JavaTM 2 Platform Micro Edition (J2ME) Wireless Toolkit
The JavaTM 2 Platform Micro Edition (J2ME) Wireless Toolkit is a set of tools that provides Java developers with the emulation environment, documentation and examples needed to develop MIDP compliant applications targeted at mobile information devices such as cellular phones and two way pagers. The current version of the product is based on the J2ME Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) 1.0 and the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) 1.0. It is also tightly integrated with ForteTM for Java Community Edition, providing at no cost a complete development environment from which developers can develop and test applications from start to finish.
The J2ME Wireless Toolkit
- Supports application development from start to finish: from Java source files to MIDlet Suite including jar and jad files, ready for deployment.
- Offers two different GUI-based development interfaces, as well as command line support.
- Allows developers to test their applications on different emulated target devices.
- Is tightly integrated with a popular IDE (Forte for Java, Community Edition).
The Toolkit can be downloaded from Java's 2ME Page.
Project Topics
An interesting project here would be to develop something useful that can be viewed on everyday WAP enabled phones or Palm Top Organisers using the Wireless Toolkit such as email. See the article extract below.
There is an mcommerce times online article about about "...a Java-based e-mail application catching fire in South Korea, bolstering both hope and revenue streams for network operators looking for that magic app that makes the 3G money pit profitable" by Ed Sutherland, October 07, 2002.
Text extracted from Mcommerce Times...Visitors to South Korea, upon whipping out their own cell phones, might expect to see all the bells and whistles of third-generation wireless technology in use around them. After all, the country was the first to introduce 3G services. However, South Korea is finding an unlikely source of revenue for phones jammed with color screens and high-speed Internet connections: e-mail!
It is a pity that the Koreans, who are currently three to five years ahead of the European mobile markets, are using their high-speed, color screen, Java enabled mobile phones to read and write such in such a simple text based application as e-mail, said a report from Strand Consult. Yet, as mobile operators around the world seek to find a wireless revenue stream that hasn't already gone bone dry, Korea's mobile carriers "are enjoying substantial revenue and rising ARPU (average revenue per user) from e-mails," said the report entitled "The Korean Mobile Market, a Window to 3G.".....
Task
There is a J2ME email application (MeMail)already created by Tony Solon. This works fine on my Java 2ME enabled Motorola Accompli 009 mobile phone. A project could be done here which improves the usability of the interface and perhaps adds a few more features. Go ahead and download the J2ME toolkit from Sun and then download memail and run it.