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Fresh theme or UI for wm 6 smartphone?

Noob here,
Anyone here can help me get a nice and fresh lookin theme for my wm6 smartphone (Q8)? Its lookin old.
Been searching the interwebs, but so far, most of the nicer lookin themes (like the sense UI, android, replica themes) are for touchscreen winmos.
Tried to install mobile shell, but I keep gettin "installation unsuccessful" messange.

Fandysilalahi said:
Noob here,
Anyone here can help me get a nice and fresh lookin theme for my wm6 smartphone (Q8)? Its lookin old.
Been searching the interwebs, but so far, most of the nicer lookin themes (like the sense UI, android, replica themes) are for touchscreen winmos.
Tried to install mobile shell, but I keep gettin "installation unsuccessful" messange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Q8 is quite old, google if u can find a newer 6.1/6.5 ROM for it, or get a new phone, the android stuff is for android, and touch/PPC UI stuff wont install on a smartphone. Now that is said, there is 3 things u can try.
1) the Samsung I600 Cardwheel from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=410370
2) SGregory HTC Home Plugin from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=351441 (simplest to install and works well).
3) Some1 managed to port the TouchFlo2D(Manila2D) from touch to smartphone, i installed this once on a Vox and it was ultra heavy so i removed it. It is a long install process and u have to follow it properly and its sligtly buggy, u can try it if u want. Everything u need is here http://allshadow.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3581
btw, u dont need to put 2 threads with same topic.

Sorry, the double post was my mistake. Thought the first one didn't make it.
Thank you so much for your input, really appreciate it. Got the gregory one, buta haven't tried the others.
I found an android lookin theme on some non english website. Nice lookin. It only needs facade and smartmonitor I think.
I'll post the link as soon as I can find it again.
Guess I really need to go with the 6.1, eh?
What's your tip for the best ROM to use?
thx

http://gazete.yerbilimleri.com/category/smartphone/

My Today Screen is the best

Okay guys & gals,
Just thought I'd start a topic about our Today Screen.
I love a good launcher program (which I believe is simply what a today screen is). It took me a while to get to like WM6.5, but I do now. The disadvantage is that I still have to press my Start Menu for other apps... and for 64MB Uni's the disadvantage is only too obvious.
I hope you don't mind me quoting, but this is what started me thinking...
gewin said:
What I would like to do is set the programs screen ie the screen full of icons as the default when you start up the Universal. One less step and simpler for the end user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
phezthie said:
home screen plus is what yu need, i guess....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, oh for a simple Today Screen. I'm with you there.
Why do we have one method of accessing our apps on the Today screen, and yet another from the Start menu. (And for me a third when I want to choose a game to play).
I suppose nobody has come up with something that everyone agrees on!
Hence we have such platforms as Android, maybe.
As phezthie says, HomeScreen PlusPlus is a cool app. However, if you can't find a theme that someone has made that you like, you must be willing to write a script. Personally I love this app, but spend too much time tweaking my scripts! Ouch
Another one is ThrottleLauncher. A lovely graphic approach, but a bit heavy/slow and a few bugs. Very easy to set up, though... but perhaps more of an interest with 128MB devices and maybe a little restricted.
Anyone got a great Today Screen or Launcher they think others would like?
.

Hi Jonny
Interesting thread indeed
I used for a long time HTC Home large VGA by pj07 and I was very satified as I had all I needed on that home screen.
Now I´m using titanium but I´m agree with your comments above.
(attached)
Cheers,

I use Titanium too and its going pretty well for my needs till now.This his a good idea.

Hello thank you for starting this thread,as i am obsessed lately with this subject. I tried EVERYTHING that i could find,and so far,on my 64 MB uni,i can say only that i managed to find NOTHING in my taste.
Throttle launcher is awesome but no way it can work on my device,buggy and extremely slow,same as Pointui Home 2, with the POINTSENSE suite 2.0.0.6 looks awesome but useless on my device. For everyone with a 128 MB device i would recommend it,there are many many interesting skins/themes and applets on the Pointui website http://www.pointui.com/
Also,i am waiting for a new or fixed version of Touch Shell Pro ,which looks promising also,has some nice skins too, version now is 1.1.0.17,but has too many issues still,on my UNI at least.
http://www.touch-shell.com/
Also i tried FEWidgets Ultimate,again nice idea but too slow on my UNI.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=544874
There is now also this Sense UI Theme for FEWidgets Ultimate.
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-sense-ui-theme-for-fewidgets-ultimate.html
As for launchers,i tried plenty,most of them too slow ofc,the nicer ones
Easy Today Launcher is a nice today plugin,you can combine it with some others to make a nice today screen also :
http://www.loffactory.webs.com/
MyAction is a nice launcher you can pick up here versions 1.1 and new 2.0 :
http://www.8080.pl/
This one looks real nice but was way too slow on my 64 mb - Touchlaunch :
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-touchlaunch.html
And for last,the best thing i found to be part of my today screen,is a skin for marsware weather panel 2009 - here is the whole thing :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=401781
When i get time i will put some more up,when i remember them,i really tried a lot of things out. And i really really wish that my UNI has 128 MB

I never looked back since getting SPB Mobile Shell 3.5, I think it's the best. In fact, once I got it, the ROM UI became irrelevant, I even have WM5 on one of my Unis in order to have the VC and not suffer much.

Complexity
Jonny
Thanks for starting this thread. I have also played with a number of the Today screen graphical setup programs, some are quite good. However, since upgrading to 6.5 I quite like the standard program screen that comes up when you select start.
My question is why do we need any of these today screen programs, when the icons and screen are already there. We really don't want to add any more complexity to the setup or anything else to use up precious memory.
I originally asked the question to see if there was just a way of bypassing the today screen altogether, so that the standard program screen came up by default.
Now thanks to you we have the collective minds thinking about it.

@gewin:
I actually got your idea. But couldn't find the function OS calls (@shell32.exe) when you hit on start menu.
Once we get then it is just the easy part....

I use SPB Pocket Plus, because it can handle other today plugins in different tabs. And it runs quickly on UNI64...

Thanks guys, this has been very informative. Especially to PalDragon for all the review... I'm going to give some of those a try. Cheers. What do others think?
MyAction - I found I didn't like. It looks ok if you use all the icons, otherwise you have half a screen full of blue +'s. I would prefer slide to screen, rather than use of a Prev/Next button. You also need to add all the apps yourself, it wasn't self-populating.
TouchLaunch - like. However only 1 item per line means a lot of scrolling, and the scrolling can be quite slow. Nice that you can make categories. Latest version here. Smooth (on my 128MB Uni)
EasyToday Launcher - @gewin, this is what you want! It's not self-populating, but I do like it. And as PalDragon pointed out, you can add other Today items with it, if you wish.

enigma1nz said:
I never looked back since getting SPB Mobile Shell 3.5, I think it's the best. In fact, once I got it, the ROM UI became irrelevant, I even have WM5 on one of my Unis in order to have the VC and not suffer much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i completely agree, its not free though but worth it...

Hi Jonny.. can you please attache some pics of your today screen if you haven't yet, I use HTC Home its got all i need even wheather, Messaging etc... But i wonder if its possible to add some applications to the wm6.5 on that cool up down slide. This made me stop using HTC Home but now i have some app's missing on my today.

my today screen is unintersting. I use WM6.5 'Ron Arad Orange' with CHome editor* for my apps (piccy1). I used to have weather plugin* but this seemed to make my GPS navigation freeze intermittently. I use QuickMenu* for my task switcher (piccy2) and iReflect icons* in my start menu (piccy3) with honeycomb start menu*. (Also, once used ATContacts widget*).
However I am still looking for a good 'app launcher' for games. I use fexploreext* set to 'Icon View' (see piccy4&5). Sadly fexploreext doesn't seem to work in WM6.5.1
I did once create a HomeScreen++ theme* for back when it was BatteryStatus, but haven't kept it up to date. It also had weather. The funny thing about weather widgets is that whenever I want to look at the forecast, I always want to update it ... so it seemed reasonable to stick with weather from an internet page! (perhaps because in UK weather is so changeable, I don't know!)
however, I am beginning to like SPB Mobile Shell (unsure how long the trial is for). What themes are people using? enigma1nz? phezthie?
FEWidgets and throttlelauncher seem similar, but a poor mans copy?
*if you want any of these files, just PM me.

spb mobile shell is really impressive and powerful (the latest is v3.5), ive been using ms v2 since tomal's 8.5. however, based from my experience, v3.5 is not advisable using tomal's wm6.5 roms (v9 & 10) due to slow response and occasional freeze. same with other wm6.5 cooked roms i tried, the reason why ram upgrade is imperative, at least for me, to enjoy the latest rom with latest spb.
off course, another solution i think is if our great uni rom chefs will always consider releasing vanilla of their great work...

UltimateLaunch
http://www.ultimatelaunch.de/index_en.html
Setup is a bit of a hassle (I've been messing around in Android, so a lot of Windows Mobile/Phone stuff seems more complex to customize), but if you're willing to put in the time, it's a rock solid-app and can customize to a T. It's also the least memory-hungry of what I've tried.
The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't accommodate rotation very well unless you count out pixels and just set it up so that in landscape it looks good even though the bottom of your screen is cut off.
I've tried Lakeridge (think Titanic, flashy, but *will* crash), ThrottleLauncher, Win6.5, SPB, SBSH. I keep coming back to this.

I used most of the GI app there and i liked WAD2. and i used with my custom theme when i was in wm 6.1, now with 6.5 due to memory issue i can not run it. so i'm using titanium with some customization.... see pic's below...

Hey Rajiv
Jane is so beautiful!!

Yes, very nice Jane, mate

orb3000 said:
Hey Rajiv
Jane is so beautiful!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
enigma1nz said:
Yes, very nice Jane, mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx a lot Guyz...

i envy you mate

phezthie said:
i envy you mate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He he
common guys no comment on titanium ....

[wm6.5] Today screen

Titanium today is very cool, but is there another transparent today screen for wm6.5 apart from Manila 2d?
Thanks

Dunno what else you could mean by transparent but there is also Pointui spb mobile and wisbar. They are not so easy to work with. Spb mobile I think, is the easiest and Pointui can be very attractive.

accessing said:
Dunno what else you could mean by transparent but there is also Pointui spb mobile and wisbar. They are not so easy to work with. Spb mobile I think, is the easiest and Pointui can be very attractive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A 1 + for pointui

Throttlelauncher is a good option, you can configure it at your own taste using themes (even Iphone, Android, TF3D, BB, GSmart imitations or some themes specially made by a person or for a person with some useful and nice aspects) or taking some of the themes and making your own one. You can add widgets, flash, and WM-Today plugins into the panels of ThrottleLauncher.
You can do a search here in xda-dev's or go to www.throttlelauncher.com
* NOTE * I experienced some problems running TL if my device is low of memory *BUT* I continue using and recommending it (and trying to put it into my cooked ROMs) - I run it with Kaiser and with Herald both WM6.5.1 now.

He means transparent toolbars

tonev said:
He means transparent toolbars
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, some of the TL themes do have transparent toolbars depending of the PNG's that the theme uses. As they are capable to disable the toolbars of WM you can use full screen themes with their own (or without any) toolbars - where they can be configured as the theme developer, or the user, like to.

Moved this thread outside of Dev and Hacking where it did not belong.

transparancy is possible in wm6.5, means what you want is practically can be done.

Thnx a lot for your replies friends.
In fact i was looking for new today screen with transparent taskbar.
Throttlelauncher can be very good. Will give this a try.

Manila? No, thanks. I need speed.

Manila, Manila 2.1, Manila 2.5, Sense.
Cool, Eye catchers, Smooth, etc. etc. etc.
These add-ons make the Topaz look and feel better. Just scroll left, scroll right, touch the thing and it rollz.
Is this really needed?
I don't think so. I have tried a lot of roms with these interfaces. Indeed the eyes are satisfied. But the performance is not.
I want when press the green send button the dialer to appear immediately, not after the phone first wake up. I want when executing something the thing to be run, rather than waiting sometimes ridiculous seconds until the appearance.
I was bored and bored with waiting. Really why something to be loaded into my system if that is not what works for me?? I work with dialer, contacts, calendar, run various applications. Why to waste system resources on interfaces???
My boredom lead to removing the sense through the today settings and
adding some today plugins, like launcher. And of course – topaz keyboard control for keys mapping.
The result is much much faster phone, which works for me, not for the interface.
Edit: WM 6.1. is fast, but a lot of features from 2009 are missing, that is why I prefer WM6.5.

if you want speed install wm 6.1 with no interface.

orlean, agree completely

orlean said:
Manila, Manila 2.1, Manila 2.5, Sense.
Cool, Eye catchers, Smooth, etc. etc. etc.
These add-ons make the Topaz look and feel better. Just scroll left, scroll right, touch the thing and it rollz.
Is this really needed?
I don't think so. I have tried a lot of roms with these interfaces. Indeed the eyes are satisfied. But the performance is not.
I want when press the green send button the dialer to appear immediately, not after the phone first wake up. I want when executing something the thing to be run, rather than waiting sometimes ridiculous seconds until the appearance.
I was bored and bored with waiting. Really why something to be loaded into my system if that is not what works for me?? I work with dialer, contacts, calendar, run various applications. Why to waste system resources on interfaces???
My boredom lead to removing the sense through the today settings and
adding some today plugins, like launcher. And of course – topaz keyboard control for keys mapping.
The result is much much faster phone, which works for me, not for the interface.
Edit: WM 6.1. is fast, but a lot of features from 2009 are missing, that is why I prefer WM6.5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which features do you mean??????

cyron_at
Basically I lack WIFI router integrated (I know I can install it separately);
And I had some bad expirence with some settings which I can not recall now.
But the number of question marks in your post made me look for another 6.1. realase. I am now downloading tess 6.1. from august.
What do you use?

use tess and you will be fine).
and if 6.1 is ugly to you try home ui or new infinity ui. they are speedy too.

orlean said:
cyron_at
Basically I lack WIFI router integrated (I know I can install it separately);
And I had some bad expirence with some settings which I can not recall now.
But the number of question marks in your post made me look for another 6.1. realase. I am now downloading tess 6.1. from august.
What do you use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using duttys HG R6...very stable; but try them all and make your choice...

So this has anything to do with themes?
I didnt think so. Try posting in the right section, then maybe your phone will be speedier.

xboxhaxorz said:
So this has anything to do with themes?
I didnt think so. Try posting in the right section, then maybe your phone will be speedier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The forum is titled " Topaz Themes, Applications and Software"
Sense 2.1 & 2.5 fit 2 of these categories....

xboxhaxorz said:
So this has anything to do with themes?
I didnt think so. Try posting in the right section, then maybe your phone will be speedier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
chill man he posted about the fact that mannila sucks and he coudnt be more correct.

I'm with you! Stopped using Manila a few days ago and my mobile experience has never been better. Using no today plug-ins now and my phone is faster, lighter and more stable than ever before. Memory usage is now 33% on a fresh boot and my home screen is uncluttered showing only my wallpaper, which looks great.
The most important thing for me was organising my start menu so that all my apps are readily accessable. That done, it's easy for me to access everything i need quickly, in fact faster than it was using Manila. I find Winmo 6.5 has everything i need with exception of a few things, and for those there are great free alternatives without having to resort to Manila bloat. For instance i use Nitrogen as a music player which is ten times better than Windows mobile media player OR Manila player.
Of course your mileage will vary but in my opinion the OP is right. Get yourself a good 6.5 ROM, install apps for the things you need/use a lot and use the start menu to access them.

Hi DirkGently1,
Hi guys;
I tried WM6.5. then reverted to 6.1.
I have running in the background: FingerKeyboard, AutoCallRecord, PlayPause, Topazkbgkontrol.
Memory after restart... 29%
I use Topaz Essential 6.1. v.2f
And the best part is that I don't want to flash new rom anymore :

orlean said:
Hi DirkGently1,
Hi guys;
I tried WM6.5. then reverted to 6.1.
I have running in the background: FingerKeyboard, AutoCallRecord, PlayPause, Topazkbgkontrol.
Memory after restart... 29%
I use Topaz Essential 6.1. v.2f
And the best part is that I don't want to flash new rom anymore :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So true. Once you find a good ROM there's no reason to change. Stability and speed are what makes a good user experience and Manila, or any other add-on UI, runs contrary to that by adding complexity, instability and bloat.

i hate to say this twice but realy , try infinity. runs realy great on topaz. it maybe not complete replacment yet but its usable

madman_cro said:
i hate to say this twice but realy , try infinity. runs realy great on topaz. it maybe not complete replacment yet but its usable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But what does it do that i can't do without it?

well. nothing realy. but its nice to have shortcuts the way you want them and see what time it is. and all that is pretty without slowdowns

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=582081
Just a nod to the chef here for people who like a clean rom without any bloatware. Xara 6.5.x clean is working perfectly on my Topaz and i LOVE it!

DirkGently1 said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=582081
Just a nod to the chef here for people who like a clean rom without any bloatware. Xara 6.5.x clean is working perfectly on my Topaz and i LOVE it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! That is what I am always looking for! I dont understand how can I pass that. nah....
Thanks for the link dude

krs4444 said:
Great! That is what I am always looking for! I dont understand how can I pass that. nah....
Thanks for the link dude
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure!
This is the 1st truly useable clean rom that has been released for the Topaz and it is really spot on. Even the default Windows Mobile keyboard is useable, in fact much improved from previous iterations.
Kudos to the chef.

Ï hate Manila and I hate 6.5 -and I'll probably also hate 7

Themes for HTC Pure?

I used to have a HTC Tilt and had SPB installed, effed up the screen on it and decided to get a HTC Pure. Very happy with it so far but the tech in me wants to change it up a bit.
I was wondering if there is a single thread like the one for SPB that has all the themes in it. or do I have to just search one by one. Also, which TF3d thems can I use? I found some online that didnt designate what OS it goes with so should it matter?
Any and all help is appreciated.
thanks.

awiegman said:
I used to have a HTC Tilt and had SPB installed, effed up the screen on it and decided to get a HTC Pure. Very happy with it so far but the tech in me wants to change it up a bit.
I was wondering if there is a single thread like the one for SPB that has all the themes in it. or do I have to just search one by one. Also, which TF3d thems can I use? I found some online that didnt designate what OS it goes with so should it matter?
Any and all help is appreciated.
thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you still running the stock rom? if so there are not a whole lot of themes for it. think i found 2 or 3. flashed to a 2.5 rom and there are alot more themes for it. just gotta use that search button.

I agree, I am using the stock version of HTC Pure, tried finding themes which support the TF3D theme but didn't find any. There are themes though for Windows Mobile 6.5 which do make a difference though.

Check out the Blackstone Touch HD theme section for good themes to use on the PUre
Specifically you are looking for themes diesignated Manilla 2.1
Manilla 2.5 has 3 additonal program launcher slots and won't work.

Here some free Themes;
A search here on xda developers
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-tag-themes.html
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-tag-theme.html
http://www.wm6themes.com/
http://www.wm6software.net/themes/
http://iponsel.com/
http://www.portablethemes.com/
http://www.winmobilethemes.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/totalaccess/personalize/themes/default.mspx
TouchFlow3d Themes
http://mobisapienz.com/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=82&task=viewcategory&catid=9
http://mobilespoon.blogspot.com/2009/10/great-looking-touchflo-3d-themes.html
http://www.winmo.nl/windows-mobile-65-themes/ (WM 6.5)
Microsoft WM6.5 Theme Generator
Freeware ThemeGen (English and French)
My current theme; allBlack.tsk theme
Have fun,
Senax