Windows Phone 7 released at Ovi Store!

As you probably have already noticed, the themes have been launched at the Store! More theme colors will be added as they get published!

Price drop for a short period of time

The minimal series, like the iTheme, are now going to be cheaper 33% for a short amount of time.

WP7 Progress

This is by far the theme I worked at the most, it's got over 50 hours on it! Making 12 different colors in 2 variations is no easy task! That's 24 themes. It takes my computer about 15 minutes to compile each theme! Yes, it is slow but it's mainly due to the fact that the theme is HUGE. There are a ton of 3rd party icons! But make no mistake, it's lightning fast! The main reason is, well, the colors are pretty simple and there are only very few transparencies and gradients. So expect to see your phone perform the same, if not even faster, than the default themes (mine's faster than all the defaults).


It's hard for me to go back to any other theme that doesn't skin the toolbar buttons. It's impossible actually. My most recent struggle: Which of my themes do I want to use? And which color? I keep changing colors all the time. I can base it on my mood. It's awesome.


Update: I went to see how many icons I actually added. 3rd party icons: 250+

iTheme from 7€ to 5€ - permanently; FSXM DI to 5€

It's been decided, after the initial 2 day promotion 66% cheaper, to drop the price of the theme to reflect future updates and the new version that's planned to hit the Store in 2 weeks. fsx minimal original icons will also have a price cut to 5€, to reflect the lack of custom icons. Update: Pricing now updated at the Store.

Also, I'd like to provide you with yet another screenshot of the WP7 theme I'm developing. This time, the light version.

One icon that I really like. It's for hardware keyboard!

Sneak Peek at WP7!

iSMS WP7

I present you the iSMS WP7 version for S60v5 (perhaps S^3, can't test). It's green. More colors coming after launching the theme itself.


Guide coming up soon. If you have iSMS installed:

• Uninstall your current version (no skins will be lost but all your settings will)
• Install this version
• Reboot the phone
• Enjoy messaging

DOWNLOAD

Screenshots:

The revamping of the UI in WP7

As you might have noticed in the "What we're cooking next" section of the blog, there isn't any description on the top panel! You can no longer see "Menu" or "Messaging" or "Calendar".

And it's not a bug!

Why have I decided to do it like this? You've probably figured it out already but if you didn't, let me tell you! You don't need that!  It's just visual noise for your eyes! Yes, it says Menu, messaging, calendar or camera. How many times did you get lost in your phone? And how many times of those times have you looked at the top panel to read where you are? How many times have you just simply hold the menu key or returned to your homescreen?

So, that's why. It's gone (black on black). You will still see it in-app since that might be of need. Like the music player, "Now playing", since it's in-app, still displays it.

So, I eliminated the bad and kept the good!

PS: I just found out a windows phone 7 animation in default symbian OS. Hilarious. Perhaps you have the same animation.

Go to Share > Ovi > Upload > Press "Add media here". See the pop-up? That animation looks just like most animations on the Windows Phone 7. How funny is that...

iTheme 66% cheaper

To reflect my previous announcement, the price on iTheme has been lowered to 3€. This will last for a few days only!




Update: It's now returned to its previous price as we're considering pricing strategies and follow-through updates.

Stay tuned... We're almost finished cooking that.

The disappearance of Folders in WP7 theme. The concept of Groupps.

The disappearance of Folders in WP7 theme. The concept of Groupps.

I want to explain why I made the "Folders" disappear in WP7 as well as my other themes (versions not released yet).

Folders are for the desktop. Here you will have groups of Apps. I call them Groupps.
The standard icon for the folder will be the same as the icon for the Applications folder (it is a folder, doesn't really look like it though uh?).

Having a folder in a grid menu is... well... Ugly. With my theme, while there will be personalized icons for "Tools" and "Navigation" Groupps, you will be able to create a groupp that actually looks just like the Application Groupp. Folders are meant to have documents, not Apps. :-)

WP7 theme - Folders + Groupps = Uniform experience

This is what will represent Groupps (Folders) in customized Groupps (Navigation, Office, Tools, Communication...).

FSX MINIMAL S.E. goes unpublished. iTheme sells for 50%

Due to the deep knowledge required in third apps UIDs, the ways to obtain them and the time required to produce a iconset of superpremium quality that fits the iTheme, I will be putting up the current version of the iTheme 50% cheaper and removing FSX MINIMAL S.E. as it will have its own iconset. I had said previously and repeat again that these were experiments.

So, what is the future of fsx designs?

• University. I'm a student. That takes priority number one. Except few to no updates until the 18th June.
• Construct a list of important apps and their UIDs.
• Finish and launch of WP7 METRO in 7 different colors with a complete iconset for EVERYTHING.
• Complete revamp and reconstruction of iTheme Ocean Blue(it will only get better, trust me).
• Creation of iTheme new colors:
• Pink World (... pink)
• El' Dourado (golden)
• Shades (gray)
• Grasslands (green)
• Fury (red)
• Continue work on iTheme Iconset to match superpremium quality.
• Creation of the One Concept for all icons & Background colors assigned to tasks (notice how every setting icon in the current iconset is gray? That had a purpose)
• Revamp of the roundness of the icon itself
• Recreation of some existing icons
• Work on FSX MINIMAL
• Revamp the keyboard to match the theme completely (concept in place already, I hope you love it... I think it will be awesome)
• Revamp keys to match theme
• Creation of FSI (FSX icons) iconset
• Put in place concept (it will be a merge of two things... that will blow your mind, trust me)

So this is the future map for fsx designs. I hope all the fans that got a little disappointed with the iTheme icon can understand that I am new to making themes (I only started 1 month ago and I didn't even know how to use SVG tools) and the complications of getting the application UIDs as well as some elements of the OS are very big and have troubled me.

The revamped themes as well as the upcoming WP7 METRO will make you cry. Nah, really, they will have only the best of my skills and nothing else.

With this said, I don't think any of the published themes at the moment is of bad quality. Nothing of such. They're great. But they'll become godly.

Because I intend to keep fans satisfied, the FSX MINIMAL SE will stay published but I'll increase its price to that of unreal levels. Why do I do this, you might ask? When I launch the revamped version, I feel that, if you've bought this version, you shouldn't need to pay for the new version.

UPDATE 1: To keep things simple, the iTheme will be at 3€ (base price; might differ in your country) for some days. The FSXM SE will keep it's current price and will be updated further with iTheme icons. A second FSXM Special Edition will be launched with FSXM authentic and original icons specifically designed for the minimalistic look.