- I want the icons to snap to grid - it's one of the first changes I make in Finder on OS X. [as an aside, if you have a lot of apps which it sounds like you did, you would probably have been much more productive using Spotlight to find your apps].
That's what they all say. Use spotlight. My answer is that a text-based interface is no cure for a defective GUI. Just make the GUI work well. Text based interfaces are a step backwards, IMO.
- I don't need to change the names under icons (why would anyone need that? Serious question, as for me anyway, I hardly ever even notice the text under folders and icons, the icon itself is enough to find what I need, however I'm sure you aren't trolling and have a very real reason for this need).
I had a lot of icons i would have wanted to label better (for me). One specific one really bugged me. It was the Boston Business Journal's app. The icon was labeled "Boston".
To me, an icon called Boston means the Boston.com (Boston Globe newspaper) website. But no, the icon labeled Boston on my iPhone brought me to the BBJ, which is what everybody called the Boston Business Journal. I wanted the icon for the BBJ to be labeled BBJ. I wanted the icon for Boston.com to be labeled Boston.
Simple, eh? Easy peasey. Basic stuff.
But no. Unlike every other GUI OS I have ever used in my life, it is impossible in iOS. Not difficult and ungainly, requiring excess steps to accomplish. Not as good as that, but instead, totally and completely impossible. I find that unacceptable.
- What exactly did you want from an alternative 'app launcher' instead of the Springboard?
On my Sony Clie I had several different app launchers. Of course, I used my favorite one on a daily basis, and only sometimes used the others.
One of them had really cool icons and themes and stuff and looked just great, but it didn't have many features. If you took away the ability to change icons and change themes, etc., it would have been something like the app launcher in iOS - very, very basic.
One gave you huge amounts of information, like where the app was stored (on the memory card or in the machine), with various default views and lists and alternatives and things. That one would tell you, for example, all of the files that were associated with the app, so you could manipulate them separately. I rarely used that one - it was too much information for daily use.
The one I liked had categories of icons, much like folders. You could put your most-used ones on the main page, and access a drop-down list of (self-made) categories like eBooks, Utilities, or whatever. On my 3GS, I couldn't even put the damn icons in folders! All I could do was wade through page after page of icons.
There were a bunch of app launchers for PalmOS. Some looked really cool, some worked really well, and some had lots of information and features.
Did you even research the iPhone and it's features/capabilities before you bought it? 30 seconds on Google and you could've found out this information. Saved yourself and Apple Care's time. And started enjoying your non-iPhone device much sooner. Maybe something to consider before your next phone, actually, any purchase...
If you recall, at the time, the iPhone was considered SOTA. I had heard, before I bought it, that it was "elegant" and "easy to use". I did not fully appreciate the fact that what these phrases meant was "totally dumbed down". And indeed, had I not been used to PalmOS, I wouldn't have realized just how bad it was. And to be fair, the iPhone had a lot of great things about it too.
But the basic user interface sucked really bad. That surprised the hell out of me. And newer versions of iOS are better now.
And BTW, I enjoy my Galaxy S3 is just fine.
