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15 Rockin' Rockbox Themes for iPod

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Did you know that it is possible to alter the look of your iPod's boring default graphical user interface? Thanks to Rockbox, an open source firmware for mp3 players, you don't have to be a hacker to customize the appearance of your iPod's GUI.

I've made a tutorial on installing Rockbox on a 5th generation iPod before, but you can visit Rockbox's website for a more up-to-date and detailed installation instructions for your specific iPod model.

I'm going to show to you some of the coolest user-uploaded Rockbox iPod themes that you can download for free. These are only for 5th generation iPod Video, but there are also available themes for other models as well. But first, let me show the default iPod 5G theme:


Now, feast your eyes on these rockin' Rockbox themes for iPod:

1. phkGUITAR

Download HERE

2. Molten Cobalt

Download HERE

3. Flow

Download HERE

4. phkVH

Download HERE

5. iPhoneLike

Download HERE

6. jBlackGlass Themes

Download HERE

7. phkTAPE

Download HERE

8. phkAMP

Download HERE

9. Ubuntu

Download HERE


10. phkOSC

Download HERE

11. Theme X HighBar

Download HERE

12. Stele

Download HERE

13. iNSANE

Download HERE

14. Crossbones

Download HERE

15. iPod Green5g

Download HERE

Alex #
all of these themes look like they're from 1995, with the exception of the vista ones.

no thanks.
Anonymous #
Not Good.
Anonymous #
Uuuuuuugly
Nokorola #
Come on all you commenting people (who are likely from digg) these themes aren't all bad, and some of them look cool with the less hi-res graphics, you guys just are full of yourself Apple fan boys.
Anonymous #
phkOSC looks pretty neat, I think installed on the iPod itself it'll come across a lot better .. as a screenshot on a fancy webpage these are a bit out of context, though.

I'm going to give a few of these a try. phkTAPE looks great too, quite humorous .. in fact thats the first one I'll try. Probably I'll like it once I see it on the iPod itself ..
Anonymous #
@phillbo817: no, they just look horrible. Look at the blocky fonts, iPod Wizard's forums have a lot of nicer stuff.
Vincent #
I love Rockbox, but if I'm honest, the great majority of Rockbox themes are plain ugly. Fonts are hideous and the interface way to cluttered.

That said, there *are* some nice one, and the fact that there even is the possibility to theme is great already - all you need is one good-looking theme.

Unfortunately it won't run on my MP3-player (an iPod Nano I'd bought with the idea of installing Rockbox on until I found out it wouldn't run on it - I've installed it on my sister's MP3-player though), otherwise I'd see if I could create my own theme ;-)
Anonymous #
The phk themes are great. You should see the animated examples to appreciate them here: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WpsIpod5gGraveyard#phkGUITAR

and more here: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WpsIpod5gGraveyard
Unknown #
Excellent choices dude! Excellent indeed.

Jiff
www.privacy-center.ru.tc
Anonymous #
I don't know what's wrong with these people complaining about the appearance of some of these themes. The coverflow theme is excellent, as are a few others. The added functionality of Rockbox over standard iPod/media player firmware is immense. Additional codecs, MUCH better control of sound, games, skins (themes), multiple ways of viewing content (database and file views), multiple playlist creation on the fly, etc, etc, etc. Its a no-brainer - if your player supports Rockbox in a dual-boot configuration you have NOTHING to lose, and a world of enjoyment to gain.
Anonymous #
They reminded me of the venerable WinAmp skins without their fuzz..
Unknown #
That's not the default 5g theme. It's from a mod to bring some of the ipod classic interface and appearance to the ipod video. The ipod video default them doesn't look as god.
Anonymous #
The mod is called "Ipod Simple" and I found it only works on the JBuild and not on the regular build if anyone knows a way to make it work on the regular 3.1 build please email me at vidsgame@hotmail.com.

By the way you could start with modding that simple theme and come up with different colors to your liking but one of my favorite features of Rockbox is copy/paste songs and you can have songs organized in folders and transport them off your ipod easier.
Anonymous #
these themes rok..rockbox rox...apple is the worst os EVER!!!!!!!
Anonymous #
The themes look much better on the small ipod screen than they do here. Also, quit bitching about the "low res-ness" of them, have you forgotten how boring the standard Apple "theme" is?

(For the record, I cannot, for the life of me get PHKTape to work)
Anonymous #
Apple is freaking gayy and so is anyone who thinks it is not...Rockbox is the bollocks!!! I go Crossbones theme on my rocked out gaypod because i am a god. OOHHHH YEAAHHHH!!!
Anonymous #
But if you still like the orginal simple and clean iPod 5G skin, check out this: http://rapidshare.com/files/394221208/iPod_5G_Rockbox_theme.zip
Anonymous #
Every single one of these themes, barring the top "iPod-esque" theme used as comparison, are god-awful. The purpose of the iPod screen is to clearly show the artist, album, track position, track number, and album artwork. Bonus for battery and time of day. All these themes are just child-like attempts to dress up the interface, and in the process obscure the important information. Take a glance at any of the screens above: could you tell what artist was playing without searching around for more than a second?

I've read articles proclaiming the wonders of Rockbox, but if you're on a stock iPod and/or have no need of playing open source formats, I wouldn't bother. Most of what I've seen is more "because I can" than "because it needs it."
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