On the Home 2 product page we’ve added a sample of the excellent work the community has done. Today we wanted to highlight the fantastic work by hellbender (of the Pointui Community).

His theme, Steampunk demonstrates the flexibility of the theming available in Home 2 and his execution for detail. Hellbender not only covered of the base theme for Home 2 but went the distance and took care of some applets.

There are screenshots and QVGA/WQVGA device owners can download this great theme from the Community. Please note downloads can only be done by registered members, membership is free and you can signup here.

David K of Fuze Mobility has an article and poll up asking you, What’s Your UI… we’re in amongst it and beating the standard UI! Yay for us, but seriously, don’t vote for the Standard UI.

In what started as a great initiative by Strages (of the Pointui Community) is now an offical Pointui competition. Community members Strages and Zelendel are generously donating copies of Home 2 Pro for the Applet Competition - Social Networks. Not to be outdone Montecristoff will be designing a new t-shirt for the entry awarded the most creative.

Pointui will be donating prize money for the top three applets.

• First prize: US$300
• Second prize: US$100
• Third prize: US$50

Strages has been kind enough to take on the management of the competition, please head over to the official contest details page to read more.

Home 2 Build 2.1.04 is now online. This release sees an improvement in animation speed and some bug fixes and updates. Head over to the Home 2 product page for the links to download the Free version or to buy Pro.

Please post any comments and feedback about the release in the Community (registration required, its free).

A major addition to 2.1 was script error notification, as a result we’re seeing some applets are requiring some fixes. The community has been fantastic and gotten together a list of applets that are error free.

The 2.1.02 release adds in the outputting of the error messages to a text file so this information can be fed back to the applet developers.

We’ve had some great feedback and suggestions from the community with our 2.1 release. We have implemented some suggested functionality and fixed a few bugs, 2.1.02 is now available. Release notes are in Docs for those interested.

An important component of the 2.1 release was the inclusion of a Common script location for useful functionality and customisation. We have included classes for Bitmap Label, Variable Edges and Twitter. Pro also users have access to extending Screen related methods for a large part of Home.

We have updated the theme files to include some generic buttons, edges and title for themers. When creating a theme please note that any resources in the applet take precedence over the theme. Please remove any images in the applet to ensure you see the them images.

The applets in the 2.1 release that use these graphics and are a good example of how they are put together in an applet are, Messaging, Tasks and Appointments.

For Pro themers there are specific edge graphics which are specific for the Contact Screens.

The default theme in Docs and details about the theme will be updated over the coming days.

If you’ve been following our Roadmap then your wait is finally over, 2.1 is here. If you’ve just joined us then great timing, 2.1 contains a healthy list of enhancements and fixes along with a new default theme.

Pro customers can update from their phones or in the link originally provided when they purchased Home 2 Pro. As there have been changes in the default theme we recommend you backup your current copy and do a fresh install.

In this the second part of the interview with Montecristoff we ask him about designing themes. In part 1 of the interview we focused on his role developing applets and other functionality in Home 2. 

Pointui: It hasn’t just been about the code though, you have also created some themes, please tell us about those?

Montecristoff:

First was Pointui Signs. A very contrasted theme, full yellow and black without transparency. This theme is quite symbolic for me as I’m rolling on Pointui Road. Theme background is here to remember that road can be long one.

Second was Wild Wide Home. It’s a very simple and basic theme, voluntary without embellishment. A plain and clear theme for effectiveness.

Pointui: Where do you draw inspiration from for your themes?

Montecristoff: Must be a part of my cultural and artistic side. Creative sources are large but some famous Painters and Designers are probably the most influential.

Pointui: There are plenty of themes created by the Community, what themes do you have installed for your Home 2?

Montecristoff: As for applets, I try each new theme from the store. I particulary appreciate global theme with applet-line style like, Amana.UI, Sonnar UI, SonicUI and Android to name a few.

Pointui: Is there a particular theme you’d like to see for Home 2 that hasn’t been created yet?

Montecristoff: Yes, yours

Pointui: We’ll see what we can do for 2.1.

Pointui: Thankyou Montecristoff for your time and support of Home 2.