I Shall Call It Mini-ME

Portable devices are an exciting industry. Every time you turn around, there's another sexier model, with a bigger screen, more memory, higher bandwidth, and a faster CPU, usually within an ever-smaller formand they come in a cool range of colors too.

With all this new hardware horsepower, users are naturally looking for more than just the software that came pre-installed by the manufacturer. I know Snake II satisfies all my entertainment needs, but hey, sometimes we have to think about other people.

However, delivering new content is not quite as simple as it sounds. As a developer, you have to cope with the huge variety of hardware, along with the inherently broad range of functionality that comes with such diversity. You then have to wade through the murky swamp of different SDKs to access this functionality. Creating software for multiple versions of one device is hard work; creating it for completely different classes of devices is an exercise in painstaking compromise.

Writing the software isn't the only problem. Delivering it to the device requires a platform capable of installing new software on demand, along with the channels to receive new code. And once installed, users (and device manufacturers acting on their behalf) must consider the security of the software and the device.

So where do you turn for a solution to all these issues? Amidst a blaze of light, a big (but still nerdy) guy in a yellow spandex suit leaps up, hands on hips, chest emblazoned with a big J and a small ME. Never fear, J2ME is here to make you look good in tightsoops, I mean, to bring software to the micro masses! Had you worried, didn't I?