
Developing *mobile* applications; which platform has fewer serious problems - J2ME or Flash? - juwo

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codeLullaby
As of now, you cannot compare Flashlite and J2ME. Its almost like comparing
Javascript with Java. Flashlite has very limited capabilities . Add to it the
limited capabilities of a mobile device.

If your application want to access phone's file system(r/w), or want to access
phone's camera, FlashLite alone wont help. [its only possible with a java or
python wrapper]

From my personal experience Flashlite is most suited for making quick visual
demos/prototypes [within hours].

Right now Adobe is working on Flashlite 3.0 , which is expected to be the most
robust release ever, complete with flv video support.

One great thing about flashlite is that, if you build and test on a single
device, you can deploy it on ANY flashlite enabled device without any
change[subject to some device factors like support for screensavers,
wallpapers etc.].This 'build once, deploy anywhere concept ' is unheard of in
J2ME development world.

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juwo
Yes, I need to access the file system rw and camera. With Flashlite, I wonder
if you have to be online also.

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codeLullaby
You will have to use a custom built Java or Python wrapper to access
filesystem /camera.

Here is an example for a python implementation:
<http://code.google.com/p/flyer>

Once installed Flashlite acts almost like a flash engine from which you can
run swf created for flashlite.

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dazzawazza
All of the high end (Nokia S80 style) phones can do flash light but there are
still problems with it. J2ME runs across nearly all phones but some of the
older phones (Nokia S40 style) have very small screens and the Java runtime
seems to be painfully slow (the cpu's are quite beefy buy I suspect the memory
access is slooooow). Be aware that despite it being Java there are quirks
across the 50+ mobile phones that are in common use around the world. There
are a lot of small companies that specialize in testing across this range
though.

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Tichy
I thought Java was quite fast on Series 40, but of course it is slow on some
phones, no question.

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davidw
j2me is much more widespread. You could even give Hecl a whirl to put together
a prototype ( <http://www.hecl.org> \- just remember to get it from subversion
rather than the SF download).

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juwo
Thanks - I shall look into it. I remember reading that there were even more
issues with J2ME running portably, than there are with Java in the browser on
desktops.

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ardit33
oh boy, I can tell that just by asking this question you clearly know nada
about the mobile world...

good luck, don't let it discourage you.

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juwo
Yes, I am new to the mobile world - that is why I asked the question!

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jamescoops
you're better off using wap/ mobile XHMTL

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tamberg
Windows Mobile

