Industry coverage, news, original feature articles, how to guides, videos, podcasts and reviews of BlackBerry service providers, software, accessories, hosted exchange providers and more

We review all types of BlackBerry themes here on BBGeeks, so we thought it time to explain the different type of themes. You might see something like Cucamonga TodayPlus theme, or Rattlesnake Zen theme. You can get an idea of what the theme looks like by glancing at it, but sometimes it helps to know what this specific lingo means. After the jump we’ll define the most common types of BlackBerry themes you’ll see when browsing around.

TodayPlus Theme

That’s what you see there to your right. TodayPlus, or just Today, places information about Messages and Calendar right on the Home Screen. Some variations also have the Call Log, but that’s less common now than it was even a year ago. Most TodayPlus themes also have a bottom dock which can contain six to 12 application icons. Older variations, like the one pictured, allow you to scroll over for a dock of application icons.

The main advantage to this type of theme is the ability to see your recent messages and calendar information right on the Home Screen. It makes for easy scrolling and easy access.

Zen/Bottom Dock

A Zen style theme is similar to a bottom dock, in that a number of icons appear on the home screen. Zen themes tend to place these icons, usually five or six, on the side of the screen, while something referred to as Bottom Dock will place them, as one might guess, along the bottom. Zen themes typically only have one row of icons on the Home Screen, while a Bottom Dock might have one or two.

Icon

This is the most basic theme. In essence, it’s one big listing of application icons. There is no primary or secondary screen. Just one screen, full of icons. The Zen and TodayPlus themes also contain this feature. Users can access the full Applications Menu by pressing the Menu button while on the Home Screen.

L theme

Just like the Zen theme, except the icons run up the side and along the bottom. Useful for keeping a good number of icons on the Home Screen while maintaining the wallpaper image.

Precision

Developed for OS 4.6, a Precision theme allows users to scroll over certain icons, like messages and calendar, revealing the contents. So it’s like TodayPlus, but will only display the information when the cursor is hovering over the icon.

Surely I’ve missed a few. What other kinds of BlackBerry themes have you used? Let us know in the comments.

Share on Facebook | Add to De.licio.us | Digg This! | Technorati