A NEW HOME REPLACEMENT.

If you don't your phone will be running the standard desktop AND! the one you're trying out so of course it runs slow.

However when I did try the demo for Dxtop it force closed like a mug and ran slow and I gave it every inch it could possibly need to work, just didn't want to.
I liked the fact it could force your screen in landscape, that's a feature I definitely miss from my Tmo Wing.
But as soon as you open an app it goes back to portrait which makes me wish there was a root feature that could enable forced portrait when applications have the code to work in portrait.
 

2leaponover1

Senior Member
May 18, 2009
405
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I saw someone make a similar comment in the market and I was rude to them, so let me be nice to you.
I think you don't know to CLEAR THE STANDARD ANDROID HOME DESKTOP OF ALL IT'S APPLICATIONS AND WIDGETS WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A NEW HOME REPLACEMENT.

If you don't your phone will be running the standard desktop AND! the one you're trying out so of course it runs slow.

However when I did try the demo for Dxtop it force closed like a mug and ran slow and I gave it every inch it could possibly need to work, just didn't want to.
I liked the fact it could force your screen in landscape, that's a feature I definitely miss from my Tmo Wing.
But as soon as you open an app it goes back to portrait which makes me wish there was a root feature that could enable forced portrait when applications have the code to work in portrait.
Never considered doing that. I'll give them another try following that advice. Thanks for being nice about it. So which one do you reccommend?
 

shmigao

Senior Member
Sep 3, 2009
1,388
83
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home++ doesn't lag for me and it has some really great new features (incl. a flip clock widget that actually flips!)

but i agree, a "real" home replacement would be better than any app that emulates a second home
 

Icebergxx

Senior Member
Mar 16, 2009
307
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Never considered doing that. I'll give them another try following that advice. Thanks for being nice about it. So which one do you reccommend?
Welcome. I like Sweeter Home, but it's not up to date, or anything and I don't use it anymore, especially since the next update is like 5 months over due.
Currently running Home ++
I was on a 1.5 and heard how some apps will only be in the market for 1.6 and I caught Home++ on the first day it was released tried it liked it. And it was my reason to go to a 1.6 build.

I'd suggest Home++ even though I think I read you might not of liked it, I personally don't like GDE though.

Lol I've tried all the Hr's
 

NguyenHuu

Senior Member
Nov 14, 2007
1,729
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California
curious, you say if u remove the tabs you will have extra space to put up to 5 apps in the dock. does this mean it can run a 4x4 widget plus that extra space for apps, effectively making it 4x4 + 4x1 ? so i can run a full screen widget plus an extra line of apps
 

2leaponover1

Senior Member
May 18, 2009
405
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curious, you say if u remove the tabs you will have extra space to put up to 5 apps in the dock. does this mean it can run a 4x4 widget plus that extra space for apps, effectively making it 4x4 + 4x1 ? so i can run a full screen widget plus an extra line of apps
Answer is yes. I have a 4x4 picture frame widget as my top screen with the 5 apps dock underneath it. works great. I'm gonna try home ++ next. Following iceberg's advice the homescreens are running very smoothly. Glad he said something. Can't find much info on home++? What makes it so inviting?
 

Icebergxx

Senior Member
Mar 16, 2009
307
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Answer is yes. I have a 4x4 picture frame widget as my top screen with the 5 apps dock underneath it. works great. I'm gonna try home ++ next. Following iceberg's advice the homescreens are running very smoothly. Glad he said something. Can't find much info on home++? What makes it so inviting?


Lol there honestly isn't anything that special about it, I can see the way you like Dxtop and I think you'll think Home++ is the same as GDE which is understandable.
It's just a looping home screen with a Mac doc type thing at the bottom.

Obviously that's my home screen, have the notification bar hid which doesn't add any additional space to the screen
And the dock at the bottom can be configured but not so much personalaized, also if I were to move it over you'd see some status bar info like time battery connection etc.
 

rivera618

Senior Member
May 25, 2009
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I think you don't know to CLEAR THE STANDARD ANDROID HOME DESKTOP OF ALL IT'S APPLICATIONS AND WIDGETS WHEN REPLACING IT WITH A NEW HOME REPLACEMENT.

If you don't your phone will be running the standard desktop AND! the one you're trying out so of course it runs slow.
I dont think this is technically correct. When i put a widget or shortcut of dxtop, it also puts it on the home app and vice versa. I cant clear either one completely so there is always some doubling of shortcuts and widgets. Only the top and bottom screens of dxtop can be cleared as they dont line up or "sync" with the home app screens.
 

Icebergxx

Senior Member
Mar 16, 2009
307
2
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I dont think this is technically correct. When i put a widget or shortcut of dxtop, it also puts it on the home app and vice versa. I cant clear either one completely so there is always some doubling of shortcuts and widgets. Only the top and bottom screens of dxtop can be cleared as they dont line up or "sync" with the home app screens.
I haven't given Dxtop much attention but whenever I used a HR to try it out and i look at my task killer it shows the other widgets running that I don't have set up on the new HR.