Go Launcher EX vs LAUNCHER 8 PRO

GO Launcher offers over 10,000 personalized themes and over 25 transition effects.

The launcher lets the user customize the desktop to their heart's content, giving the option to increase the desktop grid size to a maximum of 10 rows and columns, or disable the status bar, dock and icon labels. Users can also adjust the font and size of icons.

Infinite scrolling can be enabled to allow the user to cycle through their homescreens and app drawer pages without needing to change direction when they hit the last page.

Users can hide apps in the free or paid version in the app drawer.

GO Launcher EX allows the user to sort their apps by title, date of installation or frequency of use; create folders for apps; and hide unwanted apps.

Go Launcher EX is free to download and use, though there are in app purchases to unlock certain features and theming elements. There are also in app advertisements in the free version.

The GO Launcher Dev Team wants the users device to be customized with more than just a launcher. GO Weather, GO Locker (a lock screen replacement), and GO SMS Pro offer even more customization to the device. This is great those that are looking for a consistent design.

It is easy to sort apps into folders in the app drawer, on the desktop, and on the quick launch bar.

Like Windows Phone 8, the design of Launcher 8 consists of brightly colored tiles on either a black or white background. The result is a simple and appealing design. Although simply changing the tile color is not as personal as wallpaper in conventional launchers. Fortunately though any color is possible on Launcher 8 not just the preselected colors on Windows Phone 8.

Windows Phone 8 was never designed to work with Android widgets but that doesn't mean you can't use them with Launcher 8. The developers of Launcher 8 have finally found the right solution to using widgets on the tile interface with new separate pages. In the previous version of the launcher, Launcher 7, the widgets would be squeezed into tiles and the result was rarely good. The new separate widget pages accessible with a swipe to the right are a big improvement.

Launcher 8 uses the same transition effects when opening apps and returning to the home screen as the Windows Phone 8. Not only is this appealing but apps seem to load quicker. The transition to open an app takes a few hundred milliseconds which gives apps extra time to load. The result is an interface that seems quicker than it actually is.

This feature may seem counterproductive at first but it provides a minimalistic appearance that stays true to the original Windows Phone 8. The notification bar will still appear everywhere else on your Android but Launcher 8 will be just tiles.

Launcher 8 supports basic unread counts like phone calls and text messages in the free version.