The eight-megapixel digital camera may be a major selling feature, but consumers want apps for Memoir phone too. This is thanks largely to the rising popularity of mobile apps in general, led by other platforms like BlackBerry, iPhone, and Google Android.
What Is the Memoir?
Available exclusively through T-Mobile in the United States, the Samsung Memoir is widely applauded as one of the best camera phones on the market today. It features a very powerful eight-megapixel shooter that is capable of taking very high resolution pictures. By comparison, even the better smartphones in the market typically have three-megapixel cameras at best. There are only a few handsets that break this threshold.
While it is not a true smartphone like the Motorola Droid or T-Mobile G1, the Samsung Memoir does offer a smartphone-like interface. This is thanks largely to the unique Samsung TouchWiz user interface, which is also used in some other phones that are powered by Google Android. With TouchWiz, you are offered a customized home screen where you can add, remove, and move "widgets" as you see fit.
Can I Get Apps for Memoir Phone?
The short answer is yes. Unfortunately, since the Samsung Memoir is not quite as popular a platform as something like the Apple iPod touch and Apple iPhone, there are not as many apps for Memoir phone as there are for the iPhone.
Further still, it does not have a large amalgamated app store like the BlackBerry App World for BlackBerry, Ovi Store for Nokia devices, or the Android Market for smartphones powered on Google Android. In this way, while you could shop for some applications through the available marketplace through T-Mobile, many of the other apps for this phone are scattered throughout the Internet, not unlike software that is available for your Windows PC.
So, what apps can you get for the Samsung Memoir? It isn't a smartphone, but it does have full support for Java-based applications. This means that if you come across a website that offers Java applications for cell phones, there is a good chance that you'll find something that will work with the Memoir.
Caveats to Downloading Java Apps
Before you start downloading every Java app in sight, there are at least four things that you'll want to keep in mind as you go through this process:
- Not all websites are trustworthy. Just as you should be very careful when you make your way around the Internet in search of other kinds of content, downloading "free" applications for your cell phone should warrant the same level of precaution. Some sites may host viruses, Trojan horses, malware, and other bad things that you don't want to have on your computer. Others may not offer what they advertise. Others still may collect your information for the purposes of identity theft and other similar crimes. Some sites may say that the software is free, only to charge you later on. Be aware of these risks.
- Unsigned applications may not work. When you download the Java files (JAD and JAR file extensions) to your computer and try to install them on your phone, you may find that they do not work. That's because only certain ones come with a validation certificate and it seems that the Samsung Memoir will only accept applications with a "signed" certificate to authenticate its legitimacy. This is partly to protect you, but it will limit you from using "unsigned" apps on the phone.
- Check the supported screen resolution. Before you get the apps for Memoir phone, note that the display is 240 x 400 pixels. If you download an application for a different phone with a different resolution, it may not display correctly on the Memoir. Worse yet, it may not run at all, wasting both your time and effort.
- Get the right program. Some people are reporting that you need to install the applications on the Memoir using a software package called tkexplorer. This packages the JAR and JAD files to be compatible with the phone.
Search to Your Heart's Delight
The Samsung Memoir may not give the same consolidated repository as the App Store for the iPhone, but that doesn't mean that you'll be left out in the cold in terms of functionality. From games to Twitter clients, there's usually a solution to your needs on the Memoir.
