11
May
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Nova Launcher Updated To Version 2.1: New Apps Menu, Better Icon And Wallpaper Selection, And More Theme Options

Posted by in Applications, News

TeslaCoil Software's Nova Launcher has become one of the most popular custom launchers for Android power users since shortly after the arrival of Ice Cream Sandwich, and part of the reason is the constant addition of new features. The latest revision (2.1) adds a whole lot of goodies, especially if you like to play around with the look and feel of your icons and themes. The release adds features both for free users and those who've bought the $4 Nova Launcher Prime. The app is still compatible with devices running Android 4.0 or higher.

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The first thing you'll notice is the new entry in the Settings menu, New Apps.

07
May
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Running Native Android Apps On Google Glass: INGRESS! (And Other Stuff) [Video]

Posted by in Glass, Google, News

Let's have some fun.

We always kind-of expect Glass to be Android based, but I was surprised to find just how Android based it was when I did a teardown of a Glass system dump. "Android based" is selling things a little short, Glass is Android, with just a few APKs piled on top. It reminds me a lot of Facebook home.

So, while I am still plugging away at my full review, I decided to take a bit of a break and see what happens when you try and run real Android apps on Glass.

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It's actually pretty easy.

25
Jan
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Check Out These Super-Clean Nexus 7 Custom Car Mounts [Updated]

Posted by in ASUS, News, Nexus 7

Stop holding your Nexus 7 in your hands like a chump and check this out. These industrious modders have built and installed complete Nexus 7 mounting systems in a Subaru STi and Toyota Celica. The Toyota owner even created a launcher skin to go with the mod. The skin, of course, is based on Knight Rider (seen below).

Celica Mod

The modder with the Toyota used Nova Launcher, UCCW, and Simple Text to build a simple Knight Rider UI  that gives access to the most commonly used functions. Having something like this in your dash is probably not the safest thing, so cutting down on distraction is a good call.

31
Dec
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Nova Launcher Goes Version 2.0, Brings Performance Increases And A Pile Of New Features

Posted by in Applications, News

Update: We've added a few more changes, courtesy of TeslaCoil.

The highly popular homescreen replacement Nova Launcher is now officially at V2.0 - the latest release just went live minutes ago. Let's cut to the chase: what's new? A whole a lot, based on the changelog below.

What's in this version:

  • Custom Icon Size (Prime)
  • Swipe actions on any desktop icon (Prime)
  • Custom wallpaper cropping
  • Increase maximum desktop grid size
  • Infinite Scroll Drawer Setting
  • Alphabetical list drawer style
  • Small Icons Dock Setting
  • Force wallpaper scrolling on USA SGS2
  • Aggressive Desktop Setting (Keep in memory)*
  • Lower memory usage
  • Improve scrolling performance
  • Fixes, optimizations and tuning

*"Retrieve Running Apps" used for Aggressive Desktop and warning when multiple launchers are running

Additional changes:

  • "Swipe to open folder" allowing swiping over a desktop or dock folder to open it, with the tap action doing something else (such as opening an app).

13
Nov
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Nova Launcher Updates With Jelly Bean 4.2 Compatibility, Quick Settings, And Other Goodies

Posted by in Applications, News

There are only a few launchers that have stood out from the pack since Ice Cream Sandwich came along, and one of them is TeslaCoil's Nova Launcher. Just in time for the brand new Nexus devices and Android 4.2 update, the developers have freshened up Nova with a compatibility update. The latest version has been updated to play nice with 4.2 (Jelly Bean+) as well as add a couple of features for those of you lucky enough to be running the latest version of Android.

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The biggest change is the addition of the Quick Settings function on the tablet layout, just like the stock launcher.

17
Oct
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Nova Launcher And TeslaUnread Updated With Support For More Unread Notifications

Posted by in Applications, News

Looks like it's been quite a busy day for the guys over at TeslaCoil software: they just pushed updates to both Nova Launcher and TeslaUnread, the add-on app that allows Nova and WidgetLocker to display unread counts. The two updates go hand-in-hand, so let's start with the latter.

TU's update brings support for several more services, including Samsung Email, HTC Email, AOSP Email, Motorola Email, K-9, Google Voice, and Google Reader. It also adds support for multiple GMail accounts. Yay!

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Along those same lines, Nova was updated to support unread counts for all the aforementioned apps, as well as a few other bug fixes:

Include Android 4.1.2 changes *
Fix Transparency on Samsung Jellybean
Fix blank desktop when leaving drawer
Fix icon pack crash on some HTC devices
Fix drawer not correctly remembering position
Miscellaneous fixes
* Note: The setting for auto-rotate remains at Nova Settings > Look & Feel > Screen Orientation > Auto-rotate

If you're already a Nova user, the updates are now live in the Store.

01
Oct
novaprime

Tip: Access The Secret 'Labs' Menu In Nova Launcher For Even More Customization Options

Posted by in Applications, News, Tips & Tutorials
Last Updated: October 23rd, 2012

Since Nova Prime made its way into the final day of Google's 25 Billion promo, we thought this might be a good time to share a lesser known feature of the custom launcher. Much like many Google apps/services, Nova has a "labs" menu that makes available some useful tweaks which aren't quite ready for prime time (get it?).

Within this hidden menu, you'll find things like the ability to increase the maximum grid size (from 7x7 to 16x16), toggles to add any size widget to the dock, force 180 degree orientation, UI Lock, and a couple of widget restore and resize options.

03
Aug
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'PIE UI Revisited Silver Dark' Is A Custom UI That Reminds Us Why Android Is Awesome

Posted by in News

MyColorScreen is a site where Android enthusiasts can show off the sometimes stunning UIs they design with various apps and mods. Most of what you come across on the site is fairly predictable; a different widget here and a custom wallpaper there. Although, on occasion someone creates something truly wonderful, and the new PIE UI from AdamF is definitely one of those.

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The PIE UI theme is a unique UI that takes advantage of a number of apps like WidgetLocker, Nova Launcher, and Power Widget. The creator of the theme has hosted a .zip file you can download that has all the necessary files (but not the apps themselves) to recreate the interface as shown.

08
Jun
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Nova Launcher Updated To Version 1.2, Adds 'Color Themes', Widget Overlapping, Icon Themes, And More

Posted by in Applications, News

If you're fortunate enough to have Ice Cream Sandwich on your smartphone (either officially or unofficially), then you already know that the stock launcher is a huge improvement over previous versions of Android. However, it's not perfect.

Enter my personal favorite third-party launcher for ICS devices: Nova. This isn't the first time that we've mentioned Nova Launcher on AP, but it just received an update that definitely brings some note-worthy enhancements to an already-great application.

Changelog:

  • Color Themes, change the blue accent
  • Icon Themes for all apps (ADW and Go Icon Packs)
  • Widget overlapping w/ send-to-back/bring-to-front
  • Lock desktop w/ temp unlock
  • Faster widget loading
  • SGS3/TouchWiz workarounds and fixes
  • Fix FCs
  • Performance improvements
  • Updated translations

While all of the new features are nice to have, the first three really stand out: color themes, icon themes, and widget overlapping.

23
Feb
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[New App] Nova Launcher Hits The Market, Brings An Awesome Custom Launcher To Android 4.0 Phones

Posted by in Applications, News

The stock launcher in ICS is, without a doubt, the best launcher that Google has ever produced. It offers some great features that previously required the use of a custom launcher, like customizable dock shortcuts and drag-and-drop folder support. Despite being a definite improved over its predecessors, it's still not perfect.

With that in mind, the devs behind WidgetLocker took the ICS launcher to the lab and made it even better. The result is a blazing fast new launcher called Nova Launcher. Nova builds off of the stock 4.0 launcher while retaining the same look and feel, but brings advanced customization and improved features to all Android 4.0 handsets.