Hands-On with "OS7" - Windows Phone 7 Theme for iPhone

Jason Tsay Feb 1, 2011 Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Me Follow Us Apple, Downloads, Hacks, Internet, Microsoft, Mobile, Mobile Software, News, Smartphones, iPhone

As you can imagine, we love playing around with our iPhones just as much as the next guy. But when it comes to Jailbroken Winterboard themes however, we usually like to keep our devices as far away as possible. That is until a certain developer was able to develop a not too shabby and overall, decent Windows Phone 7 skin, which we just had to try out. The officially dubbed “OS7” skin is only in beta but we’re going to run you through how it works and what it needs to improve.

Prior to the installation of this “OS7” beta, I personally had been using “Typophone 4” on my iPhone as a lockscreen skin. Of course, that gave my lockscreen a Windows Phone 7 feel but left my Springboard full of not-so-riveting Apple app icons. Then came Wyndwarrior, a user on the Modmyi forums who crafted this Windows 7 live tile Backboard theme known as OS7. While it’s currently in beta with its creator noting that it should not be used for everyday use, it’s still one of the best looking skins we’ve seen our iPhones decked out in.

There’s a short process on how to get it running, and if you want to follow along with us, we’ll give you the simple directions on how to check out what’s running so far. Needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway, you’re going to need a Jailbroken iPhone for this.

How to Install (by Wyndwarrior)

1. Install Backboard from Cydia.
2. Make sure you have created a “Default” backup, if not, press the add button in Backboard and give it a name.
3. Go on your device and click on this link: backboard://http://wyndrepo.googleco…es/OS7Beta.zip
4. Press “Yes” and wait for it to download. This may take a few minutes depending on your internet connection.
5. Select OS7 from Backboard. Press Install. Respring.

Firing up Cydia and downloading Backboard, a neat UI tweaker, we loaded ourselves into the new and exciting OS7 theme. The whole process took under 5 minutes, including the “Respring” post-install.

What We Noticed

Sliding past Typophone, I expected to experience a ton of lag and compatibility issues, however this was not the case and surprisingly the fake “Live Tiles” actually worked. The interface operates just as you expect Windows Phone 7 to, and when accessing the “Settings” page all your program icons are automatically converted to an alphabetical list. Although most of our apps were changed over properly, some app icons, such as Tumblr and Amazon, turned into question marks — obviously an issue with there not being a corresponding icon in Wyndwarrior’s already extensive app database.

As noted in the creator’s notes, there doesn’t seem to be a way to launch the camera app anymore. Both the camera app and icon launch the photos app instead. We understand that this is to make the live tile work properly, so we’re confident that this will be remedied when the full release launches.

Pinning icons, or should we say “tiles”, to the home screen is as easy as tapping and holding apps, just like in the default Apple Springboard.  While SBSetttings still worked throughout the OS, multitasking seemed to have gone kaput. 

Availibilty and Pricing

Since the theme is still in beta at the moment there’s quite a limit on what you can do. Also, just as a heads up, whenever you open any app in the public beta of OS7 you receive a popup asking to donate. Pricing has not been announced yet but Wyndwarrior has expressed that the results of a poll he has on the Modmyi forums will be the deciding factor in what the final price tag will ultimately be — which at the moment is bordering between free and $0.99. And there’s currently nothing set outside of TBA in terms of when it will be officially released.

What We’d Like to See

• Bug fixes
• Speed optimization (if possible)
• Multitasking
• Ability to use the home button to get back to the tiles from the app list
• More Live Tiles!
• Lockscreen skinning
• Actual WP7 icons for the app list

We’re quite enthused with the prospect of running a Windows Phone 7 style themed on our iPhones — one that actually works! Not to mention that there’s not like running a piece of software that mimics the UI of an Apple competitor.