J2ME on a real mobile phone

[Zouplaz]

Hi, today I've changed my phone to a new one with java enabled.

These day I've done some test using socket connections with a sony-ericsson
emulator (T610 model, my own new phone) and it worked fine.

I thought it was a joke and that it would never run on the real phone : and
I was right. The same java midlet doesn't have access to any socket.

Are sockets disabled by the operator (with a special firmware for this kind
of phone) ? Is there something wrong with my mobile options (do I need to
subscribe a new service ) ?

Is J2ME only usefull to build games ???

Thanks

 

[Darryl L. Pierce]

Hi, today I've changed my phone to a new one with java enabled.

These day I've done some test using socket connections with a sony-ericsson
emulator (T610 model, my own new phone) and it worked fine.

I thought it was a joke and that it would never run on the real phone : and
I was right. The same java midlet doesn't have access to any socket.

That's because the MIDP only requires that HTTP be made available to
MIDlets in MIDP 1.0. Sockets, datagrams, etc. are optional.

Are sockets disabled by the operator (with a special firmware for this kind
of phone) ? Is there something wrong with my mobile options (do I need to
subscribe a new service ) ?

See the above. Handset manufacturers and carriers are only required to
make HTTP available to your MIDlet. A number of handsets also give you
datagrams and/or streaming sockets as well, but HTTP is the only one
that's *required*.

Is J2ME only usefull to build games ???

Hardly. I work for a company that has quite the kick-ass enterprise
application running on MIDP phones. BTW, J2ME is not a technology; it's
an umbrella term. What you're referring to when you write "J2ME" is
really the MIDP.

 

[Robert Sundström]

That's because the MIDP only requires that HTTP be made available to
MIDlets in MIDP 1.0. Sockets, datagrams, etc. are optional.

The MIDP "technology" is really only in its infancy. However, more and more
telephone producers are announcing MIDP 2 support in coming phones. MIDP 2
requires support for generic sockets among other things. In most cases, phones
will be available during 2004.

Perhaps MIDP will be a hot thing around 2005 or 2006...if it survives that
long...

See the above. Handset manufacturers and carriers are only required to
make HTTP available to your MIDlet. A number of handsets also give you
datagrams and/or streaming sockets as well, but HTTP is the only one
that's *required*.

Maybe there are one or two carriers out there who limit network access to Http
only, but in the general case the limitation is in the phone and what the
phone manufacturer choose to support. The Sony Ericsson P800 for instance,
supports MIDP 1 with socket extensions. That works fine on all the carriers I
have tested.

-
Robert Sundström, Mimer SQL Development
Upright Database Technology AB, http://www.mimer.com
Validate your SQL statements at http://developer.mimer.com/parser

 

[Darryl L. Pierce]

The MIDP "technology" is really only in its infancy. However, more and more
telephone producers are announcing MIDP 2 support in coming phones. MIDP 2
requires support for generic sockets among other things. In most cases, phones
will be available during 2004.

That's as maybe, but there are no MIDP 2.0 phones commonly available,
and the vast majority are all MIDP 1.0 phones.

Perhaps MIDP will be a hot thing around 2005 or 2006...if it survives that
long...

I certainly hope so. There's nothing really positioned to replace it on
devices.

Maybe there are one or two carriers out there who limit network access to Http
only, but in the general case the limitation is in the phone and what the
phone manufacturer choose to support. The Sony Ericsson P800 for instance,
supports MIDP 1 with socket extensions. That works fine on all the carriers I
have tested.

Nokia handsets do not offer streaming sockets. Motorola is a mixed bag
of sockets and datagrams. SprintPCS phones are limited to HTTP. The
bottom line is HTTP is the only thing _required_ and therefore the
logical target for portability.

 

[Tim Tyler]

:> The MIDP "technology" is really only in its infancy. However, more and more
:> telephone producers are announcing MIDP 2 support in coming phones. MIDP 2
:> requires support for generic sockets among other things. In most
:> cases, phones will be available during 2004.

: That's as maybe, but there are no MIDP 2.0 phones commonly available,
: and the vast majority are all MIDP 1.0 phones.

There are here in the UK - I have a MIDP 2.0 phone.

Symbian OS v7.0s had MIDP 2.0 support.

That's in phones like the Motorola A920.

 

[Darryl L. Pierce]

:> The MIDP "technology" is really only in its infancy. However, more and more
:> telephone producers are announcing MIDP 2 support in coming phones. MIDP 2
:> requires support for generic sockets among other things. In most
:> cases, phones will be available during 2004.

: That's as maybe, but there are no MIDP 2.0 phones commonly available,
: and the vast majority are all MIDP 1.0 phones.

There are here in the UK - I have a MIDP 2.0 phone.

Symbian OS v7.0s had MIDP 2.0 support.

That's in phones like the Motorola A920.

Must be nice. They've not released (TMK) a MIDP 2.0 phone in the states
yet. Perhaps shortly?