Downloading games to Boost phones can be confusing because Boost has two different networks called iDEN and CDMA. The two networks use fundamentally different technology and phones. The procedure for installing games and apps is also very different between iDEN and CDMA. Here are the basics for CDMA users:

How to tell if you have a CDMA phone.

If you have a Motorola phone with a model number starting with the letter "i" it's iDEN.  Current iDEN models include the i290, i335, i465 "Clutch",  i776, i856 "Debut" and the i9 "Stature".  Ignore the rest of this post and go to the main BoostApps help page for download instructions.

If you have any phone that doesn't have a model number starting with the letter "i" or is not a Motorola, you have a CDMA phone. Current models include the Sanyo Incognito, Mirro, and Juno; Samsung Rant and Seek and Motorola W385 , Rambler and Bali.

How to download apps and games to CDMA phones

1) Visit boostapps.com with your phone's browser.
2) Find a game or app you want.
3) Click the "JAD" link below the app's description. The phone will download and install the app.  Do not use the "Send to Phone" button!

The great thing about CDMA phones is that you aren't limited to using BoostApps.com or a Loader.  CDMA phones can install games and apps from many  free mobile download sites. The procedure varies a little from site to site but is generally something like this.

• In most cases you don't want to use the Universal App Loader, it's mainly for the iDEN phones
• Go to a mobile download site (see below for a list of ones that work) with the phone's built in browser
• If it asks you to pick a phone and yours isn't listed pick one with the same screen size, for example:
  • Use Motorola V300 for the Bali, Rambler and Seek; Motorola (176x220).
  • Use Motorola V190  for the W385 (128x160)
  • Use Samsung A707 for the Incognito, Mirro and Juno (240x320)
• Find a game you want and click the download link or button
• Don't expect every game or app to work.  Typically only about half of them do

Download sites that work: I've successfully downloaded and installed games from these sites to my Boost CDMA Motorola Rambler

GetJar: wap.getjar.com If GetJar says it doesn't recognize your phone choose Samsung, Motoroloa , LG or Java.  It doesn't seem to matter which.

Hovr wap.hovr.com

FunForMobile wap.funformobile.com

Mobilerated mobilerated.com/wap/

Phoload m.phoload.com

Sites that don't work

Umnet: This site is very badly designed.  It's possible but difficult and time consuming to install games from Umnet using the Universal App Loader. See the Loader Help page for instructions

Here'a a bookmarklet that lets you use Opera Mini to send games and apps from GetJar to your phone using the Universal App Loader.  It's easier to use and more reliable than using UCWEB.  Plus it should work with all phones, including ones that can't run UCWEB.

First you need to install the bookmarklet.  As far as I know this bookmarklet only works with GetJar.  For other sites you need to use  the original Universal App Loader bookmarklet.

To install the bookmarlet: open this post in Opera Mini and click here Then follow the on screen instructions (repeated below).

Bookmark this page in Opera Mini by Pressing Menu -> Tools - Add Bookmark. On the next screen, highlight the "Address" field and press the OK key (labeled "Edit")

Scroll to the top of the screen and delete "http://boostapps.com/bm#" from the beginning of the address. Then click the left softkey ("OK").

Highlight the "Speed Dial" field and select any of the available options (I choose the second one) and click the left softkey (labeled "Save")

Important:  Versions of Opera Mini latter than 4.3 corropt bookmarklets in SpeedDials  If you are using Opera Mini 5 or latter do not assign the bookmarklet to a Speed Dial. Save it as a regular bookmark.

Using the GetJar Loader bookmarklet.

Go to getjar.com using Opera Mini. If you have problems using the main URL try using wap.operamini.getjar.com.

If prompted for a phone choose Java (J2ME). Search for a game or app you want, then click its title in the search results to load the download page. Don't click the Download button!

Instead, press * and then the shortcut key (2 in this example) that you assigned to the bookmarklet or go to Bookmarks and click the Opera Mini Bookmarlet.

The Universal App Loader's "Send to Phone" screen will load.

Boost iDEN (Motorola i465, i856, etc) users click the "Send To Phone button and follow the instructions to enter your phone number and complete the download.

Users of all other phones including Boost CDMA (Sanyo Incognito, Mirro, etc) click the JAD link to download and install the app or game.

This bookmarklet is mainly for iDEN phones. It will work with Boost and Sprint CDMA (Sanyo Incognito, Mirro, etc) and most GSM phones but those phones can download directly from GetJar.  However, if you get a 905, 906 or 909 error installing an app directly from GetJar try using the bookmarklet and loader. The Loader tries to fix problems with the download that causes those error so usingiIt may work without error in some cases where direct download fails.

If you don't have Opera Mini on your phone, install it. For the Boost CDMA phones (Incognito, Seek, Rambler, Rant, etc.) I recommend Opera Mini 6.1. For the Boost iDEN phones (i290, i465, i475, i776, i856, etc.) I recommend Opera Mini 4.3.  You can also use Opera Mini 4.3 on the CDMA phones if you prefer.

Next you need to install a bookmarklet.  The installation process is a little tricky but you only have to do it once. With the bookmarklet installed downloading apps is any easy 2 click process.

Start Opera Mini on your phone, click here and follow the onscreen instructions (repeated below).

Bookmark the page in Opera Mini by Pressing Menu -> Tools - Add Bookmark. On the next screen, highlight the "Address" field and press the OK key (labeled "Edit")

Scroll to the top of the screen and delete "http://boostapps.com/bm#" from the beginning of the address. Then click the left softkey ("OK").

Highlight the "Speed Dial" field and select any of the available options (I choose the first one) and click the left softkey (labeled "Save")

Using the Send to App Loader bookmarklet.

Go to any site that has mobile games or apps for download.  The bookmarlet has been tested on Phoload and MobileRated. It should work on most other sites except GetJar. For Getjar, you can use a different bookmarklet.

Do what ever you have to do to get to a game download link on the site like specifying your phone model.

Press * and then the shortcut key (1 in this example) that you assigned to the bookmarklet. The page will reload.

Click the download link, the Universal App Loader's "Send to Phone" screen will load.

Boost iDEN (Motorola i465, i856, etc) users click the "Send To Phone button and follow the instructions to enter your phone number and complete the download.

Boost CDMA (Sanyo Incognito, Mirro, etc) click the JAD link to download and install the app or game.

Please use the comments form below for questions of help with the Universal App Loader bookmarklet.

1. Install the UCWEB 6.7 browser if you haven't already.  Get it here.
2. Be sure UCWEB's User-Agent is set to Openwave. Press the Left Soft Key (labeled "Menu"), choose " Set", then "System Settings", then "User Agent" and pick "Openwave" from the  drop-down (first image below). Press the left soft-key ("Save).
3. Go to m.getjar.com useing UCWEB.
4. On the GetJar home page (second image, below), choose Motorola and then find a game you like and press the Download button (image, above).
5. On the next wierd looking page press the Left Soft-key ("menu"), choose "Tools", then "Page Properties" (3rd image, below) . Scroll down to the Page URL to highlight it.
6. Press Left Softkey ("Menu") again and choose " Tools", then "Copy".
7. Scroll down to "Select Link" and press the left softkey ("OK")
8. Press the Left Soft-key ("Menu"), Choose "Window", then  "New Window"
9. Open the BoostApps.com and open the "Universal App Loader".
   Click in the Loader's "Enter JAR or JAD URL" text-box. Press the the phone Menu key (not the left soft-key labeled "Menu") and choose Paste. Press OK.
10. Press the Upload File button (4th image, below) and follow the prompts to download or send the app to your phone.

The Universal App Loader now lets you send games and apps from most free online app sites directly to your Boost iDEN or Nextel phone.

I fixed several bugs today that were causing it to break on some popular sites.

There are  general instructions on using the loader with desktop browsers on the loader page itself.  If you don't have a PC you can use your phone. Click here for mobile specific instructions.

Here's a list of sites that have been confirmed to work with the loader along with some site specific tips

GetJar: Desktop: Yes, UCWEB: No. The mobile site doesn't work because uses a download button instead of a link and the Loader only works with links. The desktop site (getjar.com) uses complex Javascript to simulate pop up windows. It works OK with desktop browsers but none of the mobile browsers can handle that level of sophistication. I'll probably have to create a special mobile loader just for GetJar.

Mobilerated: Desktop: Yes, UCWEB:Yes. Use the mobile site (mobilerated.com/wap/) with desktop browsers.

Phoload: Desktop: Yes, UCWEB:Yes. On the desktop site (phoload.com) you need to use the JAR links, the JAD ones don't work. The JADS on the mobile site (m.phoload.com/) work in desktop and mobile browsers.

Ownskin: Desktop: Yes, UCWEB:Yes. Use the mobile site (m.ownskin.com/) with both desktop and mobile browsers. Browse through the games section to find your games. Don't use the "OS Key"quick download form as it doesn't work.

Mobango: Desktop: Yes, UCWEB:Yes. You need to register and add a phone to your profile before you can download. Don't choose an iDen phone or it will tell you that no games are are available. Pick a Motorola v188, v190, v300 or v3xx instead. Both desktop (mobango.com) and mobile sites (wap.mobango.com/) work.

When you choose a phone of these sites there's a good chance yours wont be listed.  If that's the case just pick a different Motorola phone with the same screen size. Here's a list:

• For phones like the i290 with small square screens (130x130 px),  choose the Motorola i455 or V188.
• For the i465 and i776 (128x160), Choose the Motorola i576 or V190.
• For the i855, i856 and other phones with 176x200 screens, choose the i850 or V300.
• For the i9 (240x320), choose the RAZR V3xx or V3xxM

Next I'm going to get this working with Boost CDMA and other non-iDEN phones.  That will probably take a couple of days. I don't plan to post any further updates until it's done.

But customers of any iDEN network can load apps and games to their phones using Motorola's iDen Java Application Loader  or iDenJAL.  It's a Windows program that lets you transfer Java apps and games from your PC to your phone. No network connection is required so iDenJAL works with any iDEN phone including ones on other networks like Canada's Telus Mike, Nextel Mexico, MIRS in Israel, Nextel Brazil and Southen Linc in the US. iDenJAl is only for Java Apps and games. You can't use it to install ringtones or wallpapers.

You can download iDenJAL from developer.motorola.com/docstools/idenjal/openJAL/. It's part of Motorola's developer site and you do need to  register as a developer in order to download. Registration is free and only takes a few minutes.  Downloading from Motorola insures that you have the latest version. But if you don't want to wait you can download iDenJAL directly from here. The download is a .zip containing a single file, IdenJAL.exe. Extract the file and launch it to install Open WebJal.

You also need a data cable. These are available on the web from eBay, Amazon and many other vendors. I use iDenJAL on Windows XP.  I heard reports of it not working on Vista or Windows 7 but haven't tried it myself on the newer OSs. Hopefully Motorola will update it to work with the latest version of Windows.

iDenJAL is pretty easy to use. Connect the data cable to your PC and to the phone, which should be powered up and not running any Java programs. The first time you do this Windows will want to install some drivers, let it and if it tells you you need to reboot your PC do that too. Click the Connect To Phone 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 and then Finish and try connecting again. If you get "The application was unable to read the required phone information... " disconnecting and reconnecting the cable usually helps.

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.  The part of jad and jar file names to the left of the period need to be the same and no more than 11 characters long. For example:

Mini42.jad, Mini42.jar - Correct

Mini42.jad, Opera_Mini42.jar - Wrong, names don't match

gmaps-232-m2_L1.jad, gmaps-232-m2_L1.jar - Wrong, left portion of the names is more than 11 characters long

Actually, it's usually very easy to get the JAR file  if you have the JAD file.  Here's how.

• Download the JAD and then save it on your computer. The following example is based on downloading  Freecell from Hovr but the process is the same for any game or app on Hovr and most other sites that don't provide a direct link to the JAR file.
• With Gamejump you have to use the mobile site at  wap.gamejump.com or m.gjmp.tw to download  The desktop Gamejump.com site has good descriptions and screenshots but no download links at all.
• Open the JAD file with a text editor.  JADs are just plain text files. On Windows you can use NoteTab Lite, which is free and full-featured  or you can use Wordpad which comes with Windows. I don't recomend using Notepad because it runs the lines in the JAD together making them hard to read.
• In the editor look for the text "MIDlet-Jar-URL:".  Immediately following that text is the URL of the JAR file.  In the screenshot above it's http://hovr.com/game_jads/20020070822240003/FreeCell-128x128_out.jar which I've highlighted.

• Select the URL, copy it and paste it into your browser's address bar and press [Enter] and the JAR file will download.  Save it in the same folder as the JAD file.
• iDEN file loaders require that the JAD and JAR files have the same name  (except for the JAD and JAR extensions)  and that the name be no longer than 15 characters including the extension so you will probably have to rename them. I renamed mine to Freecell.jar and Freecell.jad.
• Once you have the JAD and JAR file, click here for instructions on installing  them on your Boost iDEN or Nextel phone.

Sending wallpapers to a Bluetooth equipped iDEN phone is easy. The process is very similar to the one I posted for sending ringtones.

You need:

• A Boost or Nextel Motorola phone that has Bluetooth such as the i776, i465, i856, i9, i870, i880 or i885
• A PC or laptop that supports Bluetooth. If yours doesn't, Bluetooth USB adapters are cheap.  Here's one on Amazon for $5.43 including shipping. These instructions are based on using Windows XP.  This should be possible on other OSes but you will have to adapt the instructions yourself.
• An image file that you would like to use as a wallpaper.

Procedure:

• Download IrfanView, a free image viewer and editor for Windows.  You can use any  program that can resize images and convert them to GIF format. I really like IrfanView, it's quite powerful and is easy to use and  I recommend it you have a  Windows PC. Apple and Linux users should be able to find an image editor without too much trouble.
• Open the image you want to make a wallpaper from in Irfanview.  I'm using a great night shot of  the San Francisco skyline that I found on Flickr. It was taken by the well known blogger Loïc Le Meur and is published under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
• To fit the portrait home screen of my i776 I had to crop the picture.  You can skip this step if the image you are using is already close to the proportions of you phone's screen.  To crop with Irfaview:
• Choose "Show Paint Dialog" from the "Edit" menu, click the selection tool (the arrow icon highlighted in the image above) and drag the mouse to create a rectangle around the area you want to use.
• Click the "Edit" menu and choose "Copy", then click "Edit" again and select "Delete (clear display)"  and finally click "Menu" yet again and choose "Paste". The screenshot below shows the Edit menu and behind it the cropped image that I have pasted.

• Click the "Image" Menu and choose "Resize/ReSample"
• On the Resize/Resample screen in the Width and Height fields enter your phone's exact screen size in pixels. I've listed the screen sizes for recent Boost and Nextel phones below.  If your phone is not listed you can lookup its screen size on PhoneScoop.com.
  • 130x130 - i290, i325 1335, i415, i425, i450, i455, i830, i836
  • 128x160 - i410, i465, i776
  • 176x220 - i856, i760, i850, i855, i860, i870, i875, i880, i885
  • 240x320 - i9
• Uncheck "Preserve aspect ratio" and click the "OK" button.

• Click the "File Menu" and choose "Save As".  Enter a File name that's no more than 12 characters long. Click the "Save as type" drop down and choose "GIF - Compuserve GIF". Uncheck  "Save transparent color" on the JPEG/GIF save options dialog screen that appears along side the main "Save As" screen (image below)
• Press the "Save" button. If you are using a different program than Irfanview be sure that the file name is saved with the extension ".gif" rather than ".GIF". iDEN phones can only recognize wallpapers with filenames ending in lowercase ".gif"

Now send the converted file to the phone with Bluetooth.  If you are using  Windows XP:

• On the phone, open the Menu, choose Bluetooth and then "Find Me"
• On the computer, open Windows Explorer and  browse to the folder where you saved the wallpaper.
• Right-click the wallpaper file in Windows Explorer and choose "Send To" then "Bluetooth" then "Other", then "Motorola Phone",  then "OK".
• If the phone prompts for a code, enter four digits, then enter the same four digits on the PC when prompted.
• On the phone choose "Accept" and then "Store"
• To use the new image as a wallpaper, press "Menu", choose "Settings", then "Display/Info", "Wallpaper", "Wallpaper" again and pick the new image from the list.

Occasionally the phone will store the image  but it won't appear in the list of pictures that can be selected as a wallpaper.  Possible causes:

• You can only have 16 wallpapers on the phone including the pre-installed ones.  Delete a wallpaper and your new one will show up.
• Wallpapers must be GIFs and must have a lowercase ".gif" extension, not uppercase ".GIF"
• Wallpaper can't be too large. The limit varies with phone model. The phones with 130x130 screens gave a 16 KB limit, the ones with 176x220 screens have a 100 KB limit.  I'm not sure about the others, but I suspect that the i9 can handle at least 100KB .  I haven't hit the limit yet of my 128x160 i776, the largest file I've uploaded is 19KB.

Good luck and share your experiences and tips in the comments.

Note: If you have USB connection problems using XP or Vista,  please follow these instructions from the  ReadMe file.

Go to device manager by right-clicking on "My Computer" and select "Manage". Select "Device Manager" on the left pane. Then select "Universal Serial Bus controllers" on the right pane and expand it. Double-click on "USB Root Hub". This will bring up the "USB Root Hub Properties" dialog. Go to the "Power Management" tab and un-check the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". Click "OK". Repeat this process for every USB Root Hub under the "Universal Serial Bus Controller". Reboot the computer. Then retry the operation.

Download iDEN Phonebook Manager from: Motorola or BoostApps.

Type: Freeware
Vendor: Motorola - Product Page, User's Guide (PDF)
Supported iDEN phones: All

You don't have to wait for me to post your favorite  game or app.  This tutorial shows you how to load Java applications on Boost iDEN and Nextel phones using Sprint/Nextel's ADP iDEN Content Uploader, which is a web based developer tool. This method does not require a data cable but it only works with phones on Boost Mobile or Nextel USA and requires access to a PC.

These instructions are based on using Windows XP because that's what I have. As far as I know, everything should work the same on Vista or Windows 7.  Users of other operating systems will have to find alternative programs for creating .JAD and .ZIP files but otherwise the process should be the same.

• Find the game or app you want to load and download it.  The best selection of free legal mobile games seems to be at GetJar.com. Other good download sites include  Mobango.com Phoload.com, midlet-review.com and Mobilerated.com. Many more can be found using Google.

• A Java game or app consists of two files; .JAR and .JAD. The JAR (Java ARchive) is the actual executable file.  The JAD (Java Application Descriptor) is a text file describing the JAR's characteristics.  iDEN phones require both files in order to install. Some sites, including Getjar, only provide the .JAR, but the .JAD is easy to create using a program called JADMaker.

• If you already have both the .JAR and .JAD files skip to the next step. If you only have the .JAR file - download JADMaker.zip. Unzip the contents into a folder and then run JADMaker.exe by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer.  Still in Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder with the .JAR file and drag it into JADMaker, which will to create the .JAD in the same directory as the .JAR.

• Create a .zip file containing the .jar and .jad.  There are many programs that can create  .ZIP files. I get good results using the ZIP file utility that is built into Windows XP, Vista  and 7. To use it highlight both files by holding Ctrl and clicking them.  Then right-click the selected files and choose Send to and then Compressed (zipped) folder (image above). If you get a dialog box asking you to "Designate Compressed (zipped) folders as the application for handling ZIP files?", click "Yes"

• Open the ADP iDEN Content Uploader at  http://144.230.114.35/adp1/FUN/index.jsp (image above).
• Enter your Boost or Nextel mobile phone number in the field labeled PTN:
• Click the Browse button and navigate to the folder where you created your ZIP file.
• Click the ZIP file and then click "Open"
• Click the Upload button
• The rest of the process is the same as if you sent the app to your phone from BoostApps;
• Press the phone's Menu button.

• Scroll down and select your new game or app, they are listed in alphabetical order.  Press OK and on the next screen click the left soft key labeled "Get It" and the download will start.

• When the download finishes, close Download Apps and your will be prompted to install the new game or application.

• If the installation was successful you will see the new game or app in you Java menu.  Try running it.

Sounds easy, right?. Well it is except that it doesn't work over half the time.  Lots of things can go wrong.  Here are some of the problems and what you can do about them.

• When you go to new purchases, your new game or app isn't there. The most likely cause is that you entered your phone number incorrectly.  Try again and remember to enter the number with no dashes or spaces, just ten numbers starting with the area code.  Do not put a "1" in front of the number.  There also seem to be a small number of phones that both  BoostApps and the ADP iDEN Content Uploader just don't work with. Its probably a provisioning error by Boost, but as neither BoostApps or the Content Uploader are supported by Boost calling customer support is unlikely to help. I'm sorry but I don't have a solution if this happens to you.

• "Failed Download with status code:904 (Attribute Mismatch) Please Retry"  at the start of the download - This is very common.  It seems to be a bug in the Content Uploader.  The solution is simple.  Rename the zip file and upload it again. It doesn't really seem to matter what you rename it to. I usually just add or remove a letter from the file name.  In a few cases I've had to rename the file a couple of times before it would work.

• "JAR file mismatch" while installing - this is an error in the JAD file.  It should never happen if you use JadMaker but seems fairly common with downloaded JADs.  To fix it, delete the JAD and ZIP and use JadMaker to create a new JAD.  Then make a new ZIP and upload again.

• "Java Error" while installing.  When this happens, find the new app in the Java Apps menu.  It will have a generic looking icon with an X or downward pointing arrow on it.  Select the app and press "OK".  It will start installing again only this time it will list the steps of the install on the screen. Wait for it to fail and then take note of which which step it failed on:

If the error occurs during the "Loading Classes" or "Validating classes" part of the install it means that the app is not compatible with your phone and will never work. I find that only about half of the generic Java apps that I try actually work on iDEN phones.

If the error occurs during the "Allocating Flash" or "Writing Flash" install phase, it means you don't have enough free space on the phone. Delete one or more other apps or games and restart the install on the phone. To delete an app, select it in the menu, press the "Menu" key and choose "Deinstall".

Good luck finding and installing games and apps.  Let us know in the comments of your successes and failures. If you find a particularly good, freely distributable game or app let me know so I can add it to BoostApps.