MiHome Launcher brings a taste of MIUI to Android, no tinkering needed

The makers of the popular iOS-like MIUI ROM for Android has released a launcher replacement, called MiHome Launcher, which brings a bit of the ROM’s look and feel to phones without the need to root. Just like the once-ubiquitous LauncherPro, MiHome is available as a free download from Google Play, and all that’s required to use it is to set it as the default when you press the home button on your phone. However, there’s a tradeoff for this easy installation: the visual overhaul is limited to the lock screen and home screens. The dialer, music player, gallery, camera app, and everything else will remain just as they are, though you do get a new selection of widgets. It all makes for a fairly jarring experience, but if you prefer MIUI’s way of doing things (most notably the loss of the app drawer and the addition of a few shortcuts on the lock screen), the launcher isn’t a bad way to get your feet wet before going taking the time and effort to flash a custom ROM onto your device. MiHome Launcher is available in two versions — one for Android 4.0 devices and another for those running Gingerbread.