Apps for Tracfone Net10 Phones

You can now install mobile Java apps on the new app-capable phones from Tracfone, Net10 and Straight Talk. Despite this capability, the phones usually do not have many (or any) apps installed when you first get the phone. For example, LG 900g from Net10 comes only with a Facebook app while the Tracfone version of the LG 800g actually came with zero apps installed.

These phones currently include the:

• LG 306G and 305C
  
• LG 840g
• Samsung S390G
• Samsung S380C
  
• Samsung T404g
• LG 800g
• LG 900g
• LG 500g, etc.

Installing my First App

Installing Google Maps on Tracfone Net10

The first app I installed on my new LG 900g was Google Maps. To do this, I simply used the phones web browser to go the mobile version of the Maps site. Once there you’ll see a link. The file is about 500 KB and takes about a minute to download.

Once downloaded, you can choose where you want the app installed – either Games or Applications and whether to launch it.

Using Google Maps

It’s fairly straightforward to use the application. You can get directions by putting in your start and end points. The application can’t really figure out your location due to lack of a GPS radio. On your browser, the Maps application can figure out your location through your ISP via the MyLocation feature. You have to agree to show this location information with the Google Maps application. However, I don’t think that's available with the maps application on the phone.

Deleting Apps

You can also easily delete any apps you install, by simply selecting the app on your phone and pressing Options -> Delete. It will be deleted once you confirm that you really, really want to delete it.

Finding more Apps

One way of finding more apps is to check out commonly visited website to see if they have a mobile app.

Another way is to go to a site that specializes in them. Here are a couple of examples.

Opera Mobile Store

You can also get Java apps from the Opera Mobile Store. You just find the app you want and download the .jad file which you can install on your phone. If you access it through your phone you can install it directly. Otherwise, you can download the file to your PC first and then transfer it to your phone.

One drawback is that the selection of Java apps is pretty thin at the moment (Early 2015), but hopefully things will improve.

This store also carries apps for other kinds of phones.

Getjar

You can no longer get java apps from getjar.com. The site now only feature apps for Android phones. The info below describes how it used to work.

A few glitches

In my case, the first app I tried to download was a countdown timer (boring, I know) because that’s the one thing I find missing on all the LG phones (the Samsung phones have one in their tools section).

I tried to save airtime costs by using my computer’s web browser to find the app. Once you find the app and click on the app you want, it will bring up a set of instructions that will read like this:

To Download to Your Phone:

1. Go to m.getjar.mobi on your phone
2. Select Quick Download code on the bottom of the page.
3. Enter Code: to begin download.

However, when I went to the Getjar site, it could not recognize my phone, so the Quick Download method did not work. Because of that, even the search function on the mobile website wasn’t working properly. I was still able to browse the site however, so I tried downloading the first reasonable thing I could find which was a game called Baja Buggy. The download went okay, and I was able to play the game. So it’s good to know that you can download and use mobile java apps and games on your phone.

The Real Cost of Free Apps

This free game that I downloaded appears to be advertising supported so it tries to access the internet to retrieve the ads which ends up costing you airtime, even though the game itself doesn’t need to access the internet. So I probably won’t be playing that game too often.

Your Favorites

Anyway, because of the hassle I experienced in getting the app, I want things to be easier for others. Therefore, I would like to invite you to share any cool apps or games that you’ve downloaded to your Tracfone or Net10 phone here so that others may find them