While last week saw all iOS devices receiving the latest update of Apple's mobile operating system, this week brings a fresh update to the look and feel of your Android handset if you so choose. Once again through the use of a launcher, Android users are able to replicate the look and feel of another operating system without sacrificing the advantages that led them to Android in the first place. While the first launcher I covered, Win 7 Launcher, gave Android users the chance to re-imagine their phone as a Windows Phone 7 device, Espier Launcher for Android gives users the same opportunity with Apple's iOS. All of the basic functionality and ease of use of iOS carries over into this launcher including the simplicity that Apple products are known for. Espier Launcher is now being offered for free on the Android Market and that alone deems it worth a try.
In order to get started with Espier, you first have to find the version that is compatible with your version of Android. There are two separate versions of the app available on the Market and one is for those who just have Android 2.1 installed and the other is for users running any later version of Android after Eclair. If you download the version that is not optimized for operating system it will still function correctly but the option to search your handset in the exact same way iOS does will be disabled. After installing Espier, all of your installed applications will appear in your home screen exactly as they would in iOS. From there you can organize them into folders by long pressing on an app and dragging one app onto another to make a folder. The folders can be organized, named, and used just as they are in iOS. The way in which this launcher mimics iOS is so spot on that you could probably watch an iPhone tutorial to learn to use it. One key difference though is the way in which you access the applications which are running from the dock at the bottom of the screen. In iOS a double press of the home screen allows you to control your music and manually close out applications to free up memory. This same feature exists in Espier but in order to access it you need to swipe up on the middle of the screen. The dock will reveal itself and you can switch to applications, close running applications manually, and even control all of the key settings of your phone such as brightness, wifi, bluetooth, orientation lock, volume, and even turn off your mobile data switch. In general Espier functions fairly well with a few hardly noticeable bugs here and there and a bit of a loss in batter life. However, after experiencing the way this launcher is able to breathe a breath of fresh air into an aging handset it is hard to argue with Espier's near flawless recreation of an iOS experience on Android.
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