Bluetooth Everywhere

Alright,

This happens every year. For whatever reason, you need to get started with a Java ME project. Usually it’s one of the following reasons:

1. Your boss has a great idea, and he wants to see a mobile app
2. You’re a graduate student, and you think it’s really cool to write mobile apps
3. You’re trying to participate in a contest
4. You have a client who needs a mobile app

Either way, for whatever reason, you need to get started *now* on creating that application. Now, if you’ve never created a mobile Java application before, then I feel sorry for you because there’s alot of information available to confuse a newbie. However, there’s hope!

I just wrote an article for Sun describing alot of the free Java ME tools that are available for Java ME developers. The article is entitled, “Java ME Tools: The State of the Union, Q2 2009” and it will be updated regularly to help developers on how to get started with the best tools available.

By the way, if you like the article (or not) then feel free to rate the article, or provide comments. At the time of this writing, there’s currently a lively discussion going on regarding Mac and Linux support.

Well,

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my two-part series on how to use a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver. Since that time, alot of you tried the examples with the MPowerplayer, and you found out that they changed how it handles JSR-82 API implementations. So, I wrote a quick follow-up article that answers all of your questions that were posted on the java.sun.com site. As always, you can find a link to all Java Bluetooth articles on the main site.

Wow, what a conference. As I’ve said before, I haven’t been to JavaOne in over 9 years, so things were a bit overwhelming for me. First of all, I went to the wrong Moscone Center.  After my plane landed on Monday, I took a shuttle to my hotel. Afterwards, I briskly walked from my hotel over to Moscone West — and the building was empty. I asked the security guard where the JavaOne conference was, and he said that it was at the “other” Moscone Center…

…Thanks dude. Anyway, I found Moscone North and South where the conference was held, and I was able to register, and go to the Java Champions dinner on Monday. Anyway, he’s a list of the the pro’s and con’s that I learned at JavaOne:

Pro’s

• The Java SE VM is on a billion desktops
• The Java ME VM is on 2.6 billion mobile devices
• The Java7 SDK was released at JavaOne
• The JavaEE 6 SDK was released at JavaOne
• Verizon (the largest mobile carrier in the US) plans to open their platform to Java ME
• The Java Store was announced (http://store.java.com)
• Larry Ellison plans to enhance OpenOffice with JavaFX technology
• Larry Ellison wants to support the Android platform

Con’s

• The Java Store is not ready yet
• Nobody showed much interest in Java 7 (can you name any of the new features?)
• No MIDP 3 SDK was available for download
• No MIDP 3 phones were available for purchase

All-in-all, it was a great conference, and I hope to be able to attend next year.