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Go, Infosync, go! This is so true!!!!
http://www.infosync.no/news/2002/n/2336.html
Just don't screw up J2ME
By: Jørgen Sundgot, Friday, 20.09.02 15:23 GMT
Jørgen Sundgot likes what J2ME offers, and thinks the concept has a great future - if operators don't screw it up like WAP, that is. Read on to find out why he thinks they might.
While handheld owners almost since the very beginning have had access to installing applications onto their devices to enhance their functionality, most mobile phone owners haven't had that opportunity - until BREW and J2ME arrived, that is. And although BREW might be as interesting as J2ME, J2ME has the largest following - which is why it's the target of my weekly ramblings.
I like J2ME. Just think about it; if you already own a handheld, you've been spoiled with the opportunity to install applications. The vast majority of consumers don't have handhelds, but what they do have is mobile phones - and what a titilating prospect it must be to have the option of installing additional applications on a mobile phone and making it more similar to the one computing device most households today know and love (or hate, depending) - the PC.
And if you think J2ME is just a fad, think again. In a year's time or so from now, 90% of all new mobile phones will have J2ME support to some degree, and there will be quite a few companies developing quality applications for J2ME (there are a few already, but due to J2ME still being a bit obscure not many know of them). All indicators point towards J2ME succeeding where WAP didn't - but that doesn't mean there aren't hurdles in the way that need to be avoided.
WAP, in my opinion, failed for three major reasons; end users didn't see it as simple, there was a common misconception that you would get all of the Internet as you knew it in your pocket - and finally there wasn't enough good content. With J2ME, the whole industry is taking a more careful approach, well helped by the fact that nobody have fat dot com accounts any longer that allow for things to quickly spin out of control.
I think J2ME will be able to avoid all of the above mentioned hurdles for various reasons, but there's one more hurdle I'm uncertain about and that's whether operators will be stupid enough to go for walled-garden setups. That is, not allowing users on their network to download and install J2ME applications from anyone but their own J2ME portals - which is a perfectly good way for operators to make more money, but which makes it oh so much harder for the technology on a whole to succeed.
Small software houses will suddenly face major obstacles on the road to making money from their work since they will have to sell their application to each and every operator around the world, which will weed out large amounts of creativity, innovation and not the least diversity in terms of applications. That leads to a direct lack of interesting applications (including games) for end users, which will either dismiss the technology then and there or decide to hold off and wait for an uptake. Problem is, the uptake will be considerably delayed if the walled garden concept is introduced since everything will be moving slower - after all, it takes time to sell each J2ME game title 90 times. For a quick real-world comparison, imagine if an operator only allowed its subscribers to use SMS services (such as getting weather forecasts and football scores) from a list of approved partners only.
So far, it seems as though few carriers are intent on creating these walled gardens - perhaps they learned a lesson from WAP, where default WAP portals and clear boundaries on what URLs could be opened and not contributed (yet not as greatly as the three above mentioned factors) to the early dismissal of WAP. I just hope the trend keeps up, because if operators manage to ruin another great idea I'll personally throttle'em.
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Posted: 2002-09-24 08:34:00
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Yep, read that a couple of days ago. Very interesting! Reallly hope J2ME wont be another flop...
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Posted: 2002-09-24 09:36:00
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Yes, I think WAP is bit lame, but I use my PDA to surf the net with my mobile which doesn't bother me at all.
The only thing I use WAP for is from time to time read up on ESATO if I don't have my PDA handy, or use WAP88's ICQ software or AIM, but still too difficult to reply with the chatboard on my phone. I think viewing other web content on such a small screen is just totally useless anyways, whether its WAP or J2ME. The Sendo Z100 is using internet explorer which in a way makes both of those total crap, but still, the small screen...
However, if they did for example, allow purchasing of items over your phones internet browser, that would be great. Items such as train tickets, plane tickets, call TAXI's, etc. Then I'd might find it useful.
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Posted: 2002-09-24 10:34:00
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