Java Me Packaging for Flash Lite Developers

• Author: karui
• Filed under: Software Tools

  Related Tags: Flyer Framework, Janus, Jarpa, Java ME

• Date: Jun 26,2008

Created by Felipe Andrade and Alessandro Pace, Jarpa was created allowing Flash Lite Developers deliver their content as Java ME applications.

Jarpa allows Java ME and Flash Lite Developers extend their mobile applications like in Flyer Framework or Janus but with the widespread acceptance of Java ME and Flash Lite mobile devices.

Compatible Devices

Nokia 3250 S60 3rd Edition
Nokia N95 - 1 S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1
Nokia 6110 Navigator S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1
Nokia 6630 S60 2rd Edition, Feature Pack 2
Nokia 7500 Prism S40 5th Edition
Nokia 7390 S40 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2
Nokia 6301 S40 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 2

Interested to know how? Jarpa

Java ME and Adobe Flash Lite which is better

• Author: karui
• Filed under: Event News & Updates, Mobile Phones & Devices, Software Tools, Tutorials & Tips

  Related Tags: flash lite 3, flashlite 3, Java, Java ME, mobile platforms, SUN

• Date: Jun 13,2008

If you’re a mobile developer, you may have noticed that more devices these days are supporting Adobe Flash Lite. According to the latest figures, approximately 300 million devices in the market support some form of the Flash Lite specification. Bruce from blogs.sun.com wrote very interesting direct comparison between the world 2 most widely deployed mobile platforms. His conclusion is that J2ME is better at backend functions that require device access(file I,O/Bluetooth/SMS etc), whereas Flash is clear winner in video and vector graphics. His recommendation is to use Flash as front and while using J2ME in the backend.

I’ll compare the latest and greatest specifications for both platforms in the following categories:

Graphics
Multimedia
Local Device Accessibility
Security
Network Connectivity
Miscellaneous

Our first category for comparison is graphics. As you can see in the table below, the Flash Lite 3 platform supports all the standard rasterized graphic formats and supports FLA (Flash format) and SVG formats for vector graphics. In my opinion, FLA is a superior vector graphics format compared to SVG, and the tools required to create sophisticated applications are easier (and more widely available) to use for FLA compared to SVG. So, the Flash Lite 3 platform is a worthy competitor in the graphics department for mobile applications, and it is easy to see why many Flash Lite applications are games. One downside, however, is that Flash Lite 3 has no support for 3D graphics.

Sony Ericsson move for a Java ME and Flash Lite bridge

• Author: admin
• Filed under: Event News & Updates, Software Tools

  Related Tags: Java, Java ME, Sony Ericsson

• Date: May 1,2008

Sony Ericsson wants mobile software developers to have the best of both worlds.

Next week at JavaOne, the company plans to demonstrate its Project Capuchin, which will allow software developers to create applications for mobile phones that can use pieces of both Java ME and Adobe Systems’ Flash Lite to create their applications. The company plans to release a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) and a software development kit in the second half of this year to bring the two different mobile development styles together.

For example, Java developers could decide to use the richer user interface technology found in Flash Lite, said Ulf Wretling, general manager, head of developer program and communications for Sony Ericsson. Or maybe a developer wants to use Java’s three-dimensional graphics for a mobile game but would prefer to use Flash Lite for menus, he said.

The problem with this kind of project is that while it creates a “bridge” between the two technologies, as Wretling put it, it also pulls developers away from the current road map for both Java and Flash Lite. The difference here is that developers will still be able to create regular Java or Flash applications using this set of APIs, just mixing and matching technology from the other camp as needed.

This technology will be used on the mass-market mobile phone, not the smartphone category with more sophisticated operating systems. Sony Ericsson phones will arrive in the second half of the year with this technology, but the company plans to release the software development kit before the phones arrive.

Ultimately, Sony Ericsson would like to share the technology with the broader community so that it could be used on other phone platforms. “We intend to make the APIs available, to publish them, but in what way, form and shape we haven’t fully decided yet,” said David. “But you can anticipate standards or open source or a combination thereof.”

With a growing number of mobile operating systems and development platforms on the market, Sony Ericsson, like the other phone makers, will be competing for developer attention. All of the software and phone makers want to attract the best developers, who in turn want to be able to create attractive applications that can be used by a large user base.

“There is definitely competition about getting developers’ mind share,” said Wretling. However, if companies like Sony Ericsson can make the development environment attractive, they can help grow the number of mobile-application developers too, he said. Ultimately that benefits users, who will be able to choose from an increasing number of applications.

[cnet]