Going Mobile - Information Trapping: Real-Time Research on the Web - page 318

. You know that if you download something from your provider it's
going to work with your provider. Why would the company make it
available if it doesn't work with its system?
Of course there are drawbacks as well. I don't know about your cell service
provider, but mine is not exactly a cup overlowing with free and open-
source sotware. In addition, the kind of sotware your service provider
ofers might be rather limited. Sure, you can get an application to get the
latest sports scores, but you might not ind an RSS feed reader. To get the
more esoteric stuf—the stuf that information trappers might ind most
interesting—you'll have to go beyond your provider.
Second stop: Third-party software providers
Finding sotware for your phone platforms can be a little tricky. It's not like
a computer sotware download site that might say something is compatible
with Windows XP. Some phone sites mention Java, some mention just a
phone operating system, and some mention a phone model series.
Multiple platforms
Let's start with multiple-platform sites. hen I'll give you a couple of tricks
for inding more information speciic to your model.
Handango (handango.com) is one of the more popular and well-known
sotware sites for phones and PDAs. Its ofering is segmented by operat-
ing system: sotware includes Symbian OS, BlackBerry, and Windows
Mobile Smartphone. Within each operating system, products are further
segmented by category, and also into lists of new oferings, updated ofer-
ings, and oferings that have been recommended by visitors. Check out the
productivity, communications, and business and professional categories to
ind some of the more interesting oferings.
Filao (ilaomobile.com) doesn't ofer nearly as much as Handango does,
but that makes it quick to walk through. Operating systems covered here
include Palm OS, Pocket PC phone, Symbian, and Smartphone. Look at the
utilities and the reference sotware.
GetJar (getjar.com) features freeware, demo, and shareware sotware for a
variety of devices and operating systems. Devices supported here include a
number of Nokia devices, as well as Motorola, Siemens, and Alcatel phones.