How to install Java midlets on Samsung phone

I just got a Samsung D830 and was wondering why I could not install Java midlets. Its great that Howard Forums has the answer.

From Howard Forums:

1) Type in the code *#9998*52824678255# (which reads *#9998*JAVAINSTALL# )
2) Your phone should return with 'Activated'
3) Now using Bluetooth or USB cable, connect to your phone (IR probably works too)
4) If you have a game as .jar, but don't have a .jad file, use JadMaker to create one (draw the .jar file to it and it will generate a .jad file for you).
5) Copy the .jar AND .jad file of the game into the map called "Other Documents" on your phone.
6) Now on your phone under 'My Files' browse to the 'Other Documents' map and doubleclick on the just copied .jad file.
7) The phone will ask you if you want to Install the game.
8) After Install you will find the game under Games on your phone.
9) You can now remove the just copied .jar and .jad file again (they were only there to install the game onto your phone).

PS: If it doesn't work on your Samsung phone even if its same as mine, either you did it wrongly or its telco locked. All I know is it worked on mine and a few others

Cheap Nokia 770

From a tip at SPUG forums, Expansys is selling the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet at an attractive price of S$199.22 (~US$130). I reckon Nokia is clearing our their inventory of this product hence the low price. Also Nokia has apparently dropped support for this product since the introduction of the much improved Nokia 800 that supersedes the 770.

The Nokia 770 is a decent Linux based device for mobile internet surfing especially if you are in a Wifi hotspot. This device has been on the market for quite awhile so there's already quite a substantial user base for support and hacks on the internet to enhance its capabilities. The main issue I find is that 770 only accepts the less ubiquitous RS-MMS card which might be a bit harder to find and cost more than the usual SD cards.

Nonetheless it is still a good deal at S$200 if you like something affordable with a good looking screen to surf the Net when on the move.

Maths on your phone

Math4mobile has some interesting maths midlets for use on your Java-based phone. Currently they offer five different midlets for various graphing and learning purposes.

Graph2Go is a special-purpose graphing calculator that operates for given sets of function expressions. Solve2Go supports solving equations and inequalities conjectures based on visual thinking. Conjectures can be refuted or supported by examples provided by the tool, and should be proved using symbolic manipulations on paper. Sketch2Go is a qualitative graphing tool. Graphs are sketched using seven icons representing constant, increasing, and decreasing functions that change at constant, increasing, or decreasing rates. Fit2Go is a linear and quadratic function graphing tool and curve fitter. Students can view a phenomenon, identify variables, conduct experiments and take measurements in order to construct models of the phenomena. Quad2Go is a handy tool for learning about quadrilaterals by generating examples, observing, and experimenting with examples with a view toward forming generalized conjectures.

They include Java emulators so you can test them out in your browser before you decide to download to use on your phone. http://www.math4mobile.com/

Save your ears

During my recent trip to Japan, I bought myself a pair of Sony MCR-NC22 Noise Cancellation earphones to improve my in-flight entertainment experience. The low drones of the plane engines were really getting on my nerves on the flight over especially when I was unable to listen to the conversations in the movies clearly. So I thought these earphones would help, and they did amazingly well.

Now that I am back home, I realise that I can still use these noise cancellation earphones during the commute on public transport such as bus and trains. No doubt the noise is not as substantial as on the plane, it helped by making listening to music on the commute more enjoyable and comfortable.

I usually use a Creative Muvo MP3 with a pair of Sony in-ear earphones and the volume turned to level 10 which tends to sound quite soft on the MRT and bus. I was always tempted to up it a few notches to drown out the background noise but I know it would cause irrepairable damage to my ears in the long run.

Now with the noise cancellation earphones, I find that I can turn it all the way down to level one without any loss in clarity. In fact the sound is even louder and clearer than I had originally experienced with my old earphones. Now not only am I enjoying my music better, I am saving my hearing by not blasting the volume to drown the background noise.

Singtel MobileM@il: Free mobile email access

Singtel Mobile is offering its push-email for free with ad support. You need to subscribe to the service and download the Java midlet to access emails. Accessing the WAP portal to subscribe to the service will incur standard GPRS charges but after that GPRS access via the email app is free - this is the attractive part of this service.

The setup is pretty painless if your device is supported. I tried it on my Motorola E398 which is not on the supported devices list but it works well although its a bit slow which is due to my phone's poor processor.

You can access emails from SingNet, GMail, Yahoo and a few other supported accounts for up to 5 email accounts. You can perform the usual simple email tasks such as composing and checking emails. A major annoyance would be the ad space takes up almost half of the screen space when in email view which is a bit of a pain when reading emails. Alas there's little to complain since its free.

You can subscribe to the Singtel MobileM@il service here.