11.10.2011

J2ME at the Brink of Extinction

I realized that the growing number of smart phones on the market is heavily tearing down the marketability of JME (or J2ME) apps. JME has been around for about a decade and might be nearing its end with the rise of platforms like the Android, iOS, and Windows mobile.

Since in my line of work I have to deal with JME applications, I see that there are those who prefer JME apps over Android or iOS apps. One reason is that not everyone (or every country) is up to date with the latest mobile technologies, most especially with mobile phones. For example, a phone that was phased out by Nokia six years ago is possibly the widely used or sold phone by a telecom company in a third world country.

Oracle announced that they will modernize JME. But until the product is made available to the public, JME is a dying technology.

Although this (JME use is declining) is the trend that I see, perhaps I will still use JME for a long time. Or maybe a year or two. Right now I find JME apps development very exciting. There are tons of technologies related to JME that I haven't explored yet. Maybe by the time I fully set aside JME development there are still plenty to be learned. Right now I am just thankful to be able to work on JME apps. However, learning new skills on Android or iOS development would pretty much add more to my understanding on mobile technologies.