Open J2ME Development Options?

loganb asks: "I'm currently holding in my hand a brand new Samsung A900 cell phone with a brand new EVDO data plan. I was initially excited about the OSS/free application development possibilities, as the J2ME stack on this phone supports the new Media, Location, and Messaging APIs. Much to my dismay, however, Sprint (my carrier) locks all the interesting APIs up tighter than a drum, and makes it nearly impossible to get an app to market. You need a $400/yr Verisign certificate just to download an app to a developer-enabled phone and you need a contract with Sprint to receive the certificate necessary to distribute the app (solely through Sprint's online store) to regular users. Of course that is not really an option for free/OSS programs, 'vertical' applications, or anything that doesn't neatly fit into Sprint's business plan. Thus, do any of the other national domestic cell providers allow unfettered access to the Java APIs on their phones? Is there any sort of hackery (such as buying an unlocked phone from Europe and using it on a domestic GSM network) that has an equivalent result?"

Nokia 6265i or Siemens S65... feedback ?

[johnjones]

try getting a Nokia 6265i or Siemens S65

both have the location API how well it works I do not know anyone know ?

regards

John Jones

Phone companies want total control

[Mr. Shiny And New]

It's my experience, after working on a mobile-phone app that uses SMS, that phone companies are paranoid control freaks.

Some companies won't allow certain kinds of applications on their networks; for example, Verizon won't allow any applications where users can meet other users. Some companies won't allow any applications where users can chat (say, via WAP or SMS) with other users unless the chats are moderated. BY A PERSON. Some companies require that, if you plan to advertise your application, and your adviertising budget is over a certain ammount, you must disclose to the carrier your entire advertising budget and campaign.

Frankly I'm not surprised that Sprint doesn't want you writing software for their phones unless you pay them big bucks. Telcos are almost worse than banks when it comes to new ideas (or software).

I can't wait for the one telco that gets it right, and provides an environment where creativity can reign free; someone will develop a kick-ass application for that carrier's phones, everyone will flock to them, and the other carriers will finally get a clue.

I understand that in most European countries the situation is very different. In Norway, I hear, you can basically write/distribute any app for a phone, and the telcos only bother you if they get complaints about you. That's what I'd like to see in North America.

If telcos had invented the Internet... well, it'd be AOL.

Buy a hackable phone

[a1291762]

I got a Motorola V220. The V-series is very hackable. In fact, even though it's not supposed to work, I can upload Java games directly from my Mac using some open source software (moto4lin). It's much simpler than the official way Motorola wants you to do it. I can even "backup" any Java apps I choose to purchase.

I do my J2ME compiles against the Motorola SDK (I had to borrow a Windows machine to get the jars) using mpowerplayer for the preverify/local testing. Then I just upload the .jar file, reboot the phone and I'm running on the device. About the only thing missing is local testing of Motorola-specific APIs but so far I've just avoided them. If could always fire up a Windows box to run the Motorola emulator on.

I'm not so concerned about other people being able to access Java apps that I write so I haven't even thought about that part. My operator (Virgin Mobile) doesn't even let me connect to the internet (just to their site, which has nothing useful that doesn't cost money) so even if I could setup a server that'd let people download my jars I'd have no way to test it.