Motorola: It’s All About ME

location based services


You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.
Motorola announced today broader Java ME ecosystem support to establish a complete Java Micro Edition software stack under the Apache License Version 2.0. Java ME has become a popular option for creating games for cell phones, as they can be emulated on a PC during the development stage and easily uploaded to the phone. This contrasts with the difficulty of developing, testing, and loading games for gaming platforms like Nintendo and Sony that require expensive, system-specific hardware and software.
Motorola will work to align its future around Java ME and Apache’s model of licensing. The plan is to create more universal ‘Write Once, Run Everywhere’ applications.
“We’re very excited Motorola has decided to adopt the Apache model as part of the company’s ongoing efforts to open the Java ME platform,” said Geir Magnusson Jr, vice president, JCP for the Apache Software Foundation.
“We believe developers, customers, partners and the industry at large will benefit from a new open source model,” said Mark VandenBrink, senior director and chief platform architect, Motorola Mobile Devices business. “Aided by Apache’s Tomcat Server and new projects such as Apache Harmony, we hope to help developers create and quickly deliver innovative applications to market.”
Motorola is an active member in organizations like Java_Community_Process (JCP), Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and the Open Source community. Motorola says it was the first manufacturer to bring Java technology-enabled handsets to the North American market in 2001. In 2003, Motorola combined open technologies in the A760, the world’s first Linux+Java handset. Linux Devices has more.

AJAX World Magazine explains the difference between Java ME and Mobile AJAX.
Mobile AJAX is focused on interactivity and connectivity; but the problem is that the services that extend effectively to mobile will be those that successfully harness the mobile platform and its capabilities. Some of these include SMS/MMS, multimedia capture, interactive multimedia playback, location, Bluetooth, etc. Java Micro Edition (Java Me) defines all APIs through an open, formal and consensual process which is centralized. When a requirement for a particular API is identified – location-based services, say – the various stakeholders (operator, device manufacturer, content developer, technology provider, etc) form an expert group to develop the API and associated resources and make it available to the industry.
The OpenAjax Alliance is an organization of vendors, open source projects, and companies using Ajax for open and interoperable Web technologies. Practical Ajax Projects with Java Technology could be right around the corner.

CBS is using a tiny stand-alone Bluetooth box from Kameleon Technologies (above) called the Mobizone to deliver television clips to cellphones.
Java ME games and applications are available on-line from Agile Mobile, Midlet-Review, Click Gamer, Download Juntion, ZGroup Mobile and Multiplayer Games Portal.
Pathfinder says right now there’s lots of positioning with regard to Ajax and mobile, but not a lot of action. For Google’s mobile version of its innovative Ajax maps application, for example, they didn’t go with Ajax but instead deployed a J2ME app.
David Heinemeier Hansson (right) of 37 Signals is the producer of Ruby on Rails (wikipedia), an open-source tool that makes it easier to use the Ruby programming language. RoR has made it dramatically faster and cheaper to build dynamic websites.
It’s enabled today’s crop of Web 2.0 companies like Odeo which allows users to record and share audio using simple, browser-based tools. Odeo even offers a component that gives mobile users the ability to record a podcast from their mobile phone.
Related DailyWireless articles on Web 2.0 Applications include Municipal Wireless Flash Applications, CBS Bluetooth Poster, Offline Wikipedia, Newspaper Manifesto and The Semantic Web.
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