theming the iphone like a boss

There are literally thousands of themes available for a jailbroken iPhone. However, to be quite honest most of them are crap and a large proportion of the remainder are atrocious – just look on Cydia. Most of the themes are incomplete, and only really provide a wallpaper and change a few icons – often using icons that have been downloaded from the internet.

Obviously there are a lot of “complete” themes, appearing on the new ThemeIt.app store and in the new themes section in Cydia. But I’ve found these themes to be missing UI elements here and there, which just stand out like dogs balls, and ruin the whole aesthetic of the theme. Furthermore, most of these themes have a ‘metallic’ motif of some sort and are just too ‘busy’. The iPhone’s hardware design is elegant and the UI should reflect that.

That being said, there are two themes that I think have pushed iPhone theming to a whole new level:

Prestige

This theme is only available on the ThemeIt app. In fact it is made by the developer of that app. As you can see from the screenshots, this theme has a simple, elegant and professional look, with hints of colour here and there to enhance the UI. Every part of the UI is themed from the keyboard to the landscape calculator, to common Cydia like BiteSMS. It also comes with a number of alternate lockscreen widgets that can display weather, time and calendar info. The theme is just stunning.

In the screenshots I’m using a 5×5 iconoclasm (look it up on Cydia) layout for the Springboard icons. Using Gridlock (another Cydia app that allows you to place icons anywhere you want in the grid), I’ve placed the icons in a nice little square in the middle. I’ve also set 5 dock icons using Infinidock – you guessed it, another Cydia app.

Revi-Krs

Revi-Krs is a theme released recently by an (apparently) well known iPhone theming dude known as “Krs” (surprisingly). Whilst this theme doesn’t have the same “elegance” as Prestige, it is fully complete and furthermore includes two sound themes. It also has more colour, but is not over the top or too busy.

Again, I’m using a non-standard layout from iconoclasm. I’ve also included a shot of the Springboard using the icons from the azui signature mod – available on Cydia. Revi-Krs is also available on the ThemeIt app.

The developers do charge for these themes, but in my view the small amount they charge is definitely worth it. So if you want to theme your iPhone like a boss, get these themes – don’t forget you’ll need to Jailbreak first.