In an attempt to expand the theme developers we feature in this bi-weekly space, I’ve started to search out new ones on my own. This has yielded positive results this week — though we do feature one of our regulars. I’ll continue noting any new themes I cross in my BlackBerry travels, but this works better when crowd sourced. If you are a theme developer looking to have your themes featured, or if you’re just a regular BlackBerry user who has found an excellent theme, email me, jpawlikowski at bbgeeks, and I’ll take a look. Hopefully my efforts mesh well with yours, and we can put together some killer theme features. Now, onto this week’s crop.
Circles
BBGeeks readers, meet Berry Good Themes. It’s a UK-based site that has tons and tons of premium BlackBerry themes — oftentimes cheaper than the major theme outlets in the States. Yes, there is an issue of currency, but there’s a way around that. For our initial glance at this developer, we’ll examine Circles, an OS 5.0 theme that I liked from the second I saw it.
Well, scratch that. I liked it from the second I saw the applications menu. The circular icons didn’t do it for me on the home screen, though I did appreciate the long TodayPreview. Four user-customizable icons reside on the home screen, lined up on the right while the TodayPreview runs on the left. The background design is a bit distracting, and it doesn’t look great with white text overlaid, but it’s not a huge issue. The applications menu features rows and columns of circular icons, surrounded by red, blue, or black. I don’t know why, but I really like the look of these icons. They definitely stand out.
You can get the Circles theme for £0.99, or around 2 US dollars. Again, it only works on OS 5.0 and above. If you use PayPal to make your purchase, it will automatically make the conversion. That seems to be the easiest way.
SnowTime
After introducing a developer new to this feature, we return to the grandfather, Hedone Design. They’ve taken to winter already, designing the SnowTime theme around a country winter scene. It even has animated snow, which I would normally find annoying, but on this theme I did like it. Probably because it’s subtle enough to not take away from the theme’s functionality.
The home screen features five customizable options, and includes a TodayPreview for calendar and messages. The clock sits to the right of the icons, and is generally unobtrusive. So are the battery and signal meters, which run along the bottom of the screen. You hardly even know they’re there. The only complaint I have on that screen, if there is any, is the lack of date. Themed icons line the applications menu, and even the font seems to blending perfectly with the color scheme.
You can get the SnowTime theme for $6.99. But, because Hedone is currently having a 50% off sale, you can get it for $3.50 from now through January 2. Just enter the code NewYear50 at checkout.
Mord
To wrap up this week we’ll feature yet another new (to us) theme developer: Calx. I forget how I came across Mord, but it made me wonder how I hadn’t discovered this developer before. This theme really caught me eye. It not only has tons of information on the home screen, but it’s laid out very well. Nothing seems cluttered. And, for some reason, the icons seem more — vibrant, maybe? — than other themes. Apparently, Calx uses 3D icons.
Six user-customizable icons sit on the bottom of the home screen. You can leave messages and calendar off if you want, because above them are two Today sections, one for your next four calendar appointments, the other for your latest four unread messages. The messages are a bit truncated, but other than that I love the layout. On top of them sits a weather icon, with the date and time atop the screen. Also, if you have it installed, you can press the Space bar to open QuickLaunch.
You can get the Mord theme for $4.99, but if you get it before January 1 it’s half off. The them works with OS 4.6 and up.
This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.
Theme Review Wednesdays: Circles, SnowTime, Mord
This post originated at BBGeeks.com – home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.
Theme Review Wednesdays: Circles, SnowTime, Mord