tech-tag

How java apps can upgrade the old cell phone

June 21st, 2006

Within the last year it seems that the number of JAVA applications for cell-phones have exploded. Today it is possible to expand the phone with more games, and the option of checking e-mail, gmail and a lot more.

I’ve tried out just a few of these apps, to see what they could do for a simple phone like my Nokia 6610i, but most of this should be relevant for a large array of phones.
When I first got my phone a few years a go, it seemed that the java capabilities in the phone could only be used for the already built in games, and some simple games and apps which was too expensive in my mind. After becoming aware of websites like getjar.com, it seems to me that this has changed. From getjar and other websites, it is possible to download loads of apps, some free other demos or shareware, to the pc or directly to phone, without expenses other than the bandwidth for downloading.

I’ve tried out a small sample of the apps on my Nokia 6610i, just to get an idea. To keep expenses low I downloaded the applications to the pc and transferred them by infrared connection. This is made pretty easy by the Nokia software; after the connection was made I was automatically asked if I wanted any Java app uploaded to the phone when I selected it for download.

My main priorities were an instant messaging client, as I figured it is probably cheaper than sms and e-mail since it is always nice to have.

Even though Getjar make it possible to only see the apps compatible with your phone, it seemed that half the applications I tried out did not work or was to large a file.

At first I tried out eMSNlite, this turned out to be a real pleasant experience; I was on my messenger account within seconds. I know there is a lot other IM clients out there but for Messenger fans this one seemed to do the trick.

The first mail app I tried was the simple one, a shareware called “Email“. When it is not registered it has a nagging delay screen. What I liked about this app was it no-nonsense simplicity and the low memory usage.

Flurrymail

Flurrymail is not just a Java app but a whole service, I must say I was a little skeptic at first, it just seemed to good. The service is free, and once signed up, you can add multiple e-mail accounts and news-feed (RSS) to the subscription. These are accessed through the flurrymail java-app. The website, and the client app for the phone looks very nice and cleans-shaven.

When installing I had the problem, that the file was too big (apparently the phone has a limit on how large the java apps can be), but after signing up I was offered an address, from which I could download it directly to the phone. It refused to work with the first e-mail I gave (even though it should work with pop3 and Imap) but accepted my Gmail. At the time of writing it still has not found my old e-mail (they say it takes some time and the 2000+ mails in the account could be the problem), but it have sent a mail to myself without any problems.

There is however two things which bother me, first of all the privacy issue, I don’t like giving up my cell phone number and e-mail account passwords to an unfamiliar website. Adding to that I can’t figure out how they plan to make money. The second thing which bother me, is that I have a hard time figuring out how much memory it would occupy on the phone, and how much bandwidth it would use especially in this case with a ridiculous amount of unread mail. But if none of these turn out to be a problem this could be really great.

Movamail

Movamail is another e-mail service which boasted that they save bandwidth by compressing the data. The app worked on the phone but I have not tried setting it up with an account. This also seemed like a really nice service.

All in all there should be really great possibilities for upgrading the old phone. It would be nice to hear from others which have experience with JAVA- apps. So don’t hesitate to make a comment.

I also tried out some games here is the list of compatible Games

• Aqualife X: Kingdom of love
• Black Metal
• Yikiyo

A list of the Java apps I found to be non-compatible with Nokia 6610i

• DynamoKid
• Mobile Fighter
• Alien War
• Whoosh

Entry Filed under: Cell phone, Java Applications, Mobile, tech