Comments on Vivek live and kickin': The best mobile development platform for hobbyist ...

You may want to try using the IDE from ZHMICRO. It...

2009-04-11T04:59:52.837+05:30

You may want to try using the IDE from ZHMICRO. It is based on C++, you dont need any SDK's, and the applications that you write can be run on other mobile OS's without changing any code.

I am a seasoned developer familiar with J2ME and B...

2008-06-27T02:07:48.604+05:30

I am a seasoned developer familiar with J2ME and Blackberry platforms, I dont know much about other platforms but one thing I would like to point out regarding J2ME platform. As oposed to java's main moto "Write once run anywhere", J2ME doesn't seems to fall under the same hood. I've faced so many issues while porting one J2ME applications to run on different platforms/mobile devices like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola etc. One J2ME application doesnt really works the same on all the platforms, plus all J2ME apps need to be tested on every device being targeted before release. I think game developers might not agree with my opinion, but this really happens with application developers like me who uses many J2ME's optional packages in one application.

Also the certification and signing process doesnt seems to be good enough to help developers minize the effort. Bottom line is, if you are thinking to write one application (that uses optional packages) and run it on all J2ME supported devices (even if they do have the same required optional packaged implemented in them), you might need too many efforts to do so.

Good Luck though!
Sam

Your best bet to support almost all platforms is J...

2008-06-10T14:48:55.833+05:30

Your best bet to support almost all platforms is J2ME, except for iPhone the apps will work on all the platforms.

I just want to know is there any framework or Tool...

2008-06-10T14:30:04.445+05:30

I just want to know is there any framework or Tools for mobile development
that is supported by all Mobile Platforms (Windows Mobile,Linux ,Palm ,Brew
,Symbian ,Blackberry ,iPhone)

I have been look at development tools for various ...

2008-02-28T14:57:53.369+05:30

I have been look at development tools for various platforms for mobile devices for some time.

The problem with using a Microsoft SDK is that you still need to buy the development tools on the desktop.

Another solution which I like is to use some of the scripting sytems you find around.

Unfortunately Python on PPC is not as mature as I would like, however you can have a nice tcl/tk system running and development your apps/scripts on the device itself. With minor modifications, the same code will run of the PC as well.

One such implementation I have been using is eTcl from www.evolane.com

For my next mobile platform, I am considering the iPhone, gPhone, whichever will implement a decent version of tcl/tk :-D

Current I am using WM5, and PPC SE2003 whould not make much difference. Neither would WM6 or WM7. WM7 is dissappointing as the do not mandate support for multi-touch technologies, so I can stay away for PPC for a while yet.

I'm trying to do some programming on a Symbol Moto...

2007-12-23T08:21:20.278+05:30

I'm trying to do some programming on a Symbol Motorolla MC 70 (which is a windows mobile 5 based device) at work.

first, I agree, getting a simple app deployed on the win mobile device is a piece of cake and the visual studio emulators work like a charm and are really top of the line.

BUT - if you want to do anything fancy with you app - which, in my world, means some sort of connectivity to a server-side database, get ready to put in some late nights. I've been working on this one aspect for longer than I care to admit and I'm still not getting data returned to our mobile forms from the sql 2005 db.

regarding the Motorolla example code files for utilizing their SDKs (I'm focusing on barcoding).... they are basically garbage, buggy, and don't compile or run for the purpose of testing the examples.

I was told twice by two different people on two different calls that the symbol support development team doesn't support developers. period.

they don't even support their own broken code examples, which is a crying shame considering how big motorolla is.

but to put that in perspective, I consider connectivity a greater hurdle -- and that's because of microsoft completely reworking nearly every aspect of the process for database connectivity.

I began looking into java and instantly loved NetBeans, but gathering all the required toolkits and downloads for java on windows mobile devices is a nightmare to figure out. ... I'm still not even sure what I need to do. Especially for a CDC application - which will certainly be the future of most mobile devices when the smart phones drop in price.

google android should change the list .. :P

2007-12-03T00:25:52.094+05:30

google android should change the list .. :P

Even for a hobbyist programmer , i certainly feel ...

2007-10-12T15:31:13.299+05:30

Even for a hobbyist programmer , i certainly feel J2ME scores over Windows mobile platform.

I programmed couple of applications in J2ME which are damn simple but the job bcomes even easy if u've Free NetBeans IDE from Sun. It just needs couple of OOPS basics and basic Java programming construts.With J2ME choosing a right MIDP profile is important and test environments are also good...

I dont knw how Microsoft distributes its *** SO-CALLED *** Visual Studio IDE other than its express editions which are useless for programmers.

Even i think you've Phone specific Mob. Development platforms like the one Nokia,Sony erricson is supplying....

Just 2c for Windows CE development: Lazarus as IDE...

2007-10-03T23:18:37.859+05:30

Just 2c for Windows CE development: Lazarus as IDE for Free Pascal

http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/
looks very promising.
I tried only command line application due to the luck of experience and got working binary for PPC 2002 ( WinCE 3.0).
Also I need to point that documents describing steps to have all components set and compiled for wince have
errors.

Add my vote for blackberry. Everything is pure, no...

2007-10-03T20:01:11.588+05:30

Add my vote for blackberry.

Everything is pure, normal java. The APIs are clean, well documented, and capable. The free development IDE is good enough, and they give you command-line tools so you can use another IDE if you want.

The free simulators make it exceptionally quick and easy to test stuff out without needing a phone at all. You can also test things that would be hard to test on an actual phone in real life, like runing out of memory, or going into an area with different cell coverage.

To distribute your app, you do need a blackberry assigned key. This is actually a good thing becuase it helps keep viruses and malware mods of existing apps away. The last time I bought a key, it cost $100 and they got it back to me in less than 24 hours.

Blackberry also makes deployment easy. People can install the app straight from a webpage on the device, or use the PC-based syncing program to download it.

Overall, for me there is not much that could be better.

-josh

Sorry, but I think you know too little about A780 ...

2007-10-03T11:03:31.364+05:30

Sorry, but I think you know too little about A780 and linux development for motophones. Just I alone 've developed more than 10 apps for A780 buddy! Lack of official SDK does not mean its closed!

- Gerald Naveen

Blackberries are programmable in Java , beside J2M...

2007-10-02T23:56:26.540+05:30

Blackberries are programmable in Java , beside J2ME it has its own GUI API. RIM has a full development environment that you can download for free from their site, that includes emulators etc.
I programmed blackberry for almost 2 years and I have to say their developer support is fantastic.

You might want to take a look at the Qtopia Greenp...

2007-10-02T23:43:15.373+05:30

You might want to take a look at the Qtopia Greenphone, a Linux device. This is made by Trolltech, and their Qt SDK has gotten good reviews on the desktop side at least.

You can not use the Visual Studio Express to creat...

2007-10-02T23:15:26.887+05:30

You can not use the Visual Studio Express to create Windows CE and Pocket PC apps. You must buy $$$ at least the Standard edition to use the Windows Mobile 6 SDK.

In contrast, you can download the Netbeans 5.51 IDE for free and start programming J2ME CLDC and CDC mobile apps.

"But till then I am not sure why one would bother ...

2007-10-02T22:52:42.242+05:30

"But till then I am not sure why one would bother developing for the palm, unless you have one"

...or want to develop for the huge installed base of the Palm OS?

For that matter, if you're a hobbyist programmer, why would you develop for anything other than the one you have? Are you looking to buy a platform to do mobile computing? Or seeking to develop an app that you hope "just works" on a platform that you *don't* have?

1. Java ME is much easier to get started with than...

2007-10-02T22:37:07.461+05:30

1. Java ME is much easier to get started with than you let on

2. If you use the Microsoft crap it will work on far fewer phones

3. You don't mention anything about Flash Lite

Do your research better, this article was pretty worthless.

For non-phone based mobile devices, you might chec...

2007-10-02T22:17:06.266+05:30

For non-phone based mobile devices, you might check out sun spots ... http://www.sunspotworld.com/ as they are a Java ME client, and do some neat stuff

>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_Linux_Platfor...

2007-10-02T21:40:48.496+05:30

>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_Linux_Platform
>It's been around since 2006. I can say I've seen 700-series Treos running this.
[snip]

Ummm... Where the heck did you see a 700 running ALP? As a palm developer I can say this as a fact:
ALP doesn't run on the 700 or any 7xx :-) Are you thinking of Hackndev linux? (hackndev.com)

Furthermore, Palm will NEVER run ALP. Palm and ACCESS are on rought terms at best.

Palm is developing its own LinuxOS, which accordingy to Ed Colligan (CEO, Palm Inc) will be available by the end of the '08.

Seriosuly, if you show me a 700 running ALP, i'll lop off my arm.

Regards,
Ryan Rix
tamspalm.tamoggemon.com

couple of points:regarding Java ME, a lot of major...

2007-10-02T21:21:01.793+05:30

couple of points:

regarding Java ME, a lot of major cellphone manufacturers have their own lava SDKs on their website (for example, Nokia SDK and Sony Ericsson SDK for java both come with their own emulators for testing). The problem for applications development for Java ME is that different devices have their own features and bugs. The newer models (Nokia N95 or SE k700 families) seems to be better bug differences remains (for example Nokia has their own key codes which are different than Java ME specification). For development I would recommend Java WTK (wireless tool kit) and Net Beans 6.0.

As for Brew you can load your app on the phone with a test ID using serial/usb cable. Also th eQualcomm site has a list of emulators you can download and attach them to your visual studio.

For Blackberry you can download their SDKs and development guideline and as the previous comment stated, you can use MDS studio to create an application as well.

Blackberry is a great platform for wireless mobile...

2007-10-02T21:00:23.790+05:30

Blackberry is a great platform for wireless mobile application development.
Combined with the BlackBerry JDE and the MDS Studio Plugin, it makes a great end to end wireless application development platform

You might want to double-check your facts about th...

2007-10-02T20:50:29.469+05:30

You might want to double-check your facts about the Motorola A780. It only supports third party Java apps, but Moto is happy to provide both a Java SDK and the Linux source code for the phone.

>> If you are looking to develop to the widest set...

2007-10-02T20:06:24.480+05:30

>> If you are looking to develop to the widest set of devices with ease of use and deployment, Microsoft takes the cake (and the icing and the platter). <<
Actually, Java will give you the widest set of devices which I believe the author actually said. Nearly every modern phone supports it, while any other solution ties you to a specific OS.

While Java may be free, there is a slightly larger learning curve to become productive. With Visual Studio, if you can program WinForm, then you can program for the compact framework.
Might I suggest taking a look at netbeans with mobile pack? It's free, and also provides drag-and-drop GUI application development for both mobile devices and other platforms.

I would rank the Microsoft dev tools at #1 and Java a distant #2.
On the basis of what?
I am sure all of the others have their place and following, but if I am looking to get the largest bang for my developer $$$ (and time), I am not going to waste it on any of the others.
Because it makes so much more sense to develop for one specific platform, when you could easily develop for nearly all phones currently on the market?

just a comment about linux licensing vs bsd licens...

2007-10-02T19:48:14.344+05:30

just a comment about linux licensing vs bsd licensing. i am not sure what your issue is really, you are not obliged to share source for your own application unless it is a modified version of something that is gpl'd but what i really wanted to point out is that the only reason there is a vibrant foss community today is the gpl. apple clearly likes bsd licensing better too as it has allowed them to build a completely closed and proprietary environment while thumbing their noses at all the developers who provided them with a viable platform to abscond with.
just my $0.02 worth

cryptozoologist

I have tried to share some thoughts about J2ME her...

2007-10-02T19:38:44.796+05:30

I have tried to share some thoughts about J2ME here. Personally, I like J2ME (and that is why I am trying to point out the weaknesses of this platform). It is the most open platform for now. .NET may be an attractive option but I have two primary concerns about it: it is not widely available and its security is questionable. With J2ME, especially if you work closely with the manufacturer you can do amazing things. But you can _still_ do cool things even being 3rd party developer.

"When Palm comes out with their new OS which is ba...

2007-10-02T19:20:36.152+05:30

"When Palm comes out with their new OS which is based on Linux"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_Linux_Platform
It's been around since 2006. I can say I've seen 700-series Treos running this.

What kind of review is that? I don't know about this [blackberry] platform, I ran a poor search on google about that one [Palm], I'll blame Linux for Motorola's problem, and I've only developed for Windows. I'll stick with Windows since I already know it, even though JavaME has the largest market share.

Please if you do a review, next time actually use the platform before you review it.

Personally, I would use JavaME, Maemo (thanks Nokia), or OpenMoko (the phone is already out, albeit it's about $600).