upgrade to an iPad 3

I decided finally to upgrade my iPad1 and buy myself a new iPad3. I had actually intended to buy me an android tablet but realized that iPad3 truly in a class by itself. What attracted me to buy the new iPad3 is its excellent screen, it's something I appreciate because I read a lot books on my iPad. I will very likely also buy myself a Android tablet, but with a smaller screen of 7 inches. I'm actually much more interested in Android because it is against that platform that I committed to developing mobile applications. But now I bought me a Apple product again :-)

Develop for MeeGo, Android or WebOS is the big question for me

Yesterday I told you on twitter (@ovjo12):
"Ok now I have had look on both #webos and #Android and found out that I believe right thing is to develop for #MeeGo"
"Must say nothing wrong with #webos or #android, I believe more in #meego now, but I could change my mind, lets see what Nokia do after #n9"

The background:
Some year's ago I took a decision to learn something else than JavaME because it was obvious that it was not enough with knowledge of JavaME because more and more mobile platforms didn't support Java. This was really pity because I love the idea of "write once run everywhere". I then decided to start learn more about Qt because Nokia told me this is the future, then you are able to easily write apps to both the Symbian platform and to the Maemo/MeeGo platform. That's sounds very nice until Nokia in februari 2011 change the strategy and change platform from MeeGo to MS Windows for high end mobiles. I was very angry.....!!

The status now:
So far I have learned more about developing for the WebOs platform and the Android platform, I don't know so much about it yet but I know more...than before. The obvious choose for me is Android because I am a Java guy. But it is not easy to choose and it is not easy to learn all of them!

I recommend to read this book:
Mobile Developer's Guide: No.8, download the pdf from here.

The conclusion:
I think is all about which company that can produce the best hardware and software, I agree with this "I believe you have to follow the market, and the consumers own it." as danielcarlberg told me on twitter yesterday.

Today I own an Apple iPad and I love it, both because of the the hardware and the build in software and apps. I would love to replace it with an Android device, MeeGo device or WebOS device, but I haven't yet found any replacements.
I have now had the opportunity to learn more about : HP TouchPad (based on WebOS) and Asus ePad (based on Android), later this year Asus will come with a Eee PC X101 (based on MeeGo)

I think IT IS REALLY HARD TO TELL WHO WILL BE THE WINNER IN THIS WAR between different mobile platforms and development approaches. For me it is not only about building apps to sales as I work as consultant and obviously would like to have more consulting gigs, but were will all the customers be in the future?

Last week I was very pleased when Nokia announce the first MeeGo phone, the Nokia N9. I was not so pleased when Elop told us "there’s no return to MeeGo, even if N9 would be a success”, this sounds very strange to me??

Anyway I have now got more MeeGo Energy with the Nokia N9 so I will go on learning more about MeeGo development and wait and see what happen after Nokia N9, perhaps Elop have to change his mind? I hope so!
I will also go on learn more Android and WebOS development but as a second choose after MeeGo, I can change my mind very fast so you newer know. :-)

I also would like to lend or buy more MeeGo/WebOS/Android devices because I believe I have to play with it for some weeks and test to develop for the platform to really know, so please if you have any spare device I would like to lend it for some weeks!!

gtug-meeting and Asus ePad

Yesterday I went to a gtug-meeting here in Stockholm, This time the focus was about Android development. I think it was good speakers this time and it was also very nice to chat with some developers, I really like it!!!

Asus was also here and show their latest Android gadgets called Asus ePad (running Android 3.1). wow, looks like it offers a lot more than ipad2. It handles flash, is true 16:9, and mounts perfectly onto keyboard dock transforming it into a laptop. If you considering to buy an iPad2 you should definitely have a look on the Asus ePad.

Android vs Maemo

Very interesting article: Android vs Maemo, I like it!!!

ØREDEV 2008; Recap JavaME/Mobile 2.0

I thought I ought to sum up this year’s ØREDEV conference. It has been an intense three days with lots of new interesting stuff. This was my first time I’ve gone to ØREDEV.

Overall the conference was a good one, with lots of good mobility speakers and what I really thought was great was to get a more wider view of the Java mobility area (JavaME, Android, JavaFX Mobile, OSGI, eSWT...and more ). Left it full of new energy and compelled to try out numerous new technologies. Update the address book with those new contacts and new friends.

Some of the hot mobility topics at this ØREDEV:

• Terrence Barr, SUN had a interesting session about JavaFX Mobile, for me it was a surprise that Sun have now redesign JavaFX Mobile, it will now also work on the old JavaME platform (JavaME/CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0), this was very good I think. There was a cool demo of JavaFX with netbeans, the same code and you were able to deploy it as a normal JavaSE application, a web application and a mobile application, really cool!!. JavaFX will be release soon (December 2008) and then later JavaFX Mobile will be released, planned for spring 2009 and JavaFX TV for 2010.
• Joshua Marinacci, SUN hold a GREAT session about JavaFX script (the new declarative scripting lanuage), only 3 slides and then a lot of code, very nice, well done, I like it!!!!!!!
• Jon Bostrom, MobiNoir Consulting had a interesting session about the new Sprint Titan platform with OSGI Technology in the Mobile, it will be released very soon (some weeks), with support first for eRCP (IBM/j9) on windows Mobile devices.
• Terrence Barr, SUN demonstrated what you could build with the Open Source Lightweight UI Toolkit (LWUIT) that was released at last JavaOne 2008. The think the best thing with it, it works with the old JavaME stack (JavaME/CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0). According to SUN LWUIT bridges the gap between today (MIDP) and tomorrow (JavaFX Mobile). It also look like Sun plan to add support for JavaME/CDC and JavaSE in the future, that's also great. Netbeans Matisse will soon (?) add support for LWUIT. There was two nice demo, SVG GUI Makeover (SVG + Mobile Ajax) and also a LWUIT GUI Makeover (avaible soon here)
  
• MIDP3.0 specification was planned to be finished Q3-2008, at this conference they didn't talked so much about it and no answers about the status of it. Motorala is the specification lead for JSR-271 have recently decide to move to the Android platform, what this mean for the work on MIDP3.0 specification is not clear for me?
  
• The last day of the ØREDEV conference, the Public Review Draft Specification for MSA2 (Mobile Service Architecture 2) was released, they would like to get developer comments on it.
  
• Sten Minör from SonyEricsson talks about some important trends for mobility like: WebServices, Open Source, WebKit (standard browser engine in mobile devices).
• It was also interesting to hear more about the new JavaME plattform SDK 3.0, a beta release is planned early next year, it will support MSA 1.1. Support for Mac OS X is coming but when? (no answers). Tomas Brandalik and David Pulkrabek, SUN made a cool demo with with the sensor API!!
• Gorkem Ercan, Nokia had a great presentation about eSWT, Nokia support it's heavily (eSWT1.1 is in all Nokia S60 devices from version S60v3.2). In the future it will also be possible to update eSWT, the eRCP project are now working on eSWT 1.3. I think eSWT look very nice, it is nice to be able to access to native UI functionality. I plan to test it more in the near future.
• Mike Jennings from Google Uk had a great presentation about Android, I didn't know so much about it. I think it was great to learn more about it. Later when I am able to buy a Android phone here in Sweden, I perhaps will have a closer look on it. It look like it is not so hard to get started, only download the android sdk and the Eclipse plugin. The best part it works also on Max OS X!!. It is also easy to deploy you applications, use your usb cabel and install it or you could also register and deploy your application at the Google's Market (cost you 25 USD dollar), your application will then be available to all android phone in the phone, it looks great to me!!
• Fredik Olsson, Jaywy had a great presentation about developing for the Iphone platform. I am surprised about the 100 million application downloads in 60 days that have give back 70 million dollars for developers. The cocoa touch frameworks looks nice, but for developing you are forced to use Objective C, the tool to use is Xcode, every Mac OS X owner have it already pre installed, you only have to download the plugin for Iphone. My first feeling is, I am a Java developer, I really don't wont use Objective C, but Apple don't allow Sun to give JavaME support on this device, it is pity. The Iphone is a great device, I am still waiting for Nokia's Iphone killer device, I haven't seen it yet.
• Ken Walker, IBM had a interesting presentation about How eRCP and MIDP Application models stack up against Android and Web 2.0 Development, more information here.
  

Conclusions:

• For me as a JavaME developer/architect, it is not easy to understand the future for JavaME, Sun now talks a lot about JavaFX Mobile, Google about Android, Sprint/IBM about the Titan platform (using OSGI Technology in the Mobile (eRCP), Nokia about eSWT and JavaME/CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0, Motorola about MIDP 3.0 (but I don't know any longer, perhaps it is Android?).'
• It is funny, it look like the best JavaME platform is MS Windows Mobile, everyone supports it, it was not like that before, I think now companies like Nokia & SonyEricsson must be careful about that, I suppose they would like to support JavaME developer more in the future, it is not bad now but I think it could be better. I also would like to use OSGi technology and JavaME/CDC on a Nokia/SonyEricsson devices and to able to easily deploy my application on great Nokia Market place and become a rich Java developer. :-)
  
• Today we have JavaME/MIDP2.0, with stagnant JavaME innovation and licensing issues (tech &TCK), it is also expensive for phone companies (like Nokia, SonyEricsson) they have to pay every different company for each JSR support. It has leads to alternatives such as Android and eRCP.
  
• It look like no one care so much about JCP any longer. Sun pushes LWUIT, JavaFX Mobile, Nokia, IBM eSWT/eRCP, Google Android. All of them are Open Souce but it is not a standard by JCP, this is pity because believe in standards.
  
• Every year I have a feeling it will be The Year of the Mobile, I have had this feeling "every year" since 2003, but no. But I am now think 2009 will be The Year of the Mobile for Java, it look great!

I am now looking forward to the Java Mobile, Media & eMbedded Developer Days, Sun Santa Clara Campus Auditorium, California, USA January 21-22, 2009. There are a lots of interesting sessions at this conference. I think it is great to be able to live view it. Of course, the best way to take part is to attend the conference in person, but for me this a good solution (I don't have to travel from Sweden for only two days, it is a long journey), I think it is really cool to be able view it live!

Google's handsets (Androrid) delayed

"Google Inc. is learning that changing the cellphone industry isn't easy."

"Google now says that the handsets won't arrive until the fourth quarter."

Read more at: Google's Mobile-Handset Plans Are Slowed

Am I surprised? 

No, it has always been so in the JavaME mobility area!!

But I think it is always nice with competition so I am positive that we soon have the Google Android. I think this will help us in the future to get better Java support i mobile devices!!

I think changes have to happen in JavaME area VERY SOON!!

Sony Ericsson and Windows Mobile

I became a little surprised when I today read in Computer Sweden (a Swedish IT news paper) about Sony Ericsson plans to start selling high end mobile phones with Windows Mobile instead of Symbian/UIQ.

It look like Sony Ericsson plans to introduce new Windows Mobile phones during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

I am little bit surprised because I thought linux for mobile phones is what is hot now in this area. This week I expected to get more information about plans for new phones based on Google´s Android and Sun´s JavaFX Mobile not so much about Windows Mobile phones.

Update:
Today Sony Ericsson made a announcement of the XPERIA™ X1 based on Windows Mobile

Changes have to happen in JavaME area

I read a VERY GOOD BLOG called Possibly the last MIDP specification, you will ever review. The writer Gorkem Ercan gave us the information that the public review for the JSR 271(MIDP 3 ) has started and what he thought about the future for Java in mobile devices.

I totally agree with Gorkem Ercan about that we in the mobility area have some problems with the JCP process, as it works today.

Sorry, I don't get excited about that JSR 271, (MIDP 3) is now in public review or that JSR 232 has published (some days ago) an updated Final Maintenance Release. This because it usually takes years before we have new devices with support for a new JSR.

But I think there are many good things in JavaME area:

• We have a Java standard in mobility area, JavaME/CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0
  
• There are a lot of devices with support for JavaME/CLDC1.1/MIDP2.0
• JavaME is OpenSource
  
• The PhoneME project, an excellent piece of work is done in that project.
  
• The eRCP project is also VERY GOOD for us!
  

I think this is not so good:

• The JCP process is very very slow and not open for everyone. Then when a JSR is finished, it take a very long time when we actually have devices that support it and the worse thing is that sometimes no support comes at all (like AGUI).
• For me as a JavaME developer/architect, it is not easy to understand the future for JavaME and I also don't think it help if you join the JCP (I have join JCP) to get a better understanding about it.
• There are no devices with support for JavaME/CDC1.1/FP1.1.
• There are delays for JSR 249: Mobile Service Architecture 2, based on JavaME/CDC1.1/FP1.1 and no public information from JCP about this delay. I can't understand why JCP don't update the schedule for each JSR.
  

But I think it is always nice with competition so I am positive that we now also have eRCP and soon the Google Android. I think this will help us in the future to get better Java support i mobile devices!!

I think something has to happen now in the JavaME JCP process!!
I don't think it is ok to release a JSR some years later and with no information about delays during the process, JavaME is OpenSource but it is NOT OPEN!

But don't understand me wrong, I am very pleased we have the JCP process in Java, I believe we need Java standards. But innovation I would like to see it in a more rapid way and done open to anyone.

I plan to go to next JavaOne, but I will be very disappointed if I can't find sessions about all kind of Java in Mobility area like: Android, eRCP...