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We’re about to close the book on February, but before we do let’s dive into one more edition of Theme Review Wednesdays. As always, we’ll take a look at three different BlackBerry themes this week, discussing the plusses and minuses of each. You’ll notice BBGeeks fave Cherri Chiodo makes an appearance this week, as does Hedone Design. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get into this week’s batch of themes.

Jazz

First up is Hedone design with one of my favorite visual themes ever. It’s called the Jazz theme, and as you might imagine it features a lounge graphic that’s really just perfect. In fact, it’s probably my favorite graphical background of any BlackBerry theme I’ve used to date. You’ve got your upright bass, your sax…and a trunk on the stage. It also has some wood paneling on top of the screen, which hosts the time, date, and the Profiles icon nicely.

The best part about the image is that it doesn’t interfere with function at all. The icons only graze the image on the Home Screen, and the curtain comes down in the Applications Menu, so the icons are up against a red background. Everything is easy to find and easy to read. The dialog boxes are a bit bigger than on most themes I’ve used, but that’s no biggie.

All in all, it’s tough to speak ill of the Jazz theme. It’s graphically pleasing and just as functional as any other bottom dock theme. You can get the HD Jazz theme at the BBGeeks Store for $7. There are versions for the Bold, OS 4.5, and OS. 4.2 and up. I’m really loving the option to select your OS from the product screen, rather than having a different listing for each version.

Taste THIS Rainbow

There’s plenty to say about Cherri Chiodo’s BlackBerry themes, but one thing you can’t say is that they’re boring. She always comes up with little things that make a them really come together. Her newest theme, Taste THIS Rainbow, is no exception. It combines a simple graphic and with themed icons to create a compelling theme.

The Home Screen features a black background with a multi-colored graphic. It’s translucent, so it’s not an in-your-face type graphic. On the Today Plus version, the Messages and Calendar features overlay the image, but there’s no noticeable blending, even with the rainbow cursor. The icons are assorted colors, too, so they go right along with the theme. The Applications Many has a plain black background, which avoids any blending issues, but there wouldn’t be anyway because all of the icons are a solid color box. The only complaint I have is pretty universal in Cherri themes: I had to change the font. The comic style just isn’t my bag.

All in all, solid offering once again by Cherri. You can check out all the versions of the theme at her website. If you like what you see, you can get the Taste THIS Rainbow theme for $6.99 from the BBGeeks Store. The link is for the Curve version, but if you click on her developer name you can get a listing for all other platforms.

Titanium Crossbar

On Christmas Eve we reviewed Jason Calhoun’s SymBerry theme, and it received positive accolades. This time we’re taking a look at another Calhoun theme, this time the Titanium Crossbar. I’ll say right off the bat that this is a fine looking theme, fit for anyone who enjoys a simple theme for the BlackBerry Bold.

This actually looks like your typical Today Plus theme for an older BlackBerry OS. It features the calendar and messages listings to the right of the screen, with the left side dedicated to the time, date, and new message icons. Below there’s a dock with five icons, and of course there’s the full Application Menu with the rest of the listings. This is, in fact, such a simple theme that I don’t really have anything else to go on. It’s simple and straightforward, two undeniably positive aspects of a BlackBerry theme.

If you’re a Bold user and like what you see you can get the Titanium Crossbar theme from the BBGeeks Store for $10. Jason also has a ton of other themes on his website. We’ll get to reviewing them in due time.

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