Devices with Symbian and J2ME

[Lonifasiko]

Please be patient because I've got many questions:

I nowadays develop for CF 1.0 and CF 2.0. Always for devices with
Windows Mobile OS.
Although we are not still planning to change, I've been assigned the
task of doing a little research about how the development world for
mobile-devices is nowadays.

I've sometimes heard about mobile devices having Symbian OS, J2ME
development platform, but the only thing I can say it's I have no idea
at all.

I'm seeing that mobile devices are going to integrate PDA+Phone
functionality all in only one device. That is, SmartPhone is the
devicde of the future. And main telephony manufacturers opt for Symbian
OS in their mobile devices: Nokia for example.

These are my main questions:

1.- Differences between Symbian and Windows Mobile? Can any
telephone/PDA/SmartPhone go with Symbian?

2.- Is Symbian written in C++?


3.- Nowadays, which is the most used "development technology" for
mobile devices? Compact Framework from Microsoft? J2ME? Simple C++ for
Synbian? Which is the expected future for all of them?

4.- Is J2ME more mature than Compact Framework? Does it contain a wide
developer community as the CF does?? Which are the advantages?

5.- Can I using J2ME develop same kind of applications CF let me
develop?

6.- If I install J2ME in a Windows Mobile device, I understand a J2ME
application would run without problems. I also understand that a CF
application would ont run in a mobile device with Symbian OS.

7.- Is J2ME and Java in general more oriented to game developing?

8.- Your advices/personal experiences ;-)

Sorry to ask so many questions in this unique thread but I need to know
which are the advantages and disadvantages of this two platforms so
that I move myself or not. I don't want to but........

Thanks very much.

 

[Guest]

1.- Differences between Symbian and Windows Mobile? Can any

telephone/PDA/SmartPhone go with Symbian?

It's a different OS, so the differences are large. Yes, any OEM can use it.

2.- Is Symbian written in C++?

More likely C.

3.- Nowadays, which is the most used "development technology" for
mobile devices? Compact Framework from Microsoft? J2ME? Simple C++ for
Synbian? Which is the expected future for all of them?

Depends. Sometimes Java, sometimes C, sometimes CF. Depends on the target
platform, depends on the app, depends on the developer. Most platforms
support more than one (for example Pocket PC can run a C/C++ app, a CF app
or a Java app.

Who can guess the future?

4.- Is J2ME more mature than Compact Framework? Does it contain a wide
developer community as the CF does?? Which are the advantages?

Java has been around longer. More phones run platforms that will accept Java
apps than CF apps. As for advantages, again tough to say. What's one
person't advantage is another's problem.

5.- Can I using J2ME develop same kind of applications CF let me
develop?

Applications are applications. You can write assembly applications that are
just like CF applications. It's a matter of development time, debugging
time and developer experience. You seem to theing the development language
affects what's possible from an apps. That's not really the case.

6.- If I install J2ME in a Windows Mobile device, I understand a J2ME
application would run without problems. I also understand that a CF
application would ont run in a mobile device with Symbian OS.

You understand correctly. Mostly. Java is *not* write once, run anywhere,
so don't expect to just run any Java app from any phone on any other phone
with a JVM. You still have to port to each platform and each JVM flavor.

7.- Is J2ME and Java in general more oriented to game developing?

Again, you don't understand programming if you ask this. It's oriented
toward developing apps quickly. So is the CF. If you need speed and
determinism, C is more suited. So it depends on your skill set and what
you're trying to do.

8.- Your advices/personal experiences ;-)

Pick a target, pick a product, write the product for the target based on
your skill set, schedule and budget.

-Chris

 

[Lonifasiko]

Thanks for your deep but conscious explanations Chris. I really
appreciate them.

Anyway, I would like to hear more opinions.

Regards.