Mobile Phones
Getting Started
There is currently three different approaches for getting your programs running on mobile phones.
1. Program in Java (J2ME).
Java runs on most phones. The J2ME is divided into small packages. Not
all phones supports all packages e.g. it is only new phones that support
the 3D package.
The main advantage: Portability, it is easy to get started
The disadvantage: Limit functionallity, slow
2. Programming in C++ to the Symbian OS.
Symbian is an operating system like Windows, Linux or MacOS. It runs on
a large number of high-end phones from Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens, Samsung...
The main advantages: Runs on a lot of phones, it is fast, the programmer
can control a lot of functions
The disadvantage: Limit compatability, hard to program
3. Programming for Microsoft SmartPhone OS
SmartPhone is a small version of Microsoft Windows that runs
on mobile phones.
The main advantages: It is Microsoft, resembles the programming you do
on Windows PCs.
The disadvantage: Runs only on a limited number of devices
The following presentation given at JAOO 2004 in Cannes describes some
of the advantages and disadvantages of programming in Java, Microsoft
and Symbian.
View presentation
Java for Mobile Phones
I have developed several application is J2ME. Some of them are described in the above referenced presentation.
For more information about J2ME check out:
http://www.java.sun.com
or read about the optional packages at
http://www.jcp.org/
Programming for Microsoft SmartPhone OS
I have currently not done that much programming for the Microsoft SmartPhone OS.
More information can be found at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/smartphone/default.mspx
Symbian
I have done a lot of programming in Symbian and the MIXIS and AwarePhone project were written in Symbian.
Forum Nokia
The best resource on the net if you are programming for Nokia Phones is
the forum.nokia.
It contains all the tools you need and a lot of documents.
http://www.forum.nokia.com/
Symbian.com
Symbian describes the overall operating system. It contains some general
information about Symbian.
http://www.symbian.com/
All about Symbian and NewLC
These two sites describes various aspects of symbian phones.
http://www.newlc.com/
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/
Development project using Nokia Phones at University of Aarhus
Different groups at the University of Aarhus in Denmark have used Nokia Phones in their project. The following web page describe some of the projects.