Putting sounds/images on your 2.5-3G mobile through WAP

Before we begin, let me first explain the purpose of this w/u. As mobile communication technology progresses, more and more multimedia features are added to each generation of cell phones. The 3G(third generation) standard categorizes sets of mobile technologies including data transfer, and advanced multimedia support. With the advent of the now widely available 2.5G standard(soon to be outdated) also comes GPRS networks which allow the transfer of SMAF format multimedia content from the internet directly to your mobile. Now a variety of private enterprises including most mobile providers offer this extra multimedia content for a small price, but why pay for something you can get for free?

This w/u will illustrate in stark detail the process by which I have been able to put whatever content I wanted, and which my 2.5G phone supports(and some that are not supported.^*), onto my Samsung S105. This process requires only basic knowledge of how GPRS works and the application of SMAF multimedia format and will teach you the basics of WAP architecture that will let you eke by.

Acceptable file types and converting to acceptable file types.

Most 2.5G and 3G phones support GIF image types and SMAF audio types. In many cases however, mobile providers will not permit you to download files exceeding 15KB. This does not mean you cannot transfer files bigger than 15KB to your phone. It just means you have to do it by means other than GPRS(infrared usually works). ^*Now, the 2.5G standard technically does not support Dead Ringers(SMAF audio type that resembles WAV files) but through this technique I have managed to put small Dead Ringers onto my S105. It's quite possible that this feature is not advertised on the S105 because of its limited memory capacity and the restrictions on GPRS file transfers.

Images
To convert any image into a GIF smaller than 15KB I used Photoshop, this is a relatively simple process. First, resize the image to 128x128 pixels(you don't HAVE TO do this, but that's the size of my color screen), then just reduce the palette size to 256 colors or less and save as a GIF. Not interlacing and not forcing any colors can also keep the file size minimal.

MIDI files
These we will convert into polyphonic ring tones that are supported by the 2.5G standard. There are a variety of sites out there that will do this for you for a small fee. So I recommend PsmPlayer. Now this program is in Japanese, but don't fret, we'll get through it together.

1. Get PsmPlayer: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/phs/phs/psmplayer/
2. Open your MIDI file with PsmPlayer
3. Now, goto File->Creat(sic) SMAF->SMAF 16chords(J-SKY)

Creating the WAP Site

WML is not much different from HTML so if you have some experience with HTML, you should be fine. Also keep in mind that I do not intend to go into WML and XML in great detail so much of the following will just be directions to follow rather than explaining what each tag does. Begin each WML page with:

<?xml version="1.0"?><!DOCTYPE wml PUBLIC "-//WAPFORUM//DTD WML 1.1//EN"
"http://www.wapforum.org/DTD/wml_1.1.xml">

<wml>

<card id="XML" title="Title Goes Here">
<p>
</p>
</card>

</wml>

Notes and Finishing Touches

Once you have your site up, you need to configure your web server to recognize the SMAF filetype. To do this insert:

AddType application/vnd.smaf .mmf .smaf

Secondly, on S105 phones the WAP browser will not allow you to input lowercase letters, numbers, or strange characters.** This problem may not exist with all phones but still take into consideration the time it takes to type in your WAP browser before setting up a site with the URL "http://wap3845.k-r4dh4x0r.nu/~iH4teBu$h/CelL%20pHoNE%20stUFF."

This concludes my write up. Feel free to /msg me with any questions/comments/suggestions or if you find the above material to be inaccurate/offensive. Also /msg me if you know how to put your own java games onto 2.5G-3G mobiles.