what is the purpose of themes?

[Melinda Musil]

A good friend asked me this question, and I don't have a good answer:

What is the purpose of Blackberry themes?

As far as I can tell, the only real purpose to themes is "fun"- to get different images for icons and so forth. I have a couple of themes on my blackberry, and I have enjoyed them, but they haven't really made a significant difference in the way I use my blackberry.

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

[elvin1983]

You've got it about right, It really just changes the icon sets, and the overall look of your BB UI, other than that it does nothing.

Kind of makes it like you've got a new phone, when you really don't!

[amazinglygraceless]

Purely a matter of preference and aesthetics. Some people like them. Some
people, like me, view the vast majority of themes (free or premium) as being pure crap.

I have one blank theme. I prefer to change the wallpaper and not have to look at
icons, weather slots, hidden docks, those goofy tabs, etc. Purely a "to each his
own" type of thing.

[John Yester]

More Options

[Nalinith]

A lot of the themes I don't like, except the simplistic ones.

It's the same reason someone changes themes on their desktop. (I have custom themes for XP)

[Buckeye-in-Colorado]

I've always wondered this myself. Good point though to whoever said it was like getting a new phone without really doing it. I suppose that MIGHT justify paying for a theme... lol

[Duvi]

Keeping it fresh for a lot of people. Keep them from getting bored.

Me... If I get a good theme, I'll stick to it for a very long time. I don't really change much. Even the wallpaper usually stays the same for a long time.

[sedalia066]

Eye candy pure and simple. I change themes often just for the new look or to better display my latest picture as wallpaper.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[BergerKing]

In my case, I like the precision Themes on my Curve. I use my BlackBerry a lot, so I've selected a series of apps that I use most, and my 14 icon top/bottom dock saves me time having to make an extra hop to the desktop to open what I need ATM. I like it, but everyone has their personal tastes.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[cd36]

I use Earl Grey theme, and for me its more than eye candy. It does have a much nicer look than the stock theme, but it also has an added hidden today feature which is nice when I want to see my background, which conveniently is my current conditions from BerryWeather. If I want Icons I can slide out a dock that has more icons, plus it has a quicklaunch button in the bottom. It also has one icon thats in the top right corner at all times where I keep scoremobile, so I can quickly check sport scores just by looking at my homescreen. Overall the theme has increased the functionality of my Blackberry, as I can now access my Today Calendar/Messages current weather, sports scores plus hide/view 8 icons and a quicklaunch button all from my homescreen. So they aren't all about eyecandy, some of them can improve the functionality of your device.

[JRSCCivic98]

RIM has long been criticized for lack of UI "flare" per say. Because of this, for them it was easier to allow for Theme availability instead of changing the overall look of the UI within the OS. Aside from visual astetics and info rearangements of the UI, there's no other point behind Themes.

[Username00089]

To blow $7

I don't do themes

[TequilaAddict]

I usually don't pay for themes. So many free ones out there, but I might donate
to a person who makes a really good theme. I'm going to try out a theme from
pimpmyberry.com to see if I really like the icons, which is what really matters to
me as far as changing the look of my screen.

Its all just another part of the Crackberry addiction... getting new looks on your
screen.

[Tõnis]

Originally Posted by amazinglygraceless

Some
people, like me, view the vast majority of themes (free or premium) as being pure crap.

I have one blank theme. I prefer to change the wallpaper and not have to look at
icons, weather slots, hidden docks, those goofy tabs, etc. Purely a "to each his
own" type of thing.

I'm with you on that. I hate icons, even on my computer. I prefer to see just my often-changing choice of wallpaper.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[BerryWriter]

I love having a weather slot and hidden today. Makes my Berry a lot more useful to me. I paid a whole $1.96 for my theme and it was worth it. It's all a matter of personal preference.