Mobile & wireless

Java's iPhone envy

5 comments | 7I like it!
December 16, 2008, 02:23 AM — 

We all know that Sun has been mewling rather sadly about the absence of Java-enabled apps on the iPhone -- a situation that won't change anytime soon. The reasoning behind this is pretty straightforward: Apple wants to sell iPhone apps via the App Store, because (a) Apple can take a cut of every app sold and (b) it allows Apple to maintain the vice-like grip on the process that it loves so dearly. (Incidentally, that linked article has a hilarious quote from routinely incorrect analyst Rob Enderle, who doesn't seem to grasp the radically different revenue models Apple has set up for Mac and iPhone apps).

Anyhoo, the Java community reaction to this has ranged from the wistful to the full-on sour grapes. Sun J2ME engineer and blogger Hinkmond Wong in particular seems fixated on claiming that the iPhone will fail because there it can't run the gazillions of J2ME apps out there, all sales figures to the contrary. But a sure sign of jealousy is today's announcement of Nemo, a mobile application platform that improves the graphical look and feel of mobile Java apps. This is not particularly exciting, except that the stories about Nemo have "iPhone" plastered all over them -- as in, this is the magic that will turn your crappy-looking J2ME apps into shiny iPhone applications.

As for emulating the total iPhone experience -- well, good luck with that.

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I like it!
Comments

Actually

This is called Monopoly as well as the ever present control freak nature of Steve Jobs. Funny Microsoft uses business practices that make them the most used OS in the world and get sued by the Department of Justice. Apple and Steve Jobs does it and its business as usual 1+1 is not comeing out to 2 here.

Once again Apples fell behind because of its control freak CEO and not licensing their product which Microsoft and IBM did. What a concept IT WORKED.
| reply

Java's iPhone Envy

A vertically integrated business models is not an illegal monopoly, DOJ knows this, so should you.
| reply

Wow, Mburton,

you really don't know very much about what constitutes an illegal monopoly, do you? Typical, ignorance.
| reply
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