Federico Carnales, the bright mind behind Launcher Pro, has just put out a new beta for his ever-popular customizable launcher that adds some new functionality, customization options, and a rather odd compatibility choice.

The ability to hide app labels, use icons packs, and “real homescreen looping” are all great additions to the launcher, but compatibility with ADW themes comes out of nowhere. After installing any ADW theme onto your device, you can head into the theme settings on Launcher Pro, and use the icons from it. Instead of developers having to write two themes to cover the majority of custom launcher users, they only have to write one.

I took a moment before writing this article to see how older ADW themes were supported in the new Launcher Pro beta, and I can say that I’m pretty impressed. All of the previous customization options are still available, and you can use icon packs from any ADW theme you download. The question now, is why would you use Launcher Pro instead of just installing ADW? The answer is tricky. If you’ve spent quite a bit of time with both, which I have, then you know that each one just feels slightly different. It’s hard to put your finger on, but the difference is there. Personally, I use Go Launcher EX now, but as I said, I’ve spent a lot of time with both LP and ADW.

If you want to give the new Launcher Pro a shot, you can grab it from here.

Via Droid-Life