Roman Keller’s Themes Part Two
Following up on last week's Friday Themes post, here are Roman Keller's remaining four variation of the "Cubic" theme. A big thanks to Roman!
Following up on last week's Friday Themes post, here are Roman Keller's remaining four variation of the "Cubic" theme. A big thanks to Roman!
November 8th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Green Cubic is awesome love it, thanks a lot.
November 8th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Just one problem, when switching applications by holding the application button you can’t actually tell the one that is selected since the highlighted item and the background have the same color
November 8th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
unfortunately I have yet to enjoy a theme, except for macblue.
November 8th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Tout,
c’mon, there is a gazillion of good themes out there
November 8th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Ricardo,
Thanks for catching this.
e
d
November 8th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
man, im a designer and mac user, damn dudes, for me change the “desktop” picture only and with those bad forms and colors, cmom, do a theme for real!! some nice new icons, new menus, damn, this is not a theme, this is a picture, and a bad one sorry..
November 8th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
can somebody help me…why i can’t install themes application on my Nokia E61i….
whwn i install any kind of themes there’s display ” certificate error or certificate expired???
what it’s mean????
November 8th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Jackson.
A solution is listed on the main page of the blog:
http://www.e-series.org/archives/432
November 8th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Roman, Would it be possible for you to create a jet-black theme - No designs, but just plain, pure black, with white letters.
Thanks
Prasad
November 8th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Damnson, Be quite
November 8th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Like them but wudnt use them to be honest
November 9th, 2007 at 4:10 am
Ref Richardo’s point, there’s a black box surrounding the highlighted item on the first four (grey & blue) themes in this series. However, I agree with his basic point. There are consistency problems with these themes. In some applications (eg. Messaging, Contacts), there is a solid bar for highlighted areas, in others (eg. adding a new contact), it is a partially transparent bar. When adding a new contact, it is impossible to read anything except the currently highlighted area, as they are lost in the background.
As damnson says, most of these themes - with the exception of the official Nokia ones - are simply fancy pictures and colour schemes. They don’t actually improve anything at all!
November 9th, 2007 at 6:35 am
I disagree with Tony Rome, I think the themes do improve something - the look of my phone! Guys (and gals) like Roman and many others create these themes and share them with all of us at no cost. They have no requirement to do that, it is just goodwill. We, on the other hand, have no requirement to use them. I can’t count the number of themes I have had on my e61. Most only stay there a few days, some will be on the phone as long as I have it. I have appreciated ALL of them, even the ones not to my taste, even the ones with tiny little flaws. I appreciate them most of all because the people who make them have a talent and ability that I do not, they share their gift with all of us and I think we can’t thank each of them enough.
November 9th, 2007 at 7:30 am
be quite??? this isnt a theme brother sorry if true hurts, this is a simple desktop picture with a bad taste in colors..
November 9th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Beautifull themes..unfortunately i can download them on my e61 .all that opens is a page full of symbols..what could be the problem..?ive downloaded many themes before from this site..
November 9th, 2007 at 11:49 am
really nice theme. thanx man. wait orthers.
November 9th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
hey cmon guys its free isnt it, plus Roman’s put some effort into them so BE NICE!!!
November 9th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Ya be nice as Joshua said. Damnson, can i know what kind of themes you use? Im just saying this because i prefer simpler themes with standard icons and just cant use those flashy themes
November 11th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
@damnson totally agree… but thanks anyway y´all…
November 12th, 2007 at 3:08 am
It isn’t a question of ‘being nice’! I’m sure a lot of effort has been put in but the point is that simply putting a background image and a new colour scheme on the phone is not a proper ‘theme’. Personally, I’d rather pay for something which was professional rather than have 20 free themes on my phone, none of which are decent. Sorry!
November 12th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
@damnson and Tony Rome:
I understand where you’re coming from, however I must disagree completely, and here is why:
Firstly, you are both harping on the fact that this is not a “theme” because the definition of “theme” includes icon packs etc. The thing is, you are being too literal.
damnson, you claim that these are simply backgrounds. I would like you to take an image on your phone and apply it as your background. You may notice that it only fills a small portion of the screen, rather than the entire 320×240 pixels, no matter what the image resolution is. This is what Nokia defines as a “background”. Perhaps Apple and Microsoft have a different definition, but we aren’t referring to a PC or Mac, we are referring to a cellular phone. The ONLY way to change the bars at the top and bottom of the screen that fall behind the signal strength/battery life and your left and right icons is by creating a theme with Nokia’s software.
This brings me to my next point: it is far more difficult to create a theme for this device than it is to make a computer desktop theme. I know this because I have tried on many occasions, and while I have come up with a few ok ones, none of them are publish-worthy. The ones that Roman Keller has made for us would likely take you or I hours upon hours to create. In fact, I challenge you to make one that is even comparable to his, let alone superior.
As far as different icons/functionality is concerned, I have installed upwards of one hundred different themes on my E62 and the sad fact is that it just can’t handle non-optimized icons very well. It is undeniable that a theme with too many bells and whistles slows the device down. Now in saying that, some people might not care. Personally, I prefer that my device run the way it was meant to.
Roman’s themes succeed on every level that a good theme should. They are (extremely, in my opinion) aesthetically pleasing, non-obtrusive and most importantly, do not hamper the functionality of my device. You may not find them pleasing to the eye, but that is personal preference. Where you are both wrong however, is that these are indeed themes, and damn good ones.
Constructive criticism is always a good thing, but writing someones effort off as “simply putting a background image and a new colour scheme on the phone” (as Tony Rome did) is not only destructive, it is ignorant. As the old cliché goes: “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
damnson and Tony Rome, I’m sorry if this comes across as an attack, as it is not meant to be. I just wish to bring to light some things that non-theme makers might not know. Roman Keller has no obligation to us to make these themes, just as Ed has no obligation to host this site. I think sometimes it’s nice to remember that.
Thank you Roman Keller for continuing to make my device fresh and even more appealing, and thank you Ed for continuing to bring these wonderful themes to our attention.
And that concludes War & Peace.
November 13th, 2007 at 3:09 am
I am far from ignorant, Timmy, and if you read my comments again, you will see that you’ve actually confirmed their accuracy! Roman’s ‘themes’ are not themes, they are a background image and a new colour scheme, whereas, as you correctly point out, a proper theme is one created using the special Nokia software. Yes, it is difficult to use that software but it’s the only way you’ll get a really satisfactory result. That’s not ignorance, it’s fact.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:13 am
Good post timmy!
November 13th, 2007 at 11:35 am
@Tony Rome:
I’m sorry, I mustn’t have been clear in my post; Roman’s themes WERE created using the Nokia software, as there is no way to apply a full sized image and/or colour scheme without using the software to create the theme. In fact, out of all the options that the software gives you, the only thing Roman didn’t include is new icons. If we are to assume there are approximately a dozen different options, Roman used eleven of them. I would think that using 90% of the options should have it qualify as a theme, no?
Also, the reason I point out the difficulty of the software is not to imply that adding icons would be difficult (in fact that is one of the easier things to do), it was to imply the overall difficulty of simply creating the themes that Roman created. I can’t speak for Roman, but I assume the reason he didn’t add icons was:
a) he didn’t want to use some type of image editing software to make them;
b) he couldn’t find/make any that he felt matched the theme nicely;
c) he wanted to retain the premier functionality of the device.
The last thing I want to mention is that my device (E62) came pre-installed with three themes from Nokia (Nokia, DarkStripes and Steel). When switching between these themes my icons do not change and really, all that does change is “the background image and colour scheme”. Based on your comments, Nokia’s own themes are not actually themes.
Maybe Nokia should have named the folder “Backgrounds/Colour Schemes/Themes”, however, they didn’t. The chose to name it “Themes”, and by their own definition, with their sample themes as proof, Roman Keller has created packages definable as themes.
Once again, I apologize if this post comes across as arrogant or pretentious. Even upon reading it myself I can see it being perceived that way. That is the biggest issue with text communication, however I assure you that there is no malice intended on my part.
November 13th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Very interesting discussions. Both of you have valid points and am happy that the discussion is happening in such a decent manner. Healthy technical debates are always enlightening and the discussion on themes is indeed enlightening. I, for one, learnt a lot just by reading the points and counter points.
Thanks folks,
Prasad
November 14th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Timmy, it wasn’t clear from your original post that Roman used the full Nokia theme software. The fact that it looked like he didn’t sums up the problem! The Nokia themes are the only ones I’ve found which don’t suffer from inconsistencies or unreadable elements and have well thought-out designs. Also, re Nokia’s use of the same set of icons, well they did create these icons in the first place! That’s entirely different from someone creating a theme of their own but then using icons from someone else. Whatever the arguments, I’ve been through at least 30 themes from various creators and I’m now back with Nokia’s own bundled themes because they’re so much better. That sums it up for me but each to his own, eh?
November 14th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Fair enough Tony! I do understand your points and hopefully you see what I’m getting at as well. I think “to each his own” sums it up best for me as well. I really enjoy the Blue Cubic 2 and Green Cubic 2 ones, but I’m sure they aren’t for everyone. Thanks for the discussion, and sorry for my lengthy rants, I have a tough time keeping it short and sweet!
November 14th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
i would like to thank you for sharing this themes specially the cubic 1 theme. really like it a lot.. greetings to all =)
November 14th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Now I am just curious to know as to what our venerable Mr. Roman Keller has got to say about all these discussions and view-points. Would also appreciate a few points from “ed”.
Thanks and regards,
Prasad
November 15th, 2007 at 4:14 am
Can you please guide me how to install the themes ? I tried several times but couldnt.
November 16th, 2007 at 6:48 am
No, it wasn’t a rant, Timmy. Your points were valid. I also liked the image for Green Cubic but not the entire theme, so I’m back with Nokia’s Red Dots. It’s clear Roman put a lot of work into these, though, so he deserves some credit for sure.
Pranab, what happens when you try to install the theme? If it’s a certificate error or expiry, check out this http://www.e-series.org/archives/432
November 16th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
did you notice, that non of these themes provided on this strange page have a working certifcate? nice but rubbish
November 16th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
wogue,
Simply set your application manager to accept “all” instead of “only cerfified” then it is work.:-D
December 16th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Good ol’ Roman Keller
His themes are a real killer
Here comes my gratitude
May your fame reach greater altitude
Thanks dude