We’re back again today with yet another series of Blackberry theme reviews. This week we’re taking a look at another Gadget Bean theme, one by Jason Calhoun, and yet another by BBGeeks fave Cherri Chiodo. This promises to be a good batch. Calhoun’s theme is for the Bold, which we don’t often review in these parts, the Porche theme is, well, a Porche theme, and when haven’t you seen something interesting from Cherri Chiodo? So let’s get to the screenshots.
SymBerry
Jason Calhoun emailed me last week to show me his SymBerry theme. After taking a look at it and downloading it to the company Bold, I decided that I really like the thing. It’s sleek and intuitive, which are two of the most important requirements for a BlackBerry theme. Plus, it’s a Today Plus-style theme, and anyone who has read any of my theme reviews knows my bias towards them. First off, I dig the subtle background. Always have. Some people prefer artwork on the main screen of their Berry. I’ve always been a functionality guy. And when it comes to functionality, a solid color always outperforms a drawing or photo. Everything is easier to read for the most part, and icons don’t blend into the background image. I’ve been using a Today Plus theme for 4.5 which has the messages and calendar functions on the main screen, plus two rows of icons. What I’ve found is that this isn’t exactly the best. Why? Because when I get a Today Plus theme, I’m getting it mainly for the main screen messages and calendar features. So the two rows of icons kind of gets in the way. In the SymBerry theme, the main screen icons are up top and small, so they’re not messing with my focus. Plus, having the clock on the side is something neat and different. The only drawback I can report is the white lettering on a solid background. I don’t mind it, but I know some do — I know one person who refuses to read a website if it’s not black on white. Still, if that’s the only downside, that’s nothing but a good thing.
Real iBerry Porche 911 GT3
Who isn’t a fan of the Porche? It’s a compact, stylish driving machine. So it’s with great honor that I present to you the Real iBerry Porche 911 GT3 theme. As the title suggests, this is part of their iBerry series, BlackBerry themes designed to look like the iPhone. Cooper reviewed the Custom L iBlocks theme earlier this year and dug it. So let’s see how the Porche theme stacks up. We can start from the beginning: this is a pretty theme. It’s almost all black and white, save for a few details like the new message indicator and the Porche’s tail lights. This might make the icons appear funny-looking, especially when you first download the theme. After a while you should adjust — it took me about 15 minutes of playing with it to get used to the uncolored icons. The only downside I can find in this theme is the way the icons blend with the background in the application menu. It’s not egregious — I’ve found themes with far worse blending issues (again, the Transformers theme comes to mind). Some might find this a turn-off, though, especially since the icons are black and white. Overall this is a solid theme choice. Though I could be biased. I really like Porches.
Exceptionally Blue
Cherri Chiodo creates a lot of BlackBerry themes. Really. Just check out her website and her store listing. We haven’t looked at one of her themes in a while, so let’s take a look at Exceptionally Blue, one she placed on her website earlier this month. It is, as the name suggests, pretty blue. In fact, you won’t find much outside of blue and gray in the entire theme. I’ve always been a fan of the bouncing home screen icons, so this theme starts off on the right foot. The background is play gray, so there is nothing obstructing the icons. Speaking of the icons, they’re all custom, as is Cherri’s signature, and as always they’re pretty easy to decipher. Plus, there’s always the text along the bottom of the screen if you really can’t figure it out. Of course, not everything is great about this theme. For starters, there’s no messages section on the main screen. It’s just the calendar. I don’t know about everyone else, but I like the messages section of the Today Plus theme far more than the calendar. So this was an instant disappointment. I also had to change the font immediately. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I like my fonts on the plain side. So it has its plusses and minuses. Even if you don’t like this one, there are plenty of other quality selections from Cherri.
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