Friday, January 24, 2003
Mobile Java (J2ME) vs Microsoft .NET
Posted by Andy Sjostrom in "DEVELOPER" @ 01:06 AM
http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2909118,00.html
David Berlind at ZDNet has written an article on the subject of J2ME shortcomings and how those open a window of opportunity for Microsoft. Given both the hardware standardization of Pocket PC and Smarthpone and the fact that the core components of the .NET Compact Framework is designed to be hardware and operating system independent, Microsoft has positioned itself well to compete with the Java camp. Here are some quotes from the article:
"That lack of predictability has manifested itself in what I see as a let down in the "write once, run anywhere" promise of Java. Some Java developers have written to me saying that, based on their experience, Java's "write once, run anywhere" promise is a pipe dream. Even Sun's chief engineer Rob Gingell admitted to me during my interview that the "anywhere" part of "write once run anywhere" is not exactly true. ... In an effort to write one set of code that can be deployed anywhere (or almost anywhere), they can study all the devices that they want their J2ME-based applications to run on in order to find a lowest common denominator to target. Or, they can realize that the different physical user interfaces offer the potential for different levels of functionality from one device to the next, and they can take advantage of that "variety." But that comes at a cost of maintaining separate code bases.
Have you ever noticed the display resolution on a PocketPC-based device? It's the same on all PocketPC-based devices. If you want a converged device like the one from T-Mobile that's both a phone and a PocketPC, and the person across the hall prefers Dell's Axim, the same applications will run, unmodified, on both. The reason? Hardware manufacturers that want to license and run PocketPC operating system must conform to Microsoft's hardware specification for a PocketPC device. The same requirement will apply to OEMs looking to build phones that run Microsoft's SmartPhone 2002 OS for data capable phones. Sure, all of the devices have the same resolution display, processor type, and base memory. But beyond that, there's a good deal of variation in industrial design, price, built-in applications, and accessories. As young as the PocketPC-based market is, it's intensely competitive; end users have a wide variety of choice, while developers have a predictable environment to target -- albeit one that needs improvement."
David Berlind at ZDNet has written an article on the subject of J2ME shortcomings and how those open a window of opportunity for Microsoft. Given both the hardware standardization of Pocket PC and Smarthpone and the fact that the core components of the .NET Compact Framework is designed to be hardware and operating system independent, Microsoft has positioned itself well to compete with the Java camp. Here are some quotes from the article:
"That lack of predictability has manifested itself in what I see as a let down in the "write once, run anywhere" promise of Java. Some Java developers have written to me saying that, based on their experience, Java's "write once, run anywhere" promise is a pipe dream. Even Sun's chief engineer Rob Gingell admitted to me during my interview that the "anywhere" part of "write once run anywhere" is not exactly true. ... In an effort to write one set of code that can be deployed anywhere (or almost anywhere), they can study all the devices that they want their J2ME-based applications to run on in order to find a lowest common denominator to target. Or, they can realize that the different physical user interfaces offer the potential for different levels of functionality from one device to the next, and they can take advantage of that "variety." But that comes at a cost of maintaining separate code bases.
Have you ever noticed the display resolution on a PocketPC-based device? It's the same on all PocketPC-based devices. If you want a converged device like the one from T-Mobile that's both a phone and a PocketPC, and the person across the hall prefers Dell's Axim, the same applications will run, unmodified, on both. The reason? Hardware manufacturers that want to license and run PocketPC operating system must conform to Microsoft's hardware specification for a PocketPC device. The same requirement will apply to OEMs looking to build phones that run Microsoft's SmartPhone 2002 OS for data capable phones. Sure, all of the devices have the same resolution display, processor type, and base memory. But beyond that, there's a good deal of variation in industrial design, price, built-in applications, and accessories. As young as the PocketPC-based market is, it's intensely competitive; end users have a wide variety of choice, while developers have a predictable environment to target -- albeit one that needs improvement."
