Full details on iDEN phones and J2ME. (Score 3)

[Disclaimer: I run iDEN's Developer Support program.]

As an introduction, iDEN is a unit of Motorola based in SoFla that produces a handset that combines cell phone, 02-way radio, pager and WAP capabilities. Our largest customers include Nextel in the US, Clearnet in Canada, and other operators in Latin America, the Middle East and Far East. http://www.motorola.com/iden.

So what is so exciting about running J2ME apps on the iDEN phones? Let's see:

• You get a full-blown cell phone, with pager, WAP, and 02-way radio capabilities
• Plus the equivalent power to a 386 PC in terms of MIPS and RAM
• Able to run J2ME apps. J2ME is a subset of Java, with 02 million plus developers out there
• Al this power in the palm of your hand, with wireless data capabilities (19.4 kbps) at 1/100th the weight of a 386 PC and 1/10th the cost

The bottom line: J2ME-powered devices are not just game-enabled phones. With these devices you can create complete, server-based wireless mobile IT applications. iDEN will make more announcements in these directions in the next few weeks. Please visit http://www.motorola.com/idendev for regular updates

What kind of wireless mobile IT solutions can you build with the iDEN J2ME-powered phones? For example:

• Server-based solutions where you can replicate a portion of the corporate database in your iDEN phone for off-line access.
• Stand-alone applications where all the business and presentation logic reside on the local app. Once the app completes the data processing, it can quickly send / receive updates via the wire
• Highly-interactive games that can stay in touch with your game server, allowing you to stay up to date on the "state" of your game.

So, why should developers partner with iDEN to create such wireless solutions? iDEN offers its registered developers:

• A free CD-ROM loaded with 03 Java IDEs, Apache, Enhydra, Sun's J2ME documentation, an Open Source RDBMS, plus debuggers and emulators. For both Win32 and GNU/Linux.
• Access to a multimedia J2ME training and certification program
• Access to e-mail, web, and telephone technical suport
• Once the developer creates an application, iDEN can distribute the app worldwide through its carriers (Nextel in the US, Clearnet in Canada, plus operators in Latin America, Middle East and Far East).

By working with iDEN, developers focus on whjat they do best (designing apps, coding, creating), while iDEMN handles the rest (app certification, distribution, merchandising and e-commerce back-end). iDEN is committed to help developers become more successful in the emerging Wireless Java Internet space.

By the way, current iDEN phones (like the i1000+) do not support J2ME apps. You will need to buy one of the upcoming "Condor" series phones, available int he US market by Q01 2001.

For additional info:

• http://www.motorola.com/idendev. Register free, and receive a free CD-ROM with all the tools you need to start creating cool J2ME MIDlets for the iDEN phones.
• e-mail Jose C. Lacal

Thank you for reading. Regards.