[HOWTO] Installing Third-Party Apps on Virgin Mobile’s Samsung Restore

[Updated 7 October to include some information I discovered for installing games on the phone. -Peng]

One of the best features of smartphones is the ability to install apps. Except not everyone can afford smartphones, and some of us don’t want to get locked into a multi-year contract. Thanks to companies like Boost Mobile, metroPCS, and Virgin Mobile (the cell phone provider I’ve come to love to hate, even after just one month with them) we can get a fairly inexpensive cell phone that can run Java apps while paying for your service on a monthly basis. The only problem can be that your provider may not make very many apps available for your phone. Case in point: While Virgin Mobile has quite a few games for my Samsung Restore there are only a few apps available: Google maps, Email+IM (a combination of messaging for services from Google, Yahoo!, and AIM, as well as a couple of others), and MyPix (a picture sharing service from VM which has been closed recently), all of which are free. You can also get the Opera Mini browser, which is also free but ou have to go to their website withe the phone’s built-in browser to get it. You definitely want to get Opera Mini because the built-in browser is an old-fashioned WAP browser. If you had a phone a decade or so ago that had limited web access you may remember how flat out fugly it was.

The good news is that you can find Java apps online and you can download any number of apps, although you may need to download them to your computer and transfer them to your phone. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to get apps on a Samsung Restore phone on Virgin Mobile. You may be able to use the instructions to add apps to other phones, but I can’t make any guarantees. I figured out how to install apps with a lot of help from tutorials for installing apps to LG Rumor Touch phones on Virgin Mobile, and the main thing to keep in mind as you look for apps is that if the apps need a touch screen they won’t work on the Restore, and some apps may not work at all. I’ve found a few apps that either won’t install or refuse to run for one reason or another. The only good way to see if an app will work on your phone is to give it a try.

DISCLAIMER: These instructions are intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be used to install apps that require payment. Freeware apps may be installed with these instructions, but if the developer requires payment, or if the app you want to install is available in your provider’s app store for a fee please pay the fee. Purchasing commercial software allows the developers to devote time and energy to support the apps and even create new apps. Think of it as tipping your server at your favorite sit-down restaurant.

In addition to your phone you will need a microSD card, as well as a way to connect it to your computer. You can use a data cable, which doesn’t come with the phone, or if you have another device that you can connect to your computer.  I use my iriver E100 digital media player since it supports microSD cards and comes with a cable to connect it to a computer. You may have a card reader for your computer, which will do the job wonderfully. Please remember that unless your device say otherwise do not insert or remove your microSD card while the device is turned on. It may work without problems but if you do you can create a short that will have you kissing your card goodbye as you tearfully go to the store buy a new one.

I’m afraid I don’t have any screenshots for this tutorial. The only camera I have is on my phone and I haven’t found a way to take screenshots on the phone. I’ll be using the IQ-Flashlight Java for the tutorial. It’s 100% free and a very handy app to have installed. I know there’s a JAD (Java Application Descriptor) file for it, but we’re not going to use it for this tutorial. 

The first step, of course, is to get the JAR file for the app you want to install. make sure you have the right version for your phone, especially if there are versions for different screen resolutions, and make sure it doesn’t require a touch screen. Also remember that you can’t use Android or iThing apps. If it isn’t a JAR file, go back to the top and try again, otherwise copy it to a folder called APPS on your microSD card. If the folder doesn’t exist yet create it right in the root directory. Just put the JAR file directly in the APPS directory, not in a subdirectory. Unfortunately the Samsung Restore doesn’t know how to use subdirectories.

You’ll need to put one more app on your microSD card, and that’s Yuri Kudrin’s MiniCommander app. Mini Commander is a file browser for Java-based phones, and it has a killer feature: The ability to create JAD files for JAR files that don’t have them. Download the MiniCommander ZIP file from Yuri’s site, extract the two files from the ZIP archive, and copy the two files (mico.jad and mico.jar) into the APPS directory on your microSD card.

Once you have the JAR files and the two MiniCommander files put it on your microSD card, either by using a data cable or by using another device to get the file on your card. Once that’s done, put the card into your phone (if it’s not there already), turn your phone on, and go to My Stuff on your phone. You should see a seventh menu option under My Stuff called Apps. If you don’t see it then it means that you don’t have any JAD files in the folder so go back a step and make sure you have both of the mico files on your microSD card.

Regardless of what else you see on your screen, select mico.jad and click Install. If everything goes well you’ll see a screen that tells you that the app is being installed. When it finishes it will return you to the APPS screen and you will simply need to go to My Stuff > Applications and run MiniCommander. Once it opens navigate to Memory Card > APPS, then scroll down to select IQ_Light_English.jar. Press the right softkey to get the menu, and select File > Create JAD file. MiniCommander may seem to lock up for a bit if the JAR file is fairly big but it’s normal. Hopefully updates to MiniCommander will provide feedback to let us know it’s working.

If all goes well you’ll find a newly made file called IQ_Light_English.jad. Go back to My Files > Apps and  select IQ_Light_English.jad and press the Install button. You should see the phone “Download” the file (it’s not really downloading it, but that’s what the phone’s software calls the process) and return you to the Apps screen. Now go back to My Files > Applications and run IQ Light. You now have a flashlight app right on your phone. I’d recommend just using the app as is because when I push Start my screen flashes and I can’t do anything with the app without hitting the red End key and forcing the app to exit. The backlight may dim but to get it bright again just press any key. I like to use one of the arrow buttons on the D-Pad.

When you’re finished with the light just select Exit. You’ll be asked to visit their sponsors so click Done to get to the sponsor list. After the software gets the sponsor list from their server (you will need enough signal for the software to phone home) Once the list loads in you can visit the sponsor’s website with the built-in WAP browser or can safely press the right softkey to Exit from the screen and close out the app completely without visiting the sponsor. Please visit the sponsor’s website from time to time to help support the developer. IQ-Flashlight is freeware but they do depend on ad revenue to help fund their support and development efforts. In most cases you will simply be brought to the IQ-Mobile home page where you can check out the other software titles they create.

This process doesn’t work for all apps, unfortunately. You may get a complaint about missing a MANIFEST.MF file when you try to create a JAD file, and that simply means you need to get the app from somewhere else because the file you got is incomplete. In some cases you can create a JAD file and try to install it but the install fails silently. Again, that means there’s a problem and you’ll need to get a better copy of the app.

Please do not use these instructions to install free copies of apps that you normally have to pay for or that are available in the Virgin Mobile app store. You really should buy apps when possible to support the developers, but if you find an app (not a game since Virgin Mobile has many of those in their online store, unlike their app selection) you want to run that doesn’t come with a price tag you can use this tutorial to try to get it installed and use it.

Remember, if you install pirated software on your phone and you get busted for it don’t blame me. These instructions are for educational purposes only, after all. Also, if you use these instructions to install an app that breaks your phone I can’t help you. Be careful what software you try to install and make sure your phone can run it, as well as where you get it from. I’ve used these steps to install an app that lagged my phone so much that I had to uninstall everything and reinstall even the free apps I’d gotten from VM. Talk about your royal pain in the keister.

Updated 7 October 2011: If you’re using these instructions to install free, open source games you can manually add these two lines to the  end of your JAD file to get the games to install to the Games category:

Nokia-MIDlet-Category: Game
Content-Folder: Games

Use third party wallpapers on your Virgin Mobile Samsung Restore phone

Many cell phones have a way to use wallpaper you’ve downloaded as your phone’s wallpaper and a lot of web sites have sprung up to help you find just the right image for your wallpaper, many are free while some will cost you. With the Samsung Restore from Virgin Mobile you can buy one of their wallpapers (the selection leaves much to be desired to my eyes) or you can take a picture with the phone’s camera and use it as your wallpaper. But if you have an image downloaded from the ‘net and try to use it as your wallpaper you’ll get an error saying the image is too big, even if you’ve cropped it down to the screen’s 240 x 360 size.

Today after wasting a good chunk of time trying find a decent wallpaper image from VM’s selection I ran yet another search trying to find a way to use my own image as a wallpaper and discovered a YouTube video from VModifications that finally lets me use my own downloaded images. The steps are actually pretty easy.

• Get the image onto your phone, either by putting it on a microSD card or save it to your phone’s internal memory.
• Select the image in the phone’s picture/video app.
• Send the image to your phone as a message attachment.
• When the message arrives open the message.
• Scroll down in the message until the border around the image turns yellow. When the border changes color press the OK button (the middle of the D-pad).
• When the image opens in the viewer click the Options button (the right softkey button). Select Assign, then specify Wallpaper.
• Voilà! The image is now your wallpaper.

You can get a more detailed walkthrough in VModifications’ video, How to set a downloaded image as a wallpaper on Virgin Mobile Samsung Restore SPH-M570. I’m working on a post to explain how to install third party apps on the Restore and hope to have it posted in the next few days. Now I just have to figure out how to use custom ringtones because the instructions for doing it on an LG Rumor 2/Touch don’t work for the Restore.

I Remember…

Image by Stephen Nessen/WNYC

Ten years ago this morning I had the luxury of being able to sleep in rather than having to get up early to go into work. At the end of August, 2001, I had left my temp job as a customer service rep for a multinational corporation to hang my shingle as an independent web designer. I woke up a little past 8 and answered nature’s call and boiled water for my French press, and once I had the coffee brewing I turned on the television to catch a little of the Today show.

I had missed the first plane striking the World Trade Center but joined the broadcast in the midst of the day’s initial WTF moments as the hosts trued to make sense of the reports that were coming in.  By the time the second aircraft struck the South Tower just past 9am I knew there was no way I’d be doing a thing to try to find clients for my new business. I’d already fired up my computer to contact some friends and to try to get more information on what was happening in New York City, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA.

I think the only thing that kept me from falling into a zombie-esque daze that day and the days to follow was my trying to find out just what happened and trying to keep up with how my country was reacting to the attacks.

I know it’s tempting to try to ignore the memorials and coverage of today’s anniversary but if you can handle coverage without depressing flashbacks I strongly suggest you add these items to what you pay attention to today:

• WBUR’s 10 Years Later: Remembering 9/11 page with stories from people who were caught in Boston’s role in the attacks
• NPR’s Reflecting on Sept. 11, 2001 series
• WNYC’s 9/11 Look coverage and their Decade 9/11 coverage, especially their special Living 9/11 program. WBUR replaced The Splendid Table with it last night and it was so good I needed to find a podcast so I could hear the entire show. Luckily for me the podcast is available from the show page. WBUR aired another special right after it but since I was still dealing with a spontaneous nose bleed I never did catch what the program is. If you know please let me know in the comments.
• Studio 360′s “Artists Remember 9/11″ show. WNYC’s Studio 360 is a wonderful show for getting deeper information on what’s happening in pop culture and this week’s show includes a look at Steve Reich’s new piece WTC 9/11, how comedians responded to the attacks, a new children’s book about the day, and much more.

(Several years ago I created an image to remember the attacks but since my computer dies the image is trapped on my hard drive and couldn’t find it on my backups, so I used the above picture from WNYC’s story on the lights being tested. I hope they won’t mind.)

How to vote for my LOLs on I Can Has Cheezburger

Yesterday I created a pair of new images for the cat image site I Can Has Cheezburger (ICHC) and asked our readers to vote for them. After I posted it I realized that it isn’t clear how you would cast your votes so I wanted to create some screenshots to show you what you need to do to help my pictures reach the ICHC main page.

First you will need to click on the image on my post that you want to rate. if the post has multiple pictures, as my post yesterday did and like the Peng’s LOLz page has.
When the new page opens you will see several places that may be the way to vote. There is the Add to Favorites button, the row of Cheezburgers and the Share buttons below the image for Facebook and Twitter, but the place to vote is the row of Cheezburgers above the image. Click a rating (the more Cheezburgers the better) to let The Powers That Be know you love the image and think it should go on the ICHC main page. If you have a membership at any of the Cheezburger Network sites you can also click the button to add it to your favorites to give it an extra vote.

Thanks to everyone who likes my pictures, and thanks for helping to get them on the main page at ICHC.

New LOLs

I’ve taken some pictures of the adorable Shadow Cat with my phone and I have finally uploaded two of them to I Can Has Cheezburger.

Shadow wants some more barbecue. Or even just some burgers.

Please click on each picture and vote for them to appear on the main page at I Can Haz Cheezburger. You can see all of my LOLz on my LOLz page.