BlackBerry OS 6 Theme Face Off: The Best of The Best

One of the most talked about topics in the BlackBerry world has to be the arrival of OS 6.0. Ever since RIM showed off the video , theme developers have been trying to bring the look and feel of OS 6 to OS 5 devices. But how can one tell if the theme they are buying or downloading is going to be just what they want? We will solve this problem in this article. We will compare the top 3 OS 6 themes on the market and you can decide which one is right for you.

Now without further ado:

!6 for BlackBerry by BBThemes





This theme is by far one of the most interesting ones of the three. It had a ton of work put in to it with the sliding three dock that can be hidden. Also it is the only theme that is not made for a touch BB. The best part of all though, is it is absolutely free! It isn't a limited time offer either, it's free all the time! A definite deal-maker when it comes down to buying. (NOTE: Just released is a Small Font version for 8900, 9600 and 9700 to fix the problems faced in the messages screen for users who like their font size 8 or below)


Features:
  • !6 offers you 3 homescreens, which you can just slide from one into the other, in the centre there is ALL, to the left is MEDIA and to the right MESSAGING
  • Media holds - Music, Videos, Pictures, Ringtones, Voicenotes and Voice notes recorder.
  • Messaging holds - Messages, SMS and MMS, Compose, BBM, Saved Messages and Contacts.
  • All holds - device order icons 1-6, this is where you can have the icons of your choice.
  • !6 also features the search extension built in, 4 rows of today information (hidden today style) and a matching lockscreen image.
  • Hidden Today update - there is now a sliding area that will sit behind your Today area, so no matter what color your background you`ll always be able to see you information.
  • To activate the hidden Today sliding panel press T (caps + t) and to hide it press Y (caps + y).

 OS 6 by WJD Designs



This is the most popular theme on Mobihand stores. "Still the BEST OS 6 theme for a reason!!!!" could be taken as cocky or overconfident, but they are not far off. WJD Designs are notorious for their visually spot-on impersonation themes (eg Hero, HTC, Droid, OS 6). This theme is definitely a solid theme that is very well made and involves some cool features. Available for Storms, 9700, 9600, Storm (4.6 Only) and 8900, it hits the majority of BBs which makes consumers happy and is only $2.99. Also with its custom, handwritten SVG files (the files that make the special theme features), it is less prone to errors and glitches.

Features:
  • Today Feature (ONLY ON THE STORM DEVICE!)
  • 24 Customizable Icons on Storm Devices (change application Icon order)
  • 18 Customizable Icons on Other (change application Icon order)
  • 3 Screen Slide Docks
  • Hidden Dock Feature for Full Screen wallpaper
  • Just over 1 MB in size
  • Minimal Lag and Multi Function
  • Custom Icons to mimic new OS 6 Icons
  • A WJD Designs Original

 BT Designs BBOS6 theme by BT Design




This theme is the most available theme of the three. Has a very cool interface and runs very smoothly on the four BBs I ran it on. The downside is it is the most expensive, Running at $3.99, it is a dollar more than OS 6. But, if your BlackBerry is not supported with the other two, it is sure to be here, and it is definitely worth the extra buck then. Supported devices are Storm (4.7/5.0), 8900, 85XX, 8350, 9000, 96XX (Tour) and 9700. A cool feature on this theme is that on the homescreen the lock is a shortcut to the "Clock" app and the Signal icon is a shortcut to the "Manage Connections" app.

Features:
Touch-Screen version features
  • High imitate OS6 system animation.
  • In homescreen :Clock area is "Clock" button,Signal icon is "Manage Connections" button.
  • There are two small customizable icons under the banner:slot0 and slot1.
  • The area between slot0 and slot1 icons is display "hidden today" button.
  • Every Today icon has 3 items can be display on homescreen.
  • According gravity sensor to change homescreen UI.
  • Homescreen instruction when portrait:
  • There are total 12 customizable icons can be hidden on homescreen.
  • When the icons on the bottom,you can touch text buttons to scroll icons.
  • Quicklaunch app support.(exp.From screenshots)
  • Touch blank area on the left to enter application list.(exp. From AD pics)
  • Homescreen instruction when landscape:
  • There are 4 customizable icons(slot2 to slot5) on the bottom.
  • Touch "Application" icon hide 4 icons,Touch "Back" resume.
  • Today include "calenday" and "messages"
  • Touch the rihgt of blank area is "QuickLaunch" app.
  • Press the left of blank area is "Application list".
  • Press Back button on the Blackberry can hidden all icons or Todays.

Non-touch screen version features
  • There are two display style on homescreen with Today and Zen.
  • Two customizable icons(slot1 and slot2) under the banner.
  • Default style is ZEN:12 customizable icons on the bottom of homescreen.
  • Press "Space" button changing to Today style.
  • Press "Back" button back to ZEN style. 

3 comments:

rezn said...

I liked what you've written here BBAndrew. The 3 versions you chose were in fact the current top 3. I like them all personally though I was not happy when I saw the 1st one on CB, not WJD's. I'm talking that one that was made the top post and had like 5 custom icons. I knew things would get crazy with OS 6. And now I believe many of these themes will be much cooler than the actual OS 6 for our BlackBerry Smartphone's. However my favorite thing about this movement, this big effect made by the OS 6 icons is the reintroduction of simple "zen" icon-sets to the end user. Once I saw WJD's Clockwork theme I knew we had opened an awesome door, now we get the new BT Design theme Digital Magic theme. And if you look closely it says it was done by Designer 0901006, not Robinson BT! Which is kind of cool as well. Nice to see a Designer introducing one of the other designers. Good work.

Dave said...

hi rezn, i beileve you have consued my !6 theme with another, as mine has only been out for 2 weeks, and has always had the full icon set (courtesy of bbthemelabs.com) so mines actually the newsest i think, and never been incomplete in that sense. Plus the one i believe you mean was a paid one and mine is free :)

hope you dont mind me setting you straight on that :)

Andrew C said...

Thanks rezn, you make a strong point about the zen icon-sets. Glad you liked the post

Post a Comment