{"id":212,"date":"2006-11-23T14:04:28","date_gmt":"2006-11-23T22:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wapreview.com\/?p=212"},"modified":"2020-09-25T11:05:49","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T18:05:49","slug":"motorola-opens-up-iden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wapreview.com\/212\/","title":{"rendered":"Motorola Opens Up iDEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

Motorola has been embracing Open Source lately, releasing<\/a> their Java ME 3.0 implementation under the Apache license. Moto is also the leading producer of Linux OS phones although none are available in the US.<\/p>\n

\"iDenJal<\/p>\n

While it’s not Open Source, Motorola has also released iDenJAL<\/em>. For the 24 million users on iDEN networks this means that loading Java games and applications just got a whole lot easier. This new tool allows anyone to transfer Java ME programs from their Windows 2000 or XP PC to any phone running the proprietary iDEN mobile phone technology. Most iDEN users are in the US on the Nextel network but there are iDEN carriers in 20 countries<\/a><\/p>\n

Motorola produced the first commercially available J2ME capable phone, the i85 back in 2001 on the iDEN platform, but iDEN phones have always restricted the ability of users to load applications from anywhere except the carrier portal. There are many good games and applications on the Nextel portal particularly location aware ones using the phones’ built in GPS. What has been lacking is a way for users to load any of the great free and Open Source Java midlets. Which is kind of a shame as Nextel, including the Boost Mobile prepaid variant, have unlimited mobile web and data available for $10\/month. Unlike many GSM phones, iDEN devices require no configuration to allow Java applications to connect to the internet, if you have a data plan everything just works!<\/p>\n

Hacked, unauthorized versions of Motorola’s WebJAL<\/em> developer tool have been available on the web for years and were and are used by the large iDEN hacker community. These tools are time consuming and difficult to get working and there are legal issues regarding modifying and distributing this copyrighted software. Open WebJAL is a polished, complete application that anyone should be able to legally install and use.<\/p>\n

Download iDenJAL from developer.motorola.com\/docstools\/idenjal\/openJAL\/<\/a>. It’s part of Motorola’s developer site but downloading this tool is open to everyone without registration. (Update: free registration is now required. I’ve mirrored the file here<\/a> on WapReview where you can download it from with no registration required although it may not be the latest version).<\/strong> The download is a .zip containing a single file, IdenJAL.exe. Extract the file and launch it to install Open WebJal.<\/p>\n

You also need a data cable. These are available on the web from eBay,  and many other vendors.<\/p>\n

iDenJAL is very easy to use. Connect the data cable to your phone – which should not be running any Java programs. Click the Connect To Phone<\/em> menu item. I’ve found connection problems are rare with Open WebJAL. If you get the message “The phone is currently busy performing another operation…” it means that a Java application is still running on the phone. Go to the Java Menu on the phone and you’ll see the message “End all running applications”, choose Yes <\/em>and then Finish <\/em>and try connecting again. If you get “The application was unable to read the required phone information… ” disconnecting and reconnecting the cable usually helps.<\/p>\n

To load a game or application, press the download button and browse to the location where you have saved the .jad and .jar files, double click the .jad and WebJAL will copy the game or application to the phone. It’s as simple as that. Unlike with some phones both .jad and .jar are required<\/p>\n

So what can you load on your phone? Well here’s what I have on my Boost Mobile Motorola i855.<\/p>\n