How to customize your iPhone or iPod Touch with SummerBoard

by Ross McKillop on April 22, 2008

iPod

SummerBoard is an extension to the iPhone and/or iPod Touch SpringBoard user experience. SummerBoard adds a variety of useful and fun features to your iPhone/iPod Touch, including scrolling icons, wallpaper and themes.

Get started by installing SummerBoard - if you’re using the iPhone/iPod Touch firmware 1.1.3 or higher, you can use Installer.app. Otherwise, head to the SummerBoard home page and manually install it (instructions are found inside the .zip file).

  1. Once SummerBoard is installed, you’ll have a SMBPrefs button on your SpringBoard
  2. smbprefs springboard icon
    click to enlarge

  3. Select it and from here you can customize your SpringBoard
  4. SummerBoard prefs
    SummerBoard Preferences
    the rest of the SummerBoard prefs
    scroll down to see the rest
  5. One of the first things you’ll want to do is check out some of the themes. Select the Themes entry from the top of the SummerBoard prefs. There are 4 themes included with SummerBoard - Leopard, Louie Mantia, Panther and SummerBoard
  6. default list of SummerBoard themes
    click to enlarge

    Default SummerBoard Themes

    Leopard theme for SummerBoard
    Leopard Theme
    Louie Mantia theme for SummerBoard
    Louie Mantia Theme
     
    Panther Theme for SummerBoard
    Panther Theme
    SummerBoard theme for SummerBoard
    SummerBoard Theme
  7. To install more Themes, open Installer.app, select Install from the bottom button bar, and scroll down to Themes (SummerBoard).
  8. Installer.app categories
    click to enlarge

  9. From here you’ll have dozens (hundreds?) of themes to choose from.
  10. SummerBoard Themes list in Installer.app
    click to enlarge

  11. There are a number of other things you can do to customize your SpringBoard with SummerBoard. One is to “Skip Last Row” - which will set your iPhone/iPod Touch to use one less row, increasing the “black” space between your apps and the Dock.
  12. springboard with last row skipped
    First screen of apps
    another view of the springboard with last row skipped
    Second screen of apps
  13. You can also hide your Icon (app) labels..
  14. hidden icon names in the SpringBoard
    click to enlarge

  15. or hide your Dock labels.
  16. Dock labels hidden in SpringBoard
    click to enlarge

  17. Play around with the various SummerBoard options until you’ve customized your SpringBoard to suit you :)
Related Posts:
  • How to customize the music icons (buttons) on your iPhone or iPod Touch
  • How to accurately relocate the cursor in Notes for your iPhone or iPod Touch
  • How to reorder the icons on your iPhone or iPod Touch springboard
  • Screenshot Tour: Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D for iPhone/iPod Touch
  • 150 Great Themes for your iPhone or iPod Touch (SummerBoard)
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    { 4 trackbacks }

    Ipod » Blog Archive » How to customize your iPhone or iPod Touch with SummerBoard
    04.22.08 at 3:28 pm
    Iphone » How to customize your iPhone or iPod Touch with SummerBoard
    04.22.08 at 3:30 pm
    150 Great Themes for your iPhone or iPod Touch (SummerBoard) - Simplehelp
    04.24.08 at 4:00 am
    joost
    04.27.08 at 5:11 am

    { 16 comments… read them below or add one }

    1 Tom 04.30.08 at 11:48 am

    Hey!
    Nice post, read it after the 150 themes one. Might just be me being silly but i have looked quite alot and i can’t find a decent tutorial on how to get SPRINGboard onto you iphone. Just thought you might be interested in havin a go.

    2 Nick 05.08.08 at 1:06 pm

    It wont work on my 1.1.4 iphone…

    3 Ross McKillop 05.08.08 at 2:30 pm

    @Nick:

    I just installed version 3.2 of Summerboard, via Installer.app, on my 1.1.4 iPod Touch. It worked perfectly. Did you reboot your iPhone/iPod Touch after installing Summerboard?

    Ross

    4 itworkslol 05.08.08 at 8:18 pm

    one thing you have to do is restrat the whole ipod touch/iphone in order for it to take effect. that was a problem on mine.

    5 ron g 05.19.08 at 3:49 pm

    I had to restart my phone. I used to have the halo3 theme and I want it back. For some reason its not on the summerviard themes list. How can I get it. Do u have a source address that I can add to installer to get it back. Thx.

    6 Camilo 05.31.08 at 5:44 am

    Hola,

    Disculpame de entrada por la pregunta tan idiota que voy a hacer pero soy nuevo en esto,
    ya instale toda la jugueteria pero no consigo moverme entre docks, intento mover iconos y tampoco, puedo hacer todas las jugadas con el SMBPrefs pero no consigo reorganizar mi desktop, como lo podria hacer???

    7 Kheiron 06.03.08 at 11:16 am

    Como conseguir que el dock tenga el reflejo de los iconos? yo no lo consigo

    8 kuluzku 06.27.08 at 11:50 am

    hola,tengo el iphone 16gb vs 1.1.4,no tengo conexion wifi en el pc y quiero transferir temas y juegos al iphone,utilizo iPhone PC Suite,aunque tambien e probado DiskAid y no consigo ponerle el SummerBoard para cabiar el tema del telefono¿alguien me podria informar?muchas gracias y un saludo

    9 josh 07.09.08 at 4:26 am

    heyy mine doesnt work on the version 1.1.4 i tried to select the theme and doesnt take effect how can i fix it???

    10 natzz 07.13.08 at 10:13 pm

    before u start downloading themes u have to donwload the actuall application of SUMMERBOARDS (the new one)..

    11 Fredy 07.26.08 at 8:14 pm

    Nada

    12 Josephine 08.07.08 at 7:20 am

    HI. I have the 1.1.4 version. where can I down load summerboard?? Also, is Springboard an app and do I need this one too? I would like to change the apprearance of my iphone.

    Next question….if installer wont load, how can I fix it. It goes back to the home screen after a few seconds. I have boss tools and have moved my fonts and my ringtones. Not game to move my applications yet. Will they still work if I do move them? A friend suggested I free up some disc space.

    Oh, I also have squid! If this helps in the suggestion of how to get installer going again.
    I actually had it work for the first time in ages, so I deleted a heap of stuff, hoping this might do the trick, but as soon as I installed swirly mms and it asked to restart, it wouldnt download anything else and then after restarting it, it wouldnt even load installer again. So I had installer for all of 10 minutes.

    If anyone can help me sort out a few little hiccups, I would be very appreciative.

    So recapping….Summerboard source??
    Springboard source..??

    And then to get them on my jail broken…or was that just broken iphone…1.1.4 iphone,,,how to get my installer working properly again.

    Thanks everyone for your time and patience..especially patience with me , as Im a noob at playing around with this great piece of electronics. Im a convert! I love my iphone!

    Hoping to hear from all of you iphone experts as soon as possible! :o) Id love to hear from you!
    Regards
    Josephine.

    13 Vince 08.19.08 at 11:22 am

    Hi, I was just wondering if this works with an iPod Touch running the 2.0 firmware update. Thanks in advance!

    14 dark star 09.02.08 at 10:48 pm

    i have a jail broken iphone - 1.4 software - but i am not satisfied with the limited summer boards with the installer program - i would like to install other summer boards - but i don’t know how to get specific summer boards from the internet (that aren’t in my installer program) into my installer program and eventually on my iphone.
    thanks for any thoughts.

    15 mickeyellesmere 11.06.08 at 2:28 pm

    Kebabs

    16 Jessica 11.22.08 at 6:12 pm

    I can’t install the summerboard onto my iPod. Can someone tell me the directions?

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