I have been using a new home screen replacement on my Android phone, I used ADW for a long time because of its simple layout. I recently found Nemus Launcher. It keeps a lot of the simplicity of ADW but adds some neat features.

Folders

See through folders are one of the coolest parts of Nemus Launcher. Here is how they work.

Most Android devices have the option of adding apps to a folder. If you have never used a folder, you can usually create a folder by holding the screen and selecting Folders from the pop up. You are usually given a choice of things like Starred contacts, New folder, All contacts, Bluetooth received, etc to automatically populate the folder.

You can create a folder, by simply dragging and dropping the apps into the folder. This way you can group the apps in a way that makes sense to you.

One problem you have with a standard Android folder is, once you start a new generic folder and put a few apps in there, you may forget what applications are in there because you can’t see them without opening the folder.

With the Nemus Launcher, the folders are clear. You can see a smaller version of the app icons inside the folder so you exactly what is inside. The folders can be re-sized to better see what is inside. You can make them 4 icon blocks wide.

To access the apps, just click on the folder and the folder will expand letting you access all of the contents.

App dock

Like a few launchers we have talked about here on Make Tech Easier, Nemus has an app dock at the bottom of the screen. You can remove and add 12 of your preferred applications to the dock.

Change the applications by dragging the app out of the dock to move it to the home screen or press and hold the icon to delete the shortcut. To add an app, drag it to the empty location where you want it to be.

Screens

To adjust the number of screens, press the menu button on your phone and select Edit. In the edit menu, you will see all of the home screens currently available to use.

By pressing the plus sign (+) you can add up to 7 home screens. By pressing the minus icon, you can remove the highlighted home screen. If you have a hard time telling which home screen you are deleting, you can also press and hold the one you want to delete. In the little popup, select delete.

While you are adding or subtracting home screens, you can choose which one you want to be you main home screen. If you’d like the screens to appear in a different order, you can also drag and drop them into the position you want.

Settings

There are very few options to modify the way Nemus Launcher works. You can change how the Auto rotate works, optimize the launcher for performance or graphics quality, and a couple other things, but that’s it. If you had much more you could change, the simplicity and ease of use would be lost.

Conclusion

In the couple weeks I have been using Nemus Launcher, I have grown really fond of it. I like the simplicity and the added functionality of it. Having the transparent folders helped me whittle down the number of home screens I use to 1. That’s right, I only use 1 home screen.

If you are looking for a simple looking easy to use home screen launcher, Nemus Launcher is definitely worth the installation.

If you’d like a little more powerful Android home screen launcher, take a look at some of the other home screen replacements we have talked about.

Trevor is a freelance writer covering topics ranging from the Android OS to free web and desktop applications. When he is not writing about mobile productivity, He is coaching and playing the world’s greatest game… Soccer.

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