Hello and Welcome! ****Disclaimer: This is an end user review only and as thus I cannot guarantee individual satisfaction of any product I review, only a thorough viewpoint from an unbiased third party. This products' capability to win you the prize, impress your mate or woo your boss is not implied or expressed!****
All reviews are based on testing executed on a Blackberry Storm 9530 OS updated from RIM (which is 4.7.75 current; no beta, cracked, or leaked OS) with 45mb free file memory (a few apps have been deleted, such as the sample pics, to gain memory), and 2-3 current profiles installed. This is to emulate as close as possible an experience most end users will have.
Introduction
Following is a thorough review from an end user standpoint of the iVista 2 by Z Man Designs. We'll Explore its overall quality, capability, fit and finish, highlight its successes and take a look at any possible bugs or compatibility issues.
A link to each app reviewed is included in the review! Rating System
Ratings in catagories are assigned marks from 0 to 5 for satisfaction, with 0 being abysmal and 5 being absolutely outstanding. The scores are then tallied at the end for a total cumulitive score and verdict! Scoring categories are uniform allowing for differing product. This is to be as neutral and unbias as possible.
iVista 2 by Z Man Designs Overview Direct Link to Reviewed APP! iVista 2 - Themes BlackBerry Software - Crackberry Store
The iVista 2 theme is touted as a hybrid of the best of iPhone icons and the clean professional layout of the Vista OS. Its target user seems to be the no-frills type that requires plenty of home desktop icons and prefers the iPhone icon feel and look, as well as the Vista layout. Billed as a theme that works best for the professional on the go with a creative approach for the every day user. At first glance, it looks very tidy. There is a definite uniqueness to the theme with well designed icons, and a bold layout. In theory it sounds quite capable, impressive and original. In practice, however, it attempts to juggle a few too many applications and features. In an attempt to do everything possible it is quite capabale of doing many things adequately, but nothing specific spectacularly.
In portrait mode the home desktop features date and signal status on the far top status bar. There are no less than 12 changable icons that permanently display on the home desktop in 3 dock areas: 6 on the top dock, 1 on the right dock, and 5 on the bottom dock. The right dock features several static icons that are not changeable that include a large time dial at the top right which is clickable to access clock settings, a battery meter directly below the clock displaying with %, a media icon/"widgett" that accesses the media folder, and a message icon that displays unread messages. In the small portion of the center screen a hidden "today" calendar displays when appointments become pertinent. The sound profile icon is located at the bottom right corner where it would be located on a "Vista" desktop taskbar on a Computer.
In landscape mode icons display in the non optional (as of yet) storm layout.
In both portrait and landscape mode the "touch highlight" is a white border with a highlighted background within the border of the selected icon (differing from the solid blue of the standard Zen theme built in) by design of the theme
Overall Quality Review
The iVista 2 appears to pack a metric ton of features and function for the business professional, at first glance. It has bright and pleasing colors, a strict no nonsense layout, and potential to be one of the best themes available. It looks to be an all-in-one theme upon previewing, however, something is lost in translation. In an attempt to be a jack of all trades, it is master of none.
Upon downloading and running it through the gauntlet the details emerge! On to the facts!
Capability:
Rating: 3 of 5
What looks on paper to be the K.O. blow this theme would be packing, in effect, becomes its Achillies' heel. It has so much going on that it is dragged down by its inability to focus and execute. Having 12 changeable home desktop icons is
AMAZING, yet, having them all on a fixed permanent display is
confusing. Add to that the 4 large fixed icons on the right dock, and the "today" display in the center, the home desktop for this theme is downright confusing. Alone, all of these features are outstanding. When they all co-exist permanently on the home desktop, the crammed-in cluttered feel is a big distraction.
At a whopping 1.2mb file, this theme is by far the largest i have tested and runs a fair amount slower than the other themes tested. Whether or not the file size or the desktop layout causes this is unknown. The end result is this theme is sluggish to switch screens and applications. Scoring a 3 out of 5 mainly due to how much it can do, and the fact that all those "can do's" slow it down and clutter it up. This theme could make
HUGE leaps of capability with one
MINOR tweak:
Make the top and bottom docks sliding hidden docks and 90% of the clutter on the home desktop would vanish when not in use!
Compatability:
Rating: 0 of 5
Scoring an embarassing 0 out of 5, this theme has BIG compatability issues. Upon use this theme causes "app Error 523" and locks up the phone. This occured on numerous occasions. The theme causes a white frozen screen immediatly after unholstering from a standard OEM BB holster.
Because of all the features it is touting, it runs slowly. While a battery pull or quick-pull are usually advisable when switching themes to maximize performance, some themes packing top notch features don't always need it and have no issues switching over. This theme runs overly sluggish when switched to, if no hard reset is executed: so always remember to execute a reset. In addition, it is a memory hog. Executing a hard reset and running at 46mb file free memory this theme drags file free memory down to 32mb within 1 hour of operation. Half of that hour the phone was in the OEM BB holster. This pattern repeats itself as I reset and operate the phone throughout the day as I use it.
Warning! Until further notice this theme causes "App Error 523" on MY Storm 9530 (4.7.0.75 official OS)! Your results may vary, this is an account of what it did on MY PHONE. Install at your own risk. This theme caused white screen lock and app error lock on MY STORM. These issues are being looked into by Zman and there may be an update shortly! Fit and Finish:
Rating: 3 of 5
This theme scores a standard 3 of 5, managing to do that on the shoulders of the excellent design of the icons and color pallet. It has a clean unique style and it is very obvious the designer payed great attention to the detail of the borders, icons, background and alignment. What hinders the fit and finish here is the over abundance of icons on the home desktop that are permanently displayed. The theme feels overly busy and chlosterphobic, and many of the icons are small and hard to access easily. Because the home desktop has fixed icons, user backgrounds are largely moot, as they are mainly obstructed. With all this theme can do it becomes a bit too busy on the desktop, not lending itself to an intuitive feel. However, by simply making the top and bottom dock sliding hidden docks, this theme would make a
GIANT leap in terms of fit and finish, becoming
VERY user intuitive, background user capable, sleek and uncluttered. With that one
SIMPLE change, this theme would easily be closing in on that 5 of 5 here!!
Successes:
Rating: 2 of 5
This theme could be capable of so much! The attention to detail in the finish of the icons and graphics are superb! It has a hidden today field, and 12 changeable desktop icons. Scoring a 2 out of 5 here, which is mediocre, what hinders this theme from hitting that big 5 is the "jack of all trades, master of none" desktop, and havign too many hindrances to overcome. By fixing compatibility and addressing those lock up issues and revising that top and bottom dock by making them sliding and hidden, this theme would vault ahead in the successes category!
Quirks and bugs:
Rating: 0 of 5
Scoring an abysmal 0 of 5, this is where this theme fell down hard, and dropped out of the race behind its peers. It runs slowly even on an optimized storm with 48-49mb of file free memory, logmaid, and quickpull installed to clean up and reset when needed. It leaked file free memory by nearly 14mb over the course of an hour. This was a common occurance, as the phone was reset half a dozen times to confirm. When using the home icon menu or "applications" menu the phone locked out "options" after a few icons were moved not allowing it to open; this happened on several sporadic occasions.
Warning! Until further notice this theme causes "App Error 523" on MY Storm 9530 (4.7.0.75 official OS)! Your results may vary, this is an account of what it did on MY PHONE. Install at your own risk. This theme caused white screen lock and app error lock on MY STORM. These issues are being looked into by Zman and there may be an update shortly!
The theme displays a blank white screen for 3-4 seconds after being unholstered from the OEM BB holster sporadically that i have not seen with any other theme. The 7th changable icon on the desktop, located on the right side dock directly under the message fixed icon, does not display the "touch highlight" border all other icons do.
This app error lock up and the white screen lock upon unholstering is ungainly. I thoroughly hope this will be addressed with an update
Another note: I have to pull the truck over here and stop for just a second to draw your attention...... There is one specific thing that bothers me about this theme: An icon that is a direct link to the designers web site is included in the theme. Now, this in and of itself is not an issue. What is an issue is
this icon cannot be deleted from the menu, or the applications screen in options. While i
greatly appreciate the work you put into this theme (after all i payed $6 for it) i do
NOT appreciate not being able to remove this icon. I may be alone in being annoyed directly by this, nonetheless, it must be said.
The tally:
Total Rating: 8 of 25
The Verdict:
Scoring an ungainly 8 of 25 this theme has some issues!! It has the capability to do
so much, yet is hindered by a host of things. Its premise is admirable; its delivery is poor. As it stands it is bugged, slow and ungainly. Z Man Designs very obviously has a capable winner on its hands, but must address
core issues with app errors, lag and lock ups to make this theme a contender! With the proper training and dieting this could be a heavy-weight hitter that is as nimble as a lightwieght!
Final Thoughts:
Looks smart, looks fun, has the goods....... falls far short on delivery. As it stands, i wouldn't recommend this as a purchase, because the theme has big issues with error, lock ups, lag and suffers from an identity crisis. It could be
so great........ unfortunetly it isn't in the current incarnation.
Although i DO like this theme for many reasons, in its current form I would not recommend this theme for purchase. I sincerely hope it gets revised/reworked/debugged soon. With a few revisions it could be amazing. Direct Link to Reviewd APP! iVista 2 - Themes BlackBerry Software - Crackberry Store
In conclusion, I hope everyone got something from this review! It always takes a good bit of time to put a program through the wringer from all angles to test its capability and durability, and then write up a full review that is informative and easy to understand.
Comments and suggestions are always welcome!
Thanks For stopping by!
MrCbr
Thread Author
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Theme Review: iVista 2 by Z Man Designs! 
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