ME developers assemble their wish list

Where is Java ME going in the very turbulent mobile market? On the one hand, you have all the activity coming from the iPhone camp and its reenergized rivals, and on the other hand, the Java world seems to have multiple stories: ME, JavaFX Mobile, and the idea pointed out by James Gosling last year that the mobile device is increasingly capable of running Java SE.

Let's reorient that question: where do developers want ME to go? A year ago at the Mobile and eMbedded Developer Days, we discussed fragmentation and the use of app-signing as a means of enforcing handset-makers' and carriers' business models. One carrier representative even scoffed at the idea of the indie developer making a difference from his or her basement. 300 million iPhone App Store downloads and a few bedroom developer millionaires later, the lie has surely been put to that argument, and it's hard not to see a massive, massive missed opportunity in denying ME developers access to the end user for all these years.

If ME is to have a bright future, then maybe it's time to start listening to developers, the ones who've been saying for years they want solutions to the obstacles that separate them from end-users.

ME developer Sean Sheedy calls for a discussion to set the ME developer agenda in his forum post, Java ME EC topics:

On the JCP EC (Executive Committee)'s email reflector, we are talking about carving out time during January's face-to-face meeting for topics specific to ME, including fragmentation, governance, platform direction, etc, with the idea being to turn ideas into action. I have my own ideas on what's needed, and plan to raise issues that have been stated previously. But the EC needs to hear what's on the mind of the general developer community, especially in light of newer mobile development platforms on the scene. What topics do you think the EC should be addressing?