MattedBlues CM9/AOKP/CM7 Theme Review

With the open ecosystem of Android, users have always wanted to customize the look and feel of their device to fit their liking. While to some a simple background change will do, other go a little bit further by changing ROMs or applying user made themes. Theming used to require the user to flash the theme over top of their current ROM, removing any ability to remove the theme except by completely re-flashing the ROM; luckily, this hasn’t been the case for ROMs such as CyanogenMod and MIUI for some time now. Many users and developers have been releasing user installable themes that are installed and uninstalled as easy as installing an application: one of them being my personal favorite, MattedBlues.

     MattedBlues offers a stylish design that keeps true to the original design of ICS with some tasteful changes to the color scheme, status bar, and Keyboards. While many users look for a total conversion or color scheme change, I personally enjoy the default color scheme of ICS and feel that MattedBlues offers a slightly toned down version with a touch of great-looking gradients. Many of the included themed pieces include the stock ICS keyboard, Swype Beta Keyboard (it looks FAR superior to the default Swype), status bar, and the dropdown toggles whether they are in icon only or text and toggle mode. The theme is worth taking a look at if you want to change up your device a bit without adding a bunch of radical colors, or just want to get rid of the ugly Swype default keyboard.

     The theme runs for $2.30 on Google Play and is available for anyone running CM9, AOKP, or CM7 (through a separate application). Check out the links below to grab your copy of MattedBlues for your device. The theme is also available in a light version which keeps the styling of this one with the exception of an off-white status bar. Know another theme that you would like to see publicized more? Drop a comment with the name or Google Play link below so we can show it off!

Aesthetic	Performance	Price
It looks awesome, keeping the default theme of ICS with some slight variation in color and backgrounds making it easier on the eyes	The theme performs like it should, but has caused some minor graphical issues. Ex: the theme’s status bar doesn’t correctly stretch to the width of the Galaxy Note Looks like it’s only an issue with AOKP on the Note, and works properly on everything else!	$2.30 seems a bit pricey for a theme, but I’m sure a lot of work has been put into this and will continue to (considering it was updated today).
Worth it?