You know what time it is? Interrogation time! Haha, or not…let’s just go with ten questions like we always do This time we have another fellow theme developer known to the community as BBThemes. I had the pleasure of meeting Dave, owner of BBthemes, in Florida for the BB10Jam convention. Dave makes some super cool themes and is even cooler in person. So of course I had to ask him to participate in 10 Questions With Pootermobile! If you wanna know a bit more about Dave take a look at the interesting answers he gave me after the break hmmmmm… 

Q: 1. How did you come about developing themes for BlackBerry devices?

A: Well it was back when I had my first BlackBerry, I downloaded a really cool theme to it (can’t remember which it was now) but there were a few things that I just wanted that were a little bit different for my tastes. So I soon found out i couldn’t edit it, so I looked into how to make them myself so I could have one perfect for my use. Naturally I dabbled for a while just for myself, then after a while I got into designing the graphics more and the rest as they say is history.
Q: 2. What was your first BlackBerry?

A: Ah I’ll get some stick for this I bet. My first BlackBerry was a Storm 9500, which I got on the morning of its launch. I actually worked for a carrier at the time, so I had it up and running before we opened, so I guess I had one of the first lot going.

Q: 3. What device did you rock before your first BlackBerry?

A: Ah, now that”s embarrassing. I had a “feature phone” called the Samsung D900i. It was actually a really nice phone for its time to be fair. The thing was much like in the US, the iPhone was on one carrier only and the only other real options around that time was winmo with a stylus (ewwww). Obviously at that point BlackBerrys weren’t as largely available as they are now and were far more perceived as a work device only.

Q: 4. You’re from the UK, what was the weirdest thing you saw when you first came over to the US?

A: Ah funny story here, on my first night there, I was staying at a motel, and I’d made plans to meet a friend in the Marriott (BBWorld hotel) for some food and a drink. So I get into the taxi the motel had ordered for me, and to my total surprise, the taxi driver started asking ME for directions! That’s when you know you’ve got into a bit of a problem, luckily as you know the Marriott there is huge, so I was able to point it out from miles away otherwise we might still be driving around now haha!

Q: 5. You got the BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device at BB10Jam, what do you think of the device?

A: I really like it, the hardware is a really good spec (357dpi screen anyone!!) so I think they’re very much on the right track with that. As for the OS, well both of my webworks apps scaled up perfectly to it without any extra work, so that was a great bonus. Of course right now its more a mini playbook than a phone in that sense, so I’m hoping some future updates will give some more functionality to the Alpha.
Q: 6. Any plans on making a BB10 app?

A: Yes, definitely. I do have a few ideas bouncing around which I’m trying to work out the best way to go with, but apps are definitely something I’ll be making for BB10.

Q: 7. Touchscreen or trackpad?

A: Both! I have the Bold 9900 as my main device right now and I had a Torch 9800 previous to that, so I really like the ability that I can use what’s best for what I’m doing. For example browsing a site is nicer using the touchscreen, but copying text is easier for me with the trackpad so the ability to do both is very handy for me. How that’ll work out for me going forward with BB10 could be interesting as we know they’re keeping the keyboard but nobody’s even discussed the trackpad situation!

Q: 8. If you met Thorstein, high five or chest bump?

A: Ah it would definitely have to be a high five. He’s one tall guy, I’m not sure how a chest bump would work out with that!

Q: 9. I know you’re a fan of cereal, what’s your favorite? Or should I say favourite?

A: Ah that made me chuckle, I was a little vocal on that at BBJam wasn’t I! For anyone wondering, on the first morning there was no toast OR cereal! Luckily on day 2 someone had sorted that. I actually like just standard corn flakes, its breakfast after all so giving me more decisions when I have just woken up is never a good idea.

Q: 10. Any new themes in the works?

A: Yes! Hopefully in the next few days I should have Ion and Ion Pink available for OS7 phones, and as always I have a few other ideas I’m working on too. Its really surprising where you get inspiration for stuff from, be it from website designs to even just having a look at shop signs and stuff, there’s normally something that works in a lot of what you see everyday so I always have ideas on the go, even if some of them never do quite make it out the door.

Big thanks to Dave from BBThemes for letting me ask him the questions. And also for being a big help with OS7 theme development Thanks for being an awesome addition to #TeamBlackBerry. Until next time Dave, hopefully at DevCon…I mean BBJam haha!

Please check out BBThemes at App World in the link below!

This has been a long time coming…but it’s finally here! The World Of Pootermobile’s first OS7 theme!! Yaaaaaaaay! I had been holding back from making OS7 themes because the work-around was too confusing to me. But with the help of Dave from BBThemes and Doug from DrkApprentice comes Fresco OS7! The design of Fresco OS7 was obviously a “port” from my latest theme Fresco. For OS7 devices I was pretty much forced to use the default panels layout because custom themes on OS7 are way too buggy. Either way the same feel of Fresco is present. You get a nice clean banner at the top containing all the essentials along with a weather slot. Below I will explain how the weather slot works because it’s a bit different from custom themes. But enough of my rambling, if you have been waiting, and waiting for some Pootermobile goodness on your OS7 device the wait is over! So go to the links below to grab Fresco OS7!

(The theme is not available for Torch 9810/9850 yet. There are too many bugs that need to be worked out.)

Weather slot how-to: The icon that shows up in the top right of the banner is app number 19 in your app list. Move whatever icon you want up there to position number 19, then do a battery pull so the change can take effect. A battery pull is necessary there really isn’t a way around that.

• Default OS7 layout
• Weather slot
• Wallpaper friendly
• No carrier
• Alarm icon is the small gray triangle on the bottom right corner of the top banner

Get Fresco OS7 from the links below

With the two most anticipated BlackBerry conferences coming up I decided there had to be a way of representing. So if you are either attending BlackBerry World or BlackBerry 10 Jam below are some cool wallpapers for you to rock on your BlackBerry device and/or PlayBook.

Below are links to the gallery of the specific wallpaper size you need. Make sure you click on the picture you want then download. Enjoy!

PlayBook

360×400

360×480

480×320

480×360

480×640

480×800

640×480

Fresco is a breath of fresh crispy air. This theme from The World Of Pootermobile is another clean simple feel for your BlackBerry’s homescreen. On the homescreen you will be presented with a nice transparent banner with a weather slot and your basic elements like clock and date. What makes this theme stand out is the fresh looking battery meter resting on the corner of the top banner. You won’t get crazy bells and whistles with Fresco but you will get a head turning, stare at your screen experience. So grab Fresco to make your BlackBerry even cooler.

Grab Fresco from the links below

This beautiful wallpaper is compliments of Sweet Pearl Photography. My beautiful girlfriend is the photographer and she wanted to share with The World Of Pootermobile! Check out Sweet Pearl Photography at the links below, and leave a thank you at the links or here!

Please make sure you click on the wallpaper you want then download

(PlayBook)

(640×480)

(480×800)

(480×640)

 (480×360)

(480×320)

(360×480)

(360×400)

I’ve seen many people asking for the default PlayBook wallpapers on various BlackBerry forums. So I decided to grab them and make them available for everyone. Now the way I did it was I took a screenshot of each of the wallpapers so there might be a bit of pixelation but not so much. To download the wallpapers click the link below for the .zip with all the pics. Enjoy!

  Download the wallpapers HERE

We’re back with a new installment of 10 Questions with Pootermobile! And this time we have double header! An old friend being interviewed + a PlayBook app review! Being interviewed is none other than Wayne Drescher Jr. from WJD Designs! I met Wayne back in the day when I started BlackBerry themeing and he’s always been down to collaborate and help with The World Of Pootermobile on fun projects. Many of you know WJD Designs from his BlackBerry themeing days but there is much more to WJD than BlackBerry themes. Let’s find out exactly what after the break!

To start of the double header we’ll be reviewing WJD Designs’ new PlayBook app called WJD Zone. WJD Zone is a wallpaper gallery where you can download various HAND-MADE wallpapers made by WJD himself. When first opening the app you are presented with some categories each containing some wallpapers. Of all the categories my favorites are the Abstract and 3D wallpapers.

A sample of the Abstract wallpapers

Sample of the 3D Wallpapers

The awesome thing about WJD Zone is that when Wayne adds more wallpapers to the app you don’t have to update the app through App World. All you do is just fire up the app and the new wallpaper magically appears! Now that is super convenient for the wallpapers junkies! And when you place any of the wallpapers as your PlayBook’s wallpaper there is no distortion or lowering of quality. All the images look clear and crisp. If you are always on the lookout for wallpapers for your PlayBook grab WJD Zone from App World. It’s only $1.99 but the quality of the wallpapers and the auto-updating of the app justifies the price.

Click the link below to grab WJD Zone from App World

Now on to the Q&A!

1. Q: What did you do before WJD Designs?

A: I worked many different jobs previously. I actually started out as a computer IT for the school system in my local area fresh out of high school. I knew my way around computers since I was basically a kid growing up around an Amiga and Commodore 64, so computers have been my life. The computer IT job didn’t last long due to new management so I had to get my hands dirty in jobs like being a car detailer. I worked hard for years pulling half pieces of cars out to the metal dumpster and even cleaning some horrific messy cars. The economy took a turn for the worse and I got laid off, which was a hard blow since I was such a hard worker for years. I then went in to a slum getting paid from the government doing nothing, which may sound fun but it was not my cup of tea. During this time is when I purchased my first BlackBerry smartphone, the Storm. I have always been a phone modder since back in the Nokia and Nextel days so having a phone with potential to customize made me happy. Doing some researching I found out about theme design and started doing it to my own phone for fun since at the time designers weren’t cranking out quality. It was a new field for me so I learned the most I could and built on top of what I knew. I then made a few themes that made some serious cash while I got serious praise and that made me seriously happy. I saved money here and there and sooner than later I had enough to form my own corporation to do things right. Working on themes led me on to things like graphic, web, video and even application design. I moved to Android when I purchased the Droid Incredible and have been using Android ever since. I have since made my name apparent in so many spaces of the internet providing the best in design quality while making great relationships with clients and followers.

2. Q: You used to make BlackBerry themes. How did you get into making themes?

A: Wow, so I should have read question two before I wrote all that in the first question… haha!

3. Q: Was a BlackBerry your first smartphone?

A: My first was the Nextel i930 running Winmo before smartphones were so smart.

4. Q: Will you give BlackBerry 10 a chance when it comes out?

A: I give every device and OS a chance (if it comes my way) and I love to check out what is happening in everyone’s backyard.

5. Q: Your app, WJD Zone, is originally for Android. Was it easy to port it over for the PlayBook?

A: It actually was very easy from the start. I am still learning how to build apps with eclipse so porting sounded a little over my head at first but looking over how it was done I knew I could take it on. After minutes I created and signed the bar file and was ready to port the application to my Playbook, which amazed me due to RIM’s track record of things working so smooth.

6. Q: What smartphone are you rocking right now?

A: I rock the Galaxy Nexus and love it to death. The phone’s design along with the quick running Android 4.0 OS makes it a solid phone for my everyday use and stress I put on smartphones. I am sure I will change it within time because that is the kind of power user I am.

7. Q: Most favorite feature of the PlayBook?

Q: The form factor and hardware make me fall in love with it. It feels good in the hand and portability is great.

8. Q: Paintball gun or real gun?

A: It depends on the day and my mood. Every Sunday I hit the paintball courses to let off steam and to make sure my body gets a work out because sitting at a computer all day kills me. I shoot real guns all the time to relieve stress as well. I love practicing my rights and I have to make sure I can protect myself at all costs. Both of these hobbies help my eyes out since I am used to looking close at the screen all day and night, need to keep my eye for detail sharp.

9. Q: Would you ever dance in one of your videos again? -> OS6 Promo

A: Sure, why not? I am the type of person who doesn’t care putting himself out there for laughs. If it helps promote a product or help my business I will be dancing till the sun comes up.

10. Q: Can we expect to see more of WJD on the PlayBook and/or BlackBerry?

A: Depends on how popular the consumer base is. I look forward in making more things for the Playbook but if there is no money to be made then I have to move away. Being a business owner people forget that this isn’t a hobby anymore and this is how I pay my bills, time is money. It also makes it easier if I have the device before I work on them. If RIM is kind enough to hook me up with something in the future then it would help push me to make more things and be a part of more BlackBerry projects. I never know what the future brings but I will make sure that I bring the best in quality of design to every project I can.

WJD OUT!

Big thanks to Wayne for taking the time to answer the questions and always happy to help out The World Of Pootermobile. Support Wayne and his BlackBerry products so we can keep having quality developers on the BlackBerry platform. For all thing WJD Designs click the link below!

Some of you might know that I had ordered some TWP stickers. Well I waited until I got all of them together so I would be able to offer some to you guys. As you can see in the picture above there are three types of stickers. The 6 sticker pack will include 1 Poots, 1 Celly, and 3 TWP stickers. I have decided to make my stickers available two ways.

First: You can get a free 5 sticker pack by purchasing at least one t-shirt at TWP Apparel. All you have to do is send me your order number to pootermobile04@gmail.com along with your shipping address so I can confirm your order and send you the stickers ASAP. Head over to TWP Apparel at the link below. Sticker dimensions are as follows: Celly and Poots stickers are 2″ x 2″ and the Circle TWP stickers are 3″ x 3″

  Second: If you just want to purchase the 5 sticker pack by itself click the link below to be able to purchase through Paypal. The 5 sticker pack is $3.99 shipping included.

I know, I know…this month is already under way and there isn’t a premium theme for free yet? Not to worry because this month the theme to be put up for free is sure to please! Galax is up! This theme is a great one to add to your collection because of it’s functionality and uniqueness. You won’t be able to find many themes like Galax where you have many options on the homescreen yet be able to view your wallpaper unobstructed. If you grab Galax for free I would appreciate it if you left a nice comment wherever you get it from. And I will be extra grateful if you grab a premium theme as a thank you

Get Galax from the links below

The World Of Pootermobile and Intellect Dimensions have teamed up to bring you a useful app for first time BlackBerry® PlayBook™ owners or for those that want helpful tips. There are a few places on the web where you can find tips and tricks about using your BlackBerry® PlayBook™, but searching through the entire web can be frustrating and daunting. With Tip Of The Day you can either get a helpful tip everyday or simply go through all of the tips provided in the app. This app is very simple to use and looks great with The World Of Pootermobile’s mascot Poots giving you the tips! Tip Of The Day is set at a very reasonable price compared to the hassle of looking for some tips online. So grab Tip Of The Day to better your experience with your PlayBook!

Get Tip Of The Day from the link below