[Drew808]

Does anyone else find the active frames boring? In my personal opinion the frames need to be a smaller 2x3 grid similar to the Flipboard app interface or they need to be resizable. Having the frames the same size is different from WP8 but there needs to be some sort of flare to catch the eye of potential customers. I've heard that there will not be a way to use themes or wallpapers on BB10; If this is true RIM may alienate some who may want to put pictures of kids, family etc. as their background. Maybe the lockscreen will be the customizable part similar to Jellybean on Android then strictly business once you get to the OS. What's your opinion?

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

I understand there will be no themes but wallpapers will be business as usual. The active frames can be made to update or just show a minimized version of the app. The flare to catch the eye is that its exactly like a minimized program on a computer

[sleepngbear]

My opinion: BB10 is going to be a completely different way of doing things than iOS, Android, WP and even legacy BBOS. Hold onto your socks.

[Drew808]

I'm glad that there will be wallpapers but wouldn't the frames being as big as they are obscure the view of the wallpaper?

[sleepngbear]

I'm glad that there will be wallpapers but wouldn't the frames being as big as they are obscure the view of the wallpaper?

Not much different really than any current phone with changeable wallpaper and a grid of icons. Plus, from one of the demos I recently saw, I think you don't always have to the active frames screen up. I believe I saw sliding back and forth between active frames and something that looked like a 'regular' looking home screen, as well as swiping in and out of any running apps. Someone who's actually used it can correct me if I'm wrong.

Edit: take a look here: http://crackberry.com/10-weeks-black...-active-frames

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

I'm glad that there will be wallpapers but wouldn't the frames being as big as they are obscure the view of the wallpaper?

God forbid the wallpaper is covered by an active task, something you are doing on the phone. Are you joking?? Go to the home screen if you want to see your wallpaper. I dont understand this concern

[berklon]

I prefer WP8's live tiles. It's so much more customizable and you can just see everything on your main window with ease.

[AT_Nepal]

I hope BB displays/uses Active Frames in such a way that the average customer wont' say "This is exactly like WP8" sigh...Please RIM do something revolutionary! (or is it too late for that?)

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

I prefer WP8's live tiles. It's so much more customizable and you can just see everything on your main window with ease.

Hub + active frames = more stuff then live tiles. All just a touch away

[ubizmo]

For some odd reason, I like wallpaper and a home screen that has almost nothing on it but the wallpaper. On both my 9900 and Samsung Blaze, I use a wallpaper switcher app to change it every half hour. It's a quirk, but I just like it that way. It's not anywhere near a dealbreaker requirement for me, though. If BB10 lets me do something like that, terrific; if not, no big deal. As long as I can get to what I want to do in a few quick gestures, it's all good.

[soren203]

THIS! this is exactly what I'm worried about with BB10...people lost interest (or interest is starting to dwindle) with iPhone 5 because there was no new killer feature. I feel this way about BB10 it doest do anything extremely unique that will make people want to drop their existing phone and run to a BB10 device. Its a black slate with an icon grid, the same thing we have been seeing since the original iphone in 2007. Hopefully RIM still has this unique feature hidden.

[Drew808]

God forbid the wallpaper is covered by an active task, something you are doing on the phone. Are you joking?? Go to the home screen if you want to see your wallpaper. I dont understand this concern

It's not really a concern I was just trying to get more info on customization. I think every customer wants to differentiate their phone from the rest of the pack and the first thing that comes to mind is changing the theme or wallpaper. I do like the "pin to screen" idea so that your most used app will always show but I would use that idea to pin a battery meter or to do list, etc.

[Bold_until_Hybrid_Comes]

It's not really a concern I was just trying to get more info on customization. I think every customer wants to differentiate their phone from the rest of the pack and the first thing that comes to mind is changing the theme or wallpaper. I do like the "pin to screen" idea so that your most used app will always show but I would use that idea to pin a battery meter or to do list, etc.

Ah ok. Yeah we will be able to change our wallpaper to make it uniquely ours. Themes gone. Expect black, white, nd maybe red (based on accessory colours) devices. Yeah like on any phone there's no way around it - if you are doing something on the phone you won't see your wall paper. But there is still the regular homescreen on which you can keep app icons to a minimum to see a lot of your wallpaper. Pinning frames we don't know yet

[kbz1960]

I prefer WP8's live tiles. It's so much more customizable and you can just see everything on your main window with ease.

Doesn't that still give the OP the same situation?

[RocPlayr]

The app developers decide how the active frame looks and what info is displayed within it...hold your judgment until you have BB10 in your hands.

[gord888]

Active frames - from a developer perspective is kinda cool. I had fun coding for it - it's easier than coding for Windows Phone and you can provide a lot more information. Remember, each phone manufacturer is focusing on different areas.

The live tiles from MS - really not all that useful. It's really there to keep things moving and interesting - that's the impression i got from reading the docs. It was never about providing useful information.

Android widgets - their goals are to provide one peice of information and don't provide direct access into a full blown application (at least not in Froyo which is hte last one i used). This really goes against the "flow" of things. e.g. weather widget says it's going to rain. Want full weather details? open app drawer, find weather app, open app. Plus, after a while the widgets stagnate and people don't really fiddle with them when the novelty wears off.

BB10 - their focus is on communication and efficiency. A stark contrast to MS (focus on people), Apple (focus on apps), Android (trying to hit everything). The Active Frames are about efficiency. No long-press to bring up running apps - if coded correctly active frames provide useful information without needing to open the app (unlike live tiles which look pretty).

I think RIM has found a good balance between keeping their focus on efficiency, the usefulness of widgets, and the style of live tiles.

[steven4u2nv]

The ability to customize my phone “change the theme” is one of the many “features” that I love about my BB. I have an Ipad and the lack of customization is ridiculous.
Here is a workaround:
1) Create 3 or 4 app folders (available in BB10) with your most important apps in it.
2) Put just those folders on the first screen past the Active Frames screen, they should automatically populate the first 4 app slots at the top of the screen.
3) Offset your picture with an editing app so you can see the entire picture below the top row of apps.
4) Set the picture as your wallpaper.
5) Fill the rest of the screens with apps and folders.
I know it isn’t the best, but if you have to see that picture everyday then do this trick on the first app screen past the Active Frames and you will have your popular apps and a clear view of your wallpaper too.

I hope you find this a little helpfull.