Yahoo Aviate Launcher for Android

[Brad]

Bottom Line: V. Easy to implement.  Elegant and useful.  If you don't like it it's easy to uninstall.

1. Shows cards on home page like Google Now.  These change by location and time of day.  Mostly: appointments,  travel maps for commute, news, weather.  Reminds me of early Google Now before Now started pulling in cards with data from other apps.  If it is weak it is here.  It's a good start at an anticipatory assistant but it very basic.

2. Replaces Google search box with Yahoo Search box.  This searches both Yahoo mobile but some stuff on your phone. It actually is not a bad mobile search especially since I don't use Google Search.  Yahoo is not pushy, they do not force the search box on you but rather give you the option to turn it off.

3. Organizes Apps into categories like: Productivity, Utilities, Social, Home, Work.  You can make your own categories. Very handy, this saved me a lot of time organizing my apps.

4. Also organizes all your apps alphabetically. With the alphabet on the little side bar, you touch "W" and it takes you to all the apps that begin with W.

All said, Aviate is pretty unobtrusive - it does not get in your face and gets rid of Google Search on every screen.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tul.aviate

If you use an Android phone, but want to move away from Google, try this.