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Commercial BlackPack Today Theme For BlackBerry 8300 & 8800

by Ronen Halevy on Dec 27th, 2007 at 2:12 pm EST
10 Comments »
 

BlackPack-Today-Screenshot3UPDATE: This theme does not seem to be free anymore. I updated the title and post to reflect that. Thanks Tyler!

Eveek.com has just released a slick modern theme called BlackPack. Personally I am not fond of the items on the today screen but the look is very impressive. It looked hot on the 8800 I installed it on but it may not jive with the device colors of your 8300. I like the icon choices but the extra glow around the icon is a bit much and makes them hard to see. The menu font is also not one of my favorites but it matches the overall theme. Thanks Eveek!

BlackPack-Today-Screenshot1BlackPack-Today-Screenshot2

Announcement on Eveek
Download area for 8800
Download area for 8300

I really find it confusing why great theme authors such as Eveek and Themes4BB post their themes on a forum. The forum structure leaves no easy way to access them from your BlackBerry to install OTA and no good way to browse through the available themes. I really wish they would come up with a better delivery mechanism or just have a mobile friendly version.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27th, 2007 and is filed under 8300 Curve, 8800/8830, Free Software, Themes.

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10 Comments to “Commercial BlackPack Today Theme For BlackBerry 8300 & 8800”

  1. Posted by: Steve
    December 27, 2007 at 7:25 pm EST

    Thanks for the mention…

    BUT…

    I do think that Peter (eVeek.com) and I (Themes4BB.com) both have very good forum structure. I know that themes are easily found on my forum as well as on eveek’s.

    I have invested in a mobile forum that is far above the forums that some other sites tout as mobile. The unfortunate thing is the way these forums are programmed. Unless you know what theme you are looking for, it is difficuly to find.

    If there are forum skin designers out there…maybe they will take up the cause and design a mobile skin that is easy to navigate as well as allowing the user to display the themes much better than the way they are being displayed now.

    I have been using different skins for the mobile forum for some time..and I am not truly happy with any of them. Each one of them has something great to offer…but none of them have been 100% great.

    Hopefully in 2008 someone will come up with a better way to browse VBulleting forums via mobile.

  2. Posted by: eVeek
    December 27, 2007 at 7:32 pm EST

    Hey :)

    Thanks for the heads up, early 08 we’ll be working on our new theme platform as well as ringtones and some other, so it’ll all get better, just a matter of some time :)

    Thanks Ronen I’ll ttyl

  3. Posted by: Ronen Halevy
    December 28, 2007 at 12:47 pm EST

    Steve & Peter,
    I was in no way implying that you are not working on it and actively looking for a solution. On the contrary I was saying that any forum structure does not lend to showcasing themes.

    The best example I have seen so far is Magmic’s mobile website for their games. Each game is in a category with screenshots that can be seen from their mobile. They can also then download it OTA directly or buy the game. It is more streamlined then having to send yourself a link with each OTA theme.

    What I am saying is that maybe a different dedicated site could redirect mobile users to a mobile friendly listing of the current themes you have. Which would grow over time. You could even pull off something like this with a wordpress blog and a mobile plugin or theme that would show categories and images only.

    I also have not seen a good solution but it does not mean that it is not something I would like to see solved :)

  4. Posted by: Steve
    December 28, 2007 at 12:57 pm EST

    Well for 1..Magmic is not using a Forum

    You mentioned “It is more streamlined then having to send yourself a link with each OTA theme.”

    Why are you doing that?

    If you visit my forum via the MOBILE Forum Link, the pages are streamlined and Images appear..a long with a link to download. What could me more easy?

    And as far as creating a seperate site just for OTA…no way that will happen. I know it won’t happen for Themes4BB.com (can’t speak for Peter)…

    Most of the time when you make OTA available on the regular site people do not appreciate it….rarely get a Thank You. So why should site owners create a seperate site?

  5. Posted by: Ronen Halevy
    December 28, 2007 at 1:14 pm EST

    First of all Steve I am in no way trying to offend or criticize all of the good HARD work that you have put into the forums. Honestly I did not even know Themes4BB had a mobile version since it does not automatically redirect you.

    Second of all let me explain what I mean. If you go to themes4bb from your Berry.
    You first have to wait until the regular desktop version loads which takes awhile.
    Then you have to realize there is a link to the mobile version.
    Then you need to either register or login.
    Then it reloads the page.
    Then it finally logs you in and you have to click browse the forum
    Then you have to click theme download section
    Then you have to select your device
    Then you finally can start seeing the pages with the themes
    Then you click on the OTA download link

    You are talking about a minimum 7 step process just to be able to see one theme. That is the reason I email myself the links because even with a browser bookmark I still have to wait for the page to load and me to hunt for the theme I want in the downloads section.

    Once again I appreciate your hard work. What I AM doing is trying to offer some constructive criticism. I have had multiple readers ask me where to get themes only to be turned off by the whole process just to find a theme that they like.

    Just to give you an idea of the number of people I am talking about… BerryReview.com referred over 3,000 visitors to Themes4BB since December 1st. We are not talking about a small number of people running into this.

    All I was trying to bring to light is that the current situation is not “perfect” (most things are not) I am just putting the ball in your lap to see if both of you are up to the challenge of improving it.

  6. Posted by: eVeek
    December 28, 2007 at 2:39 pm EST

    I have to agree with Ronen, theme browsing isn’t the best the way it is right now on our site. Simply cause it all comes through the forums. However, we do have a WAP site that makes it a little easier (wap.eveek.com) but I totally understand what you mean and believe it or not, my guys been telling me the same thing.

    So we’re aiming on coming up with something better in 08 ;)

  7. Posted by: Chelly
    February 14, 2008 at 12:00 am EST

    Not free anymore

  8. Posted by: Tyler
    August 21, 2008 at 5:48 pm EST

    This is a prime example of diversion from truth in advertising. Free BlackPack? What a joke. Let’s denote the disclamer: “Note: Themes in RED are PPD (Pay-Per-Download $2-$5.” What do I find? BUY NOW in big red letters next to BlackPack Today. It’s not in good taste especially for those who expect a free download where it says “Free Download.” I suggest changing that because it is, to say the least, a little misleading.

  9. Posted by: Ronen Halevy
    August 21, 2008 at 8:47 pm EST

    Thanks for pointing that out Tyler. When I posted this over 8 months ago the theme was free… I will update the article to reflect the changes.

  10. Posted by: Tyler
    November 12, 2008 at 1:07 pm EST

    I finally broke down and bought it. It’s pretty cool, I must say. I had to update my OS, which was sad because it messed up and I had to wipe my berry, but it’s all good. Time to upgrade to a Storm, woo hoo!