RIMarkable reader Josh sent us a question that I really don’t have a good answer for so I thought that I would pose it to you…
Why do all the good free BlackBerry themes come out only for the BlackBerry Curve?
Although I wouldn’t go as far to say that no good free BlackBerry themes come out for the BlackBerry Pearl or the BlackBerry 8800, I can say that it does indeed seem like the overwhelming majority of them are for the BlackBerry Curve. I would even go as far to say that it is down right difficult to find them for the Pearl.
Are BlackBerry themes harder to create because of the BlackBerry Pearl’s smaller screen size?
Good question. Been wondering myself.
I know what you mean, most themes are for the Curve version of the BB.
I would venture to guess that there may be less of them out there because most of the people that make themes have the Curve, my wife is something of a master at making themes actually since she uses an emulator to test them out on the like model phone the theme is intended for. She made a nice World of Warcraft theme a little while ago.
So with the right emulator, the theme creation software and some nice icons that u re size or borrow from games, you could make your own theme. Well thats if you have enough patience to do that anyway:-)
Who cares?
The Curve is the best BB to date. People who really care about Blackberry therefore have a Curve. People who care about their Blackberry’s less don’t own a curve and don’t care about cool themes.
whassup wit that….like make some themes for the 8800 series
Dorian, what are you talking about?
“People who really care for the Blackberry therefore have a Curve”.
I love and have care for my Pearl just as much as you probably love your Curve.You’re making it sound like people who don’t have the Curve don’t appreciate the BlackBerry.
Anyways, as far as making themes for the Pearl’s small screen, I think it is a little more difficult trying to fit the icons onto the small size of the screen. If they created icons that are smaller (respectively to the size of the screen), it would be hard to see the details of the icon without thinking it looks like a blob…I guess?
From a theme builder’s point of view, I have found that making themes for BB Pearls can be a bit more difficult, mainly due to the smaller screen size. I make all of my wallpapers from scratch and I find it easier to work with a ‘larger canvas’ (320×240) when considering the composition of a wallpaper background for a theme.
Another reason why you may see more free Curve themes than free Pearl or 88xx themes is that the majority of theme builders I have come across OWN a BlackBerry Curve. I own an 8830, so I make all my themes for my phone first, and then port them over for other models. In addition, most theme builders only have access to one particular BB model and so they are not able to test out the theme for other models (my sister owns a 8130 so I’m able test out my themes on her phone).
Regardless of all that, I have made Pearl versions of all (except one) of my themes. The two free (OTA) themes that I offer for the month of June are available for 81xx, 83xx, 87xx, and 88xx BB devices (‘Salvation’ and ‘Hendrix’).
Oh, and icon sizes are a non-factor when it comes to theme building (with the exception of Icon style themes). A Zen theme made for 81xx, 83xx, 87xx and 88xx BB devices uses all the same size icons, 48×36 (same goes for Today themes and these models).
I think Dorian is absolutely right.
I have a pearl and a curve… i love them both equally. ;P
As another theme builder (hey Brandy :D), I tend to agree with Brandy. I started making themes for my pearl February of last year. When I got my curve in April, the CDK didn’t even allow for themes to be built for a curve. That version did not come out until summer of last year. My pearl themes slowed down and I started to build out the curve themes. Looking back though, I seem to have more free pearl themes than any other device.
” my wife is something of a master at making themes actually since she uses an emulator to test them out on the like model phone the theme is intended for. She made a nice World of Warcraft theme a little while ago.”
— haha, nerd.
Come one…Pearl is easily the weekest Blackberry of recent times. Its just a glorified phone.
You all need to stop dissin da pearl n get a life ight. And on top of dat people want smaller phones instead of big heavy duty phones. The pearl if perfect size so grow up and stop talking shi*
Dorian, it is apparent you haven’t used one. It has the exact same capabilities as a Curve with half the keyboard. I must say, in this case, bigger isn’t necessarily better.
Since Dorian stated, “Come one…Pearl is easily the weekest Blackberry of recent times.”, I was wondering if he would post why the other BB devices are superior.
BlackBerry 8130 pearl. Needs- try taptu.com
I will take my blackberry over any phone out there.