An Open Source Alternative to Verizon's GetItNow?

malachid69 asks: "Is there anyway for us, as open-source developers, to provide a free alternative to the Verizon GetItNow network, some way in which we can share and co-develop software for our phones, and provide a way for them to be emailed/SMSd onto the phones? Basically, is there any way for us to create a SourceForge equivalent to GetItNow?"

"A bit of explanation: Recently, I was trying to find ringtones for my LG cell phone, and was having some difficulties in figuring out how to even get them onto my phone without the cable.

Finally, I contacted Verizon Wireless via email.

My original email: 'How do I provide content *I create* on the GetItNow network AND/OR how do I SMS the content to my own phone?'

Their response was to first explain how to use GetItNow to download ringtones (many of which really suck, none of which are free). They continued with 'You are unable to SMS Get It Now created from any websites to your phone and [we] apologize for any inconvience this might have caused.

To my humor (due to the fact that every application I had downloaded had crashed), they also said: 'Verizon Wireless requires extensive lab and field-testing of the Get It Now applications we choose to offer, to ensure that our customers get the highest-quality applications in the marketplace today. (Emphasis, mine)

In response, I asked: 'How would an open-source developer put applications onto the get-it-now phones without charging customers for use of the program? And, while we are at it, can I only use Brew to write applications for verizon phones, or can I use Java?'

They gave me the link to the GetItNow developer site (click on Developer Zone at the bottom) and said, 'Verizon Wireless does offer SMS downloads of ringtones and graphics through our Vtext.com website.'

As a side question: I would prefer to write my applications in Java instead of Brew (which Verizon GetItNow does NOT support). Has anyone had experience using any of the Brew-in-Java implementations (like the one from IBM)?"

Comments

too bad

[exhilaration]

I can install anything I want on my Nokia 3650 on T-Mobile - which was free after rebate when I got it, but now you'll get paid $50 after rebate.

Carriers like Verizon and Sprint do their best to limit what you can do with your phone. They think that earning pennies by selling crappy applications and ringtones is of greater value than keeping their customers happy.

Nokia also provides enormous support to software developers. You can download free IDE's and SDK's from their website. Pick your favorite language - C++, Java, OPL, VisualBasic, and soon Python. Nokia puts no restrictions on what you can do with YOUR phone. WHY? Because they know that they're in the business of selling phones, not software.

Re:certified?

[grotgrot]

That sounds like a "Verizon-certified" thingy. Similar to the Nintendo Seal on old NES games.

Brew applications are written in C/C++. The reason for the testing/certification is because they can trivially cause all sorts of damage (remember you can make pointers to anything and trash anything - you don't get an industrial strength operating system in the phone with applications and data suitably protected). Additionally the Brew programming environment is crap. For example the way you find out free space on the EFS (embedded file system) is to write a file, fill up the filesystem, and see how big the file got! [This actually also causes some models to panic, reboot, panic on an infinite cycle] Contrast with J2ME which uses a defined virtual machine which can be proven to be safe.

A way for consumers to know if what they are getting meets some quality standard.

The "quality standard" is it not crashing the phone. The vast majority of the games are pure unadulterated crap. For example there is a XXX game (you know the big action film with Vin Diesel in it). After several screens of copyrights and license agreements, you end up with a clone of Pole Position (that ancient Atari game where you move a blob between parallel blobs that are supposed to be a road going off into the distance). And it is REALLY REALLY bad. In fact most of the games look like they took an entire afternoon to write.

Qualcomm and Verizon will lose this game. People expect much more, and will vote with their money. Here is by far the best explanation of just how dismal it is.