BB Geeks » BlackBerry Themes

New Theme Thursday: Ambient

Joe — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:30:28 +0000

Ever since we moved to a weekly theme feature, we’ve neglected two of the most prominent developers in the field: Hedone Design and Elecite. This week we’re rectifying that by featuring a theme from Elecite. They always create vibrant themes, and Ambient is no different. It’s familiar, yet it has an element of newness that all themes need. As is usual for Elecite, it all starts on the home screen.

On the home screen there are five panels, which all contain three to four applications. The Media, Phone, Web, and Options panels are all static, while the Custom one is, well, custom. That is, you choose which five icons appear there. As you can see in the screenshot, the icons come from a custom set, and it’s a pretty sweet one. You’ll see the entire set in the applications menu, should you ever need it.

The digital clock atop the screen adds a pleasing visual effect, though I’m not sure how I feel about the weather icon right between the hours and minutes. It takes up a little room on the home screen, but it’s not too cumbersome. Down on the bottom there are a couple of quick launch icons, plus the date, profiles, and notifications. And, of course, the signal and battery meters, which look something like sound meters.

Here’s one little hook: the red X you see actually clears out the home screen. That way you can clear the clutter and just enjoy the background. It won’t be your own custom wallpaper, but I think you’ll like it all the same.

If you’re digging this theme as much as me you can get the Ambient theme for $6.99. That’s the link for the OS 5.0 version. The 6.0 version is here.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: Ambient

New Theme Thursday: Popup LoopScroll

Joe — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:30:08 +0000

Note to theme developers: if your theme requires a map, like the one above, I’m probably going to dig and review your theme. In my browsing of the BBGeeks Store I found three different versions of Popup LoopScroll, so it caught my eye right away. If the name matched the description, I thought, I’d write it up for this week’s theme review. And you know what? It did, and then added a few features.

First, the popup and loopscroll part of the theme. This is pretty self explanatory if you’ve changed your theme a bunch of times. The popup means that the bottom dock, which features 12 custom icons, pops up when you scroll down to it. When you’re not highlighting it, it remains hidden, leaving your wallpaper in full view. The loopscroll part refers to the way the dock works. It’s 12 icons, but only six are on the screen at once. You just scroll to the left and right to flip through them. I like that better than two rows of icons, since it leaves more room on the home screen.

What can you use that room for? Well, that’s where the other custom aspects of this theme come into play. Refer back to the first image, at the top of the post. See the Information Area in the center? That lets you really take control of the theme. You can flip on and off the Calendar Today section, and then you can change the opacity of various parts of the theme: the banner, the main section, and the application name. That way you can use a wallpaper of your choosing and display it however you see fit. Or you can use the default gray background and just enjoy the Calendar Today view. The little gear icon in the banner lets you take complete control. On top of that, there are built-in icons on the screen, including the clock, manage connections, and profiles.

Every week I do this I think that this is the best theme I’ve ever reviewed. Clearly they can’t all be, but it does feel like they get better every week. I’m not going out on a limb recommending Popup LoopScroll; it’s really just that good. If you’re down, and you have a BlackBerry 9000 or above, you can get the Popup LoopScroll Pro theme for $3.99. You can also get a version that has static email and calendar icons on the side.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: Popup LoopScroll

New Theme Thursday: Harvest Time

Joe — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:30:40 +0000

We’ve covered themes before from MMMOOO, and my experience has been almost universally positive when trying their themes for my own BlackBerry device. That’s why I’m glad to present their latest creation, Harvest Time. I suppose the name comes from the default wallpaper, which fits well with the coming season. But the theme is about more than looks. In fact, it’s one of those themes where you can change around the wallpaper without making your screen look ugly or out of sorts. It really has some customizable features, as you can gather from the shot above.

What stands out most with this theme is the clock. It looks something like the clock on HTC Android devices, and also contains a weather slot. Honestly, I can’t imagine having this theme and not having a weather app to go with it. On top of the clock is the main status bar, which contains the date, signal meters, and notifications. Then there’s the bottom bar, which has five static icons, including a prominent profiles one.

In the main area is a 2-by-5 set of customizable icons. I really dig how well they stand out on almost any background. They’re not exactly original — we’ve all seen this icon set before on other custom themes — but for some reason they really pop with this theme. And now here’s a blast from the past: a Today screen that contains both messages and calendar appointments. Best of all, it’s completely optional. If you want that information you can turn it on. If you’d rather have a plain home screen, you can flip off the option.

This theme also has plenty of customizable options, such as the lock screen, weather slot, profiles icon, and more. And, again, you can add to this theme with your own custom wallpaper. The icons are designed so that they stand out from almost any background color. The only issue you might hit is with the Today section.

If you’re looking for a highly customizable theme that has a killer icon set and the option to switch the wallpaper, you can get the Harvest Time theme for just $2.99.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: Harvest Time

New Theme Thursday: Origin

Joe — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:30:52 +0000

This week’s new theme introduces samgbx, as he’s known on MobiHand. As he says himself, he designs “a lot of themes that never seem to make it to the final build.” His latest theme, Origin, obviously did, so perhaps we should pay it some attention. OK, after looking through it and getting used to the features, I’d say that we definitely should pay it some attention. It’s a simple but elegant theme that puts everything you need right in front of you.

The layout of the theme is the first thing that sticks out. The gray background with gray and white icons gives it a simple look, while the orange stripe down the middle gives it a hint of color. That is, this probably isn’t a theme where you want to change the wallpaper. Anything else would probably muddy up the whole thing.

On top of the screen are four customizable icons, which will probably include your messages, address book, and calendar, since they’re not included on the bottom-dock icons. Down there you’ll find sound profiles, BBM, Facebook, Twitter, browser, and options. You’ll find network information, meters, and other miscellany down here. The applications menu is equally simplistic and monotone, but it really sticks out with this theme. Perhaps it’s the orange highlights.

While its looks got me to look at this theme, the functionality kept me hooked. It’s a nice combination that we don’t always see in a Blackberry theme. If you’re running OS 5 or 6 you can get the Origin theme for just $2.99.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: Origin

New Theme Thursday: WP7 Style

Joe — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:30:08 +0000

Your BlackBerry is not an iPhone. It is not an Android, and it is not a Windows Phone 7. But hey, you can always make your BlackBerry look like one of those. Some of the most popular BlackBerry themes replicate the iPhone layout, and we’ve seen tons of Android themes lately. What we haven’t seen much of is the latest incarnation of Microsoft’s mobile endeavor, Windows Phone 7. The platform has been much hyped, though I haven’t seen much from it. At the very least, we get some pretty looking BlackBerry themes out of it.

The theme is pretty simple, which is part of its appeal. It’s actually not that much different than a typical bottom dock theme with a calendar Today section. The layout is a bit different, though, which adds a level of intrigue. For starters, the dock is divided into two, running down each side of the screen. There are eight icons total, and you choose which ones appear. On the far right side you’ll see information, such as signal and battery.

As we get to the middle of the screen, you have your clock, date, and notifications on top. On the bottom is a calendar section. It would be nice to have an option to put your messages there, but that’s just a minor quibble. In any case, the center contains your wallpaper photo, alone and uninhibited. It’s a neat feature that we don’t often see on BlackBerry themes. Usually the wallpaper is covered by icons, or the theme has a dock you can hide. Here the wallpaper is smaller, but always visible.

The theme is available on a number of BlackBerry devices, basically all non-touch devices running OS 5 or 6, from the 8500 series on up. You can get the WP7 Style BlackBerry theme for $2.99, which is a dollar off its normal price.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: WP7 Style

New Theme Thursday: Altiaris

Joe — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:30:22 +0000

Sometimes it’s best to pick your own wallpaper. After all, you have to stare at your BlackBerry all day. Might as well have the background image be something pleasing to your eye. Yet so many premium BlackBerry themes come with wallpaper that is part of the theme. Altiaris is not one of those themes. It might come with a simple, calm wallpaper, but you can really change it to anything you want. It won’t take away from the enormous functionality it provides.

As with many themes, Altiaris features a hidden dock on the bottom, which contains customizable icons. You can bring it up and hide it with a few simple keystrokes: alt + 2, or alt +4. Where it stands out, though, is in the rest of the stuff you can view and hide. The side dock, which contains four fixed icons, and an “OCD slot” under the clock, which contains three fixed icons, can also be hidden. There’s even a hide-able transparent bar that sits behind the dock. The only things that stay on the screen permanently are the top bar, which contains notifications, the bottom bar, which contains the date and signal meters, and the clock.

(Though I don’t quite get the need for both a digital and analog clock, but whatever.)

I kinda dig the battery and signal meters, which are on the bottom right of the screen. They’re in numbers, not in an image, so it’s easier to see how many bars you have. Everything else is pretty straight forward, which is the way it should be. Themes can contain a lot of features, but it’s best not to get fancy with the basics.

You can get the Altiaris theme for just $2.49. It is compatible with basically any device running OS 4.6 and above.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: Altiaris

New Theme Thursday: Absolute

Joe — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:30:08 +0000

We’ve gotten out of the habit of reviewing themes, so I’m forcing myself back into it with a weekly spot meant for a brand new theme. You can check out tons of new BlackBerry themes at the Store.

While function is something we admire in any premium BlackBerry theme, style certainly plays a role in which ones we feature. You can have the most functional theme in the world, but if it lacks panache chances are people aren’t going to want it — never mind pay money for it. When I saw the Absolute theme in the Store, I knew that it was a must-feature on the site. Just look at the serene default wallpaper. The image itself, combined with the four hues, make my mind wander. Is there anything more you can ask from a BlackBerry wallpaper? You can add your own custom wallpaper, as you can with any theme, but this one is definitely a keeper.

Fans of Android-style themes will particularly like the clock, which resembles the HTC Sense UI. It’s big and up front, and has important information, such as the date and notifications, right below it. The battery and signal meters are tucked away in corners, as they should be. I’ve seen some themes work them in elsewhere, but they just feel at home when in the corners.

The dock consists of five static icons, which open up to reveal four applications each. The Home, Social, Media, and Utilities applications are pre-defined. Favorites, however, are yours to choose. That gives this theme something of OS 6 functionality, even with the OS 5 version. The applications menu is fairly straight forward. It pleases me that the icons stand out from the background, so there is no blending issue. Then again, that issue was pretty much eradicated by OS 4.5, and certainly by 5.0.

This theme comes in two styles. If you have a newer BlackBerry device, you can get the Absolute theme for OS 6. For those with older or unupdated models, you can get Absolute for OS 5. Either way it will cost $2.99, down from the normal $4.99 price.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

New Theme Thursday: Absolute

BlackBerry Themes: Ice Cube, Droid Fifteen, FY2

Joe — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:30:52 +0000

It’s been a while since we’ve done a BlackBerry theme roundup. Those will come back into the regular rotation soon enough. Today, though, I’d like to make up for lost time and do a mini roundup of a few new themes that have popped up in the BBGeeks store in the past few days and weeks. There’s quite a nice selection going on, so we have plenty to choose from.

Ice Cube

Summer, it appears, is here. That’s not just because we’re past Memorial Day weekend, but because the weather has warmed significantly. This week the NYC area sure needed a break from the heat. I was actually jealous when I saw the Ice Cube theme. It made me want to reach into my screen and touch those two ice cubes.

As far as theme construction, Ice Cubs is as straight forward as they come. It has a six-icon home screen and an applications menu. So what makes it special, other than the wallpaper? Well, aside from the wallpaper being a pretty sweet image, the icon set is also sharp. It’s not much different than the normal set, but the colors and sharpness blend perfectly with the theme. That is to say, it’s tough to find a more visually pleasing theme than this.

If you’re looking to cool down for the summer, you can get the Ice Cube theme for $4.99. As is always the case in the new version of the BBGeeks Store, make sure to enter your device model so you can check for compatibility.

Droid Fifteen

Ever since I started writing about BlackBerry software, I’ve taken note of themes that mimic other platforms. For instance, you’ll see that iPhone clone themes are often the best sellers. I don’t know if it’s smartphone envy or an homage to a truly user-friendly design. But in any case, they’re everywhere, and people apparently like them. The latest I’ve seen is a take on the Android layout — which is always tough, because there are many Android themes.

The biggest feature of Droid Fifteen is that it has, you guessed it, 15 icons on the main screen, arranged in three rows of five. The icon set is almost all taken from Android, from their text messaging to mail, and even to maps. What’s kind of weird about the theme is that when you click into the applications menu, it changes into rows of six. That can be a bit disorienting at first, I’m sure. It also features a big clock on top of the home screen, which resembles the HTC Sense user interface that many Android devices have.

If you want to get down with Android but keep your BlackBerry, you can Droid Fifteen theme for $3.99. It works with OS 5 and 6.

FY2

I admit it: I have a soft spot for themes that look like they’re notebooks. I’m sure you can find many examples in our archives. When I saw the FY2 theme in the Store, I knew I’d have to feature it. It’s just too awesome to pass up. Not only that, but it has a today screen that features something you don’t normally see.

First off, the paper wallpaper is awesome. If you think otherwise, we might have to fight. The icons are hand-drawn, and they’re absolutely charming. Seriously, I’d keep all third party applications off the home screen so I’d have all drawn icons there. It’s not too difficult, either, since there are only six on the home screen. But the neatest aspect is that the today screen contains your tasks. Almost every other today theme has email or calendar. While I do like having email right there on the home screen, I have to say that putting tasks there is a novel concept.

If you’re ready to plow through your to-do list, you can get the FY2 theme for $2.99. It is only available with OS 6 devices.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

BlackBerry Themes: Ice Cube, Droid Fifteen, FY2

Theme Review Wednesday: SkyLark, Death’s Door, DOGA

Joe — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:00:38 +0000

Last week I wondered if we really needed OS 6 themes. From what I’ve found the default theme works best, but not everyone will share this opinion. Thankfully, most themes we review are compatible not only with OS 6, but previous OS versions, so it won’t affect how we do things here. I really can’t wait, though, for a beefier version of Theme Builder that will allow for more robust OS 6 themes.

And with that, onto this week’s crop.

SkyLark

If you go to the Berry Good Themes home page, you can see that they’re featuring their best selling themes. It was a little odd to see such simple themes atop the list, but after thinking about it for two seconds it made sense. People do want simplicity. But what caught my eye was not the simple themes, but a cartooney looking one called SkyLark.

Oh, it’s simple enough, don’t get me wrong. The home screen features a six-icon dock, though the icons are unique to the theme. The background is a simple animated scene, one that reminds you of the coming spring. The applications menu looks similar. I also dig the call screen, which just seems to work for some reason. Really, I like the animations, and I like the icons, which is why this one stood out to me. Also, it’s simple in its own right.

What’s great about simple themes is that they’re also typically cheap. You can get the SkyLark theme for just $1.99. It works with Os versions 4.5 and up.

Death’s Door

Talk about themes that catch my eye. In looking at new themes in the BBGeeks Store I found one with ye olde Grim Reaper front and center. His presence, combined with a gratuitous number of skulls in the theme, made this a winner for me.

As you can see in the screen shot, this is a pretty basic theme on its own. Everything is arranged neatly, with notifications and meters in the top right, a skull-covered clock on the top left, and a bottom dock featuring six icons. You can hide the dock by pressing escape, or you can bring it back by pressing the zero key. Again, functionally this is nothing like the stuff we see from Hedone and Elecite. But in terms of pure awesomeness, I have to put this up with the better themes.

If you want Death staring you in the face, you can get the Death’s Door theme for just 99 cents. It appears to only be compatible with OS 6 non-touch devices.

DOGA

Clearly there’s a theme to this theme review feature. Instead of going for “ooh, look at all this theme can do” as we usually do, I’m picking interesting visual themes. The last on this list is one new to App World, DOGA. Ol’ Fido is staring you right in the face with this one, but oh my, isn’t he a cute animated fellow?

The theme features custom icons, which is quite perfect for a theme like this. The home screen features a number of icons, depending on which OS you’re using. But, really, I’m not concerned about that. I really like the icons that comes with this. I also like how Hooch’s expression changes depending on the screen. The only thing missing is him yelping when you press an icon.

If you dig themes like this, you can get the DOGA theme at App World for $3.99. It works with BlackBerry models running OS 4.6 and above.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Theme Review Wednesday: SkyLark, Death’s Door, DOGA

The need for themes on BlackBerry OS 6

Joe — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:10:40 +0000

Just a few weeks ago I got something of a curse, which turned into a blessing. A bit of water had splashed out of a cup I kept on my nightstand, and landed on my BlackBerry. When I woke up I dried it out, but a few days later the trackball still wouldn’t work. Disappointed that I’d be without a properly functioning BlackBerry for a few days, I submitted my insurance claim. But instead of sending me a 9630, they sent me a 9650. This not only meant more internal memory and Wi-Fi, but also compatibility with BlackBerry OS 6. That was the best part to me. While BlackBerry 6 might not be the most revolutionary operating system, it represents a distinct improvement over previous iterations of the BlackBerry OS.

The first thing I did after installing OS 6 was to search for a proper theme. I prefer to do this first, before rearranging icons, because oftentimes changing themes messes with the alignment. And so I rooted around the BBGeeks Store for themes. I also headed to some of my favorite theme sites, such as Hedone Design, Berry Good Themes, and Elecite. After narrowing it down to a select few, I chose my theme and installed it. It was then that I realized that it might not have been necessary.

As I scrolled through the home screen, I appreciated the graphical interface. There were definitely aspects in this OS 6 theme that simply couldn’t have been present on previous themes. Yet the more I played with it, the more I realized that it was really just a graphical difference. Many OS 5 themes had similar navigation panes. It made me wonder how necessary a custom theme was for OS 6. While I was playing with this one all I could think about was how smooth and intuitive the navigation was on the Torch I had tested last year.

After a while I switched back to the default theme — changing the wallpaper, of course, because who wants to stare at the Verizon logo all day? I found that I liked the standard interface better than the theme I had tried. To test this I tried another theme, Cubix, a theme we reviewed last week. Again, I enjoyed it, but I found myself quickly switching back to the default theme. I just liked the way it works. And there are plenty of ways you can customize it, too. And, as we learned a few weeks ago, OS 6.1 will bring even more customizability, including the ability to remove home screen panes.

This line of thought made me wonder whether anyone else feels the same. Do you prefer a custom theme with BlackBerry 6? Or are you happy with the default? I’m sure that we’ll eventually see some killer themes that take advantage of the possibilities of the new operating system, but for the time being I’m sticking with the default. How about you?

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

The need for themes on BlackBerry OS 6