Solstice is a free theme for the N97 and other Symbian S60 v3 and v5 devices provided by Pizero Symbian Design. Pizero provides both free and commercial themes and Solstice is probably meant as a showcase theme. Does it get the trick done?

Description

Solstice is an astronomical event that happens when the sun “stands still” twice a year, but as you can see from the screenshots this theme is all about summer. There are two versions of the theme; one with theme icons and one (the Lite version) using the default icons.

Will it last all summer?

A theme is always a matter of personal opinion, but I think the background looks fantastic and gives the N97 a warm nice feeling when operating it that the original theme definitely can’t compete with. On the other hand, the original N97 theme is very elegant, and on some screens (the music player, the home screen and a few more) the OS design is really made so that it looks best with only a simple background color. Some of the 3D effect gets lost with a more complex background.  Also, the theme icons add some loading time to the built-in task bar and sometimes the same icon is used for different things – most noticably the home screen and the menu screen – which is confusing.

Still, this is one of the best themes out there for the N97! I won’t be using it 100% of the time, but I will definitely keep it and switch to it from time to time. Definitely during the dark Scandinavian winter!

Summary

Pros

• Free
• Choose between theme icons and the default icons
  
• Looks really nice
  

Cons

• Reduces 3D effect on some screens
  
• The same icons are reused for different things
  

Overall, this is a killer theme and a must have in your collection! Now, if only summer could last forever in reality too… To download, head over to our forum:

Download Solstice