Here is an eWeek article about the current batch of SmartPhones which can be deployed in the enterprise using J2ME technology.

See:

eWeek Roundup of SmartPhones

Good summary, but their productivity apps summary on page 3 seem to only cover the minimal: e-mail, Web/WAP browsing, and document viewing. That's not right. The power of the SmartPhone with J2ME Technology is the ability to write customized J2ME apps that access your corporate data like sales info, contact lists, inventory, price lists, etc., etc., etc. J2ME apps that interact with your corporate data in a secure and wireless way are the key to success of J2ME SmartPhones, not reading your e-mail or looking at squished Web pages on a tiny screen.

If you can (in real-time) tell the customer standing in front of you that you can give him a 20% discount on 1,000 widgets and get them to him by tomorrow morning, that's where the strength of J2ME SmartPhones is--not that you got this cool e-mail from your co-worker that talks about the latest J. Lo music video. E-mail and the Web are so last millenia. :-)

Toshiba announced they have a way to allow cell phones to remotely operate a PC. The software will be available in late March on a Japanese cellular network. The software currently uses BREW and will eventually also use Java technology.

See:

Toshiba working on J2ME enabled PC remote control

Sounds like a VNC viewer on a cell phone. See: http://j2mevnc.sourceforge.net/.

Anyone try that yet?

Zone4Play, is today announcing their Java technology based app for allowing bookie style gambling from wireless client devices to a Java enabled server.

See:

J2ME client support for bookie betting

So, buy that if you want to set up your own off-shore bookie site where you can have people with J2ME technology-enabled cell phones placing bets like on the Eagles or Patriots. Personally, I would take the Eagles with the 7 point spread--small enough that they should be able to cover. (Disclaimer: I do not endorse wagering of any kind, except betting on J2ME technology for the future!) ;-)

You can use a Java technology-enabled RIM BlackBerry or J2ME technology-enabled cell phone with the latest version of Utracksys Blood Pressure MIDlet software to track your blood pressure and pulse.

See:

J2ME technology-enabled Blood Pressure Tracker

Nice program. It would be nicer if it used a wireless connection to a sensor connected to your body to automatically measure your pulse and blood pressure instead of having to manually enter it. Hey, they do that on Star Trek why not in real life. :-)

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is going onto J2ME technology-enabled wireless devices.

See:

J2ME technology-enabled CRM devices

I don't think PDAs are the most popular devices for CRM as the article says. It seems like a combo of 802.11x laptop PCs when seated like in a meeting or office is one mode, and a J2ME technology-enabled cell phone like in the car or on the go is another mode.

The key is to make the data transferrable to any device, not the programs. So, provision the data (Java objects), not the actual MIDlets or apps to the device. That way you get portability to run on any device plus the data is sync'd to a server with one version all the time.

There is a much better generation of J2ME apps coming onto the market right now, like this English-Russian translator J2ME app for the RIM Blackberry.

See:

J2ME app: English-Russian translator

J2ME technology on cell phones is being shown to run very fast when programmed correctly and when using the JIT compiler and other performance enhancing features of the Java VM running on small devices.

Now you'll see all the useful apps start taking attention from the J2ME games. Don't get me wrong, J2ME games will always be around as time-killer fun things to do with your cell phone when standing in lines or riding on the train. But, the useful J2ME apps that take advantage of having a powerful Java platform at your fingertips will become more apparent to people. согласны? :-)

It's being reported that Motorola will increase focus on Linux for their mobile phones, and not just on their high-end smartphones, like their models A760, A768 and E680 Linux cell phones which seem to have caught on in China.

See:

Motorola expands focus on Linux

They talk in the article about overcoming J2ME technology limitations with apps that write directly to the Linux kernel. Bzzzt! Wrong. Try again, Moto. By having apps go directly to the Linux kernel you open security holes, have a worse programming model (ex. memory management, pointers, etc.), and yet can still achieve the same perceived level of performance with a J2ME JIT compiler vs. the kernel.

The right way is to layer J2ME CDC technology on top of Linux to have it interact with the Linux kernel (via JNI, etc.) with Java API wrapper calls. This allows a better object-oriented programming model, abstractions on the Java level (Write Once, Burn-your-apps Everywhere) while opening up all the Linux OS/kernel functionality in a well-managed Java programming-centric way.

Linux is the engine. J2ME CDC is the steering wheel, gas pedal, and dashboard for apps on a mobile device.

Webdate Mobile is expanding to be able to run on 80% of all data-capable U.S. cell phones. Nice that they concentrate on Trilibris' J2ME technology to allow them to do this, plus using J2ME technology is the only way they'll achieve their plans to eventually run on 99% of all cell phones.

Their motto is: "GAFA - Go-Anywhere, Flirt-Anytime". Tell that to David Beckham!

See:

Webdate Mobile Expands Using J2ME Technology

You can bet that Posh Spice will be making sure David Beckham isn't one of their customers. ;-)

Sun Australia is planning a Developers Conference where they have invited James Gosling to talk about Java technology.

They talk about the growth of Java technology with this quote:

  With over seven million Java telephones and greater than 
  15 million J2ME handsets running over 5,000 applications, 
  Java truly is everywhere!

See:

Sun Australia Conference with James Gosling

15 million J2ME handsets and 7 million Java telephones? Hmmm... Last estimate I've seen was over 650 million J2ME handsets. Maybe the 15 million count is just for Australia? Don't know how they are so far off with their numbers.

Siemens and Sun have gotten together to hold a competition to motivate more J2ME programming by having a contest for new mobile Java apps.

See:

Java Masters 2005

First prize is an exclusive high-end Siemens phone. I wonder if they allow you to trade it in for a Treo 650? ;-)

Artificial Life announced they are releasing a 2.5G and 2.75G (What the heck is 2.75G??? A quarter more expensive per month than 2.5G? ;-) ) version of their J2ME Virtual Girlfriend (V-Girl). Kind of the slower, dimmer-witted version, I believe. ;-)

See:

Updated J2ME Virtual Girlfriend

It's a strange, strange world we live it. What ever happened to the church ice cream social? Anyone buying this products really needs to get out more. Maybe try a nice bar. :-)

In the next generation of J2ME technology-enabled cell phones, it will be important that the phone's software be completely customizable including GUI skins, ringtones, themes, apps, games, content, etc.

See:

The Customizable J2ME Cell Phone

The way to do this without locking into a phone, carrier, manufactuere, platform, CPU, or OS, is to have the J2ME technology layer handle all of the customization in Java. The abstraction of customization in Java allows for cross-platform and upward compatible migration of your settings to always go with you in a legacy fashion. Good idea to keep in mind when addressing the demands of the hundreds of millions of future cell phone consumers.

Gizmodo reports that a hacker at T-Mobile got into their network servers and had access to Secret Service e-mails and docs, but more importantly had access to celebrity T-Mobile Sidekick II (Java-powered PDA/cell phone combo device) accounts. It was reported he had access to grainy photos taken by the PDA's mobile cameras of Demi Moore, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Ashton Kutcher.

See:

T-Mobile Hacker Gets Celeb Pix

Goes to show you that while Java and J2ME technology can protect the device well, if a hacker gets onto the back-end server (which is not the responsibility of Java/J2ME technology), it's all over... and, thus the public gets grainy photos of Demi Moore, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Ashton Kutcher. A very scientific cause/effect relationship. ;-)

You knew it was going to happen. Porn is picking up on J2ME-enabled cell phones.

See:

J2ME Adult Content for Cell Phones

It's kinda silly: strip poker on a cell phone versus a cartoon character. But, with the 99 cent cheat option, you know someone is getting rich! ;-)

Here's an article about Motorola getting into the Home Networking Hub concept.

See:

Home Networking Hub Article

Of course, the way to really get the Home Networking Hub concept right is to use J2ME technology on the hub so that all Home Networking apps, games, utilities will be able to run on any cross-platform Home Networking Hub platform and talk with any back-end Java server without locking into one manufacturer.

A standard for Home Networking is waiting to be set for music, movies, games, etc. in the home linking iPODs, DVD players, stereos, and hard drives. The first one to set the standard will make loads of money (think DVD standard). Basing that standard on J2ME tech. will be the fastest way to get there.