I know that i am late but i would like to post a solution here:
Check the full source code here.
This is the code i used when changing theme using preferences..
SharedPreferences pref = PreferenceManager
.getDefaultSharedPreferences(this);
String themeName = pref.getString("prefSyncFrequency3", "Theme1");
if (themeName.equals("Africa")) {
setTheme(R.style.AppTheme);
} else if (themeName.equals("Colorful Beach")) {
//Toast.makeText(this, "set theme", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
setTheme(R.style.beach);
} else if (themeName.equals("Abstract")) {
//Toast.makeText(this, "set theme", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
setTheme(R.style.abstract2);
} else if (themeName.equals("Default")) {
setTheme(R.style.defaulttheme);
}