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Most of the time when we’re reviewing themes, we go with the Curve versions. That’s because 1) it’s the device I’m most familiar with, and 2) more people have a Curve than any other single BlackBerry model. Today, though, we’re going for something different. We’re seeing a lot of BlackBerry Storm themes hitting the Web, and it’s high time we rounded up some for a theme review. So, after the jump, we’ll launch into a ton of Storm theme reviews. There will be a few more than the normal three we review every other week.

Tipsy

Normally I don’t dig themes with odd fonts as default, but there’s something about the Tipsy theme that has me liking it. Maybe it’s because the font just looks natural with the default background. The designer notes that the them makes for easy wallpaper changing, but honestly I don’t see a reason to switch from the simple, minimalistic background which the theme provides. It doesn’t interfere with the functionality. Plus, I’ve always had a thing for blue, white, and black.

Tipsy refers to how the icons react when you highlight them. Instead of going through some animation, they tip. Ok, sure, that’s an animation itself, but it’s not something we see commonly. The designer, cpuking, notes that this animation doesn’t eat device memory and slow it down, which is a huge plus. As a final feature, the battery meter changes colors as you lose bars, not only when it reaches the one-bar point. It’s a small consideration, but neat nonetheless.

You can get the Tipsy theme for $5 at the BBGeeks Store.

OSXLike

We’ve reviewed the OSXLike theme previously, but that was for all models other than the Storm. In fact, in read it it I’m not sure they had one for the Storm at the time. In any case, the theme is exactly what the name implies. It imitates Apple’s OSX for Mac computers. This includes the background image and icons, which are all taken from Mac (Safari for browser, the Mail program icon for messages, etc.).

The Today preview is always a good feature for Storm themes, and OSXLike takes advantage of this. It also features two rows of four icons each on the Home Screen, giving it eight total. I’ve always been a fan of this because it takes the emphasis off the background image and puts it back on the theme’s functionality. That’s not for everyone of course, so keep it in mind if you’re eyeing this theme.

You can get the OSXLike theme for $7 at the Store. If you want it on another platform, that link will take you to the whole shebang.

iBerry Blocks

Ever wish your BlackBerry were an iPhone? I never understood it myself, but apparently a lot of people download iPhone themes. This is even stranger for the Storm. If you wanted the iPhone at that point, I mean…I dunno. Maybe it’s the BlackBerry functionality combined with the iPhone aesthetics that turns people onto it. In any case, the iBerry Blocks theme is one of our best-selling Storm themes, so we might as well include it here.

The Home Screen features four icons in the bottom dock, plus a whole Applications Menu above it. Like the iPhone, you can slide the icons away so you can see the wallpaper. Personally I think it looks just fine with the black, but the sliding icons make the wallpaper just another additional function of this theme.

You can get the iBerry theme for $5 until June 19, when it heads back up to $7.

Cracked Screen

This is one Storm theme I like solely for its looks. When writing up a theme it’s tough to get a real feel for how it works. You can get an idea of basic functionality by playing around with it, but you can never tell how a theme will work until you’ve toted it around for a few weeks. It’s kind of like dealing with the opposite sex. There might be features which attract you at first, but after spending some time with him or her, it might become apparent that you’re not a good match. In this manner, the Cracked Screen theme immediately seduced me.

The green/teal/aqua color scheme works very well and is quite pleasing to the eye, even set against the Storm’s black casing. Everything is easy to read, and much as I like it the theme features eight Home Screen icons. These sit below the wallpaper, which is, as one might imagine, an image of cracked glass with a computer chip behind it. This looks even cooler on the lock screen, as you can see, because it captures the full effect.

You can get the Cracked Screen theme from the Themes4bb store for $5.

In The Know

A glance at the Applications Menu of this theme might have you wondering, “How is this different than the default Storm theme?” I thought the same thing when I saw it. However, the difference here is in the Home Screen layout. The In The Know theme is a TodayPlus kind, displaying message (up to five new) and calendar events (also up to 5) for easy access. Even so, there are plenty of TodayPlus themes, right? What makes this one stand out above those? The answer is the bottom dock.

One feature we’re starting to see among Storm themes is the ability to slide various aspects. In the iBerry theme above we saw the ability to slide out a page of applications in order to view the theme’s wallpaper. In The Know has the ability to slide the bottom dock icons, so you can fit more on the Home Screen. You’ve already got messages and calendar, because this is a TodayPlus theme. This means you have even more options when it comes to your bottom dock icons.

You can get the In The Know theme for $7.

BlockBerry

Not to be confused with iBerry Blocks, the BlockBerry theme is yet another one which takes advantage of the Storm’s freer form. This is part of the reason we took the time to write out a bunch of Storm theme reviews. There’s so much you can do with the format that there are some truly interesting designs owing to the touchscreen. BlockBerry is certainly one of them, as it features sharply-crafted icons in an uncommon format.

BlockBerry features up to 15 icons on the home screen. This might seem like an Applications Menu feature, but it’s not. BlockBerry has an Applications Menu, and like normal it is laid out in standard rows and columns. The Home Screen layout, however, features scrollable icons. This includes four to five icons in the bottom dock and up to 10 on a scrolling basis. The Today preview for messages is also available. Like the OSXLike theme, BlockBerry features a lot of Mac-style icons.

You can get the BlockBerry theme from the Themes4bb store for $4.99.

Carbon Fiber

What would an enormous theme review be without Cherri Chiodo? She puts tons of time into creating unique BlackBerry themes, so we normally feature them on our theme review feature, even if there are some aspects of her themes I don’t enjoy. For instance, I’m a fan of simple fonts for most text, and Cherri sometimes uses a variation of Comic Sans. Unfortunately, that strikes a never with many people. Geeze, I just don’t like the font — I’m not about to hold up a picket sign to ban it.

Anyway, the Carbon Fiber theme comes in six different colors: red, blue, lime, orange, pink, and purple. Regardless of the individual user’s choice, the theme is vibrantly colored with Cherri’s handmade icons. The theme can be a bit strange for BlackBerry vets. Instead of the battery meter, profiles icon, clock, signal meter, and other such items on the top of the screen, they inhabit the middle option. On top is the TodayPlus portion, with messages and calendar events listed in order.

You can get the Carbon Fiber theme for $7.99.

iVista 360

Now this is a theme unlike many others. Again, it takes advantage of the Storm’s freer form, made possible by the touchscreen interface. It also acts as a counterbalance to the OSXLike theme, which we reviewed above. It’s the iVista 360, and it’s one of the best-selling Storm themes in our store. There is just so much you can do with the theme.

The iVista 360 theme utilizes three icons in the bottom dock to provide the most functionality possible. These are not three normal bottom dock icons, though. They are custom for the iVista theme. On the left is a Windows icon. This brings up a Start menu, just like in Vista. In it you’ll see options for Internet, email, messages, contacts, and other basic applications. It can also bring up a secondary menu with items like Music and Profiles. The silver orb in the center brings up four custom icons, just like a standard bottom dock. Finally, the Vista icon on the bottom right brings up a widget-based look, with a Today viewer for calendar items, plus shortcuts for browser, notes, media player, and more.

Some people complain about premium themes, noting that they can get similar themes for free. While this is true to an extent, I can say that the iVista theme tops almost any free Storm theme I’ve seen. You can get the iVista 360 theme for $6. As I said, I think it’s well worth it.

Sand

We’ll finish off this Storm theme review feature with yet another from BBGeeks faves Hedone Design. This one is called Sand, and as one might imagine the background looks like a desert. I would have preferred a white-sand beach, but whatcha gonna do? This theme, like many Storm themes, feature the Today preview, so when you scroll over Messages or Calendar on the home screen, you get a snapshot of your five most recent events.

The Home Screen is the gem in this theme, featuring six icons in the form of stones. These are customizable. Other than that, this is a pretty standard Storm theme. We tacked it on the end here mainly because of the design. It just looks sleek. The icons are all elegantly designed, and the background is simple, even with the shells strewn about. While we celebrate the functionality of many of the themes above, for the Sand theme we can just sit back and imagine an oasis.

You can get the HD Sand theme for $7.

Make use of the comments section

The best part about big collections like this is that there is always more. Always. We couldn’t possibly get to every awesome Storm theme. So let us know which one you use, and more importantly, why. Which themes should we feature in upcoming theme reviews? Leave it all in the comments.

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