Lazy bartender request - Java phones

[Bert Bates]

Does anybody have any current info / links concerning what Java enabled phones are available in the US, and how good they are? (features, costs, reliability, etc.)
Thanks,
Bert

[Mark Spritzler]

Are you going to be buying one?
I really like the new Nokia 6600 which isn't quite out yet in the US, but you can by unlocked ones on E-bay, or wait for a short period of time till it comes out. Some of the other good phones are Nokia 6820, Motorola V400 or V600, and Sony T630.
I know there are others but in my research those were the ones that I considered. I still haven't gotten one yet, I think I will wait for the Nokia 6600, although the Nokia 7700 looks really really cool, no keypad, it has a touch screen.
Also ask our resident expert Michael Yuan. He knows everything.
Good Luck
Mark

[Mike Wang]

http://billday.com/

Originally posted by Bert Bates:
Does anybody have any current info / links concerning what Java enabled phones are available in the US, and how good they are? (features, costs, reliability, etc.)
Thanks,
Bert

[Sivasundaram Umapathy]

Bert.
Go for Nokia 6600.It's too cool and i never missed out anything from it(may be except the lack of stereo speakers which makes mp3 sound very dull)
Siva

[Mark Spritzler]

It almost looks like the 6620 will be the US version of the 6600. That is what I got from going to that billday web site, not much information about what you were asking Bert though.
Mark

[Bert Bates]

What do these babies go for?
Any ideas about when price points will be changing in significant ways?

[Mark Spritzler]

I am sure that when the 6600 or 6620 is released in the US, you will be able to get some kind of rebate from the provider. Right now it can be expensive to get one from Ebay that is unlocked.
That is why I am waiting for it to be released, then check out the prices. Well, not having a job, and not wanted to spend extra money also played a part.
Mark

[Michael Yuan]

OK, I have a 6600 phone. It is a great phone -- I send more than 200 pictures to friends from that phone last month alone. But the J2ME implementation is limited and buggy. The 6600/6620 can be expensive since they target the prosumer market. Nokia's cheap mass market phones (Series 40) have just come out to support MIDP 2 (6310 and 5410, I do not think either is available now). But if I were you, I'd wait a bit. Nokia said that it will announce 30 new models for the reminder of this year. That is 3 models per month! I expect most of them to be MIDP 2 phones.
Motorola phones come with many non-standard J2ME extensions to do almost everything. But if you develop apps for those phones, they will probably not be portable to Nokia or Samsung or other phones. Also, Motorola phones seem to consume battery power at 2-3 rate of Nokia's. My Moto phone often cannot last 8 hours without recharge (I use the LCD a lot). Here is an cheap MIDP 2 phone with GPS from Moto:
http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/1007335.html

[Simon MacDonald]

Bert,
Did you had a look at the Sony P900. Java debugging on your phone and a free Eclipse plugin available.

[Dushy Inguva]

Bert,
I missed one detail while buying my cell: heap size in the JVM.
I got a new a Nokia 6800 (A year ago) and later found that the JVM heap size was just 64kb even though the phone had 5Mb memory space.
Result? I cant load all the java games that my friends with Motorola and Sony-Erricson have.
Just a reminder.
Dushy

[Nobuhiro Watsuki]

Maybe you don't need a phone after all:

Philips introduces a mp3-cd-player that plays Java�-games:

http://www.philips.nl/InformationCenter/NO/FNewPressRelease.asp?lArticleId=3430

Let me guess, you're writing a go game for midp aren't you, Bert?

[Ashok Mash]

Is it just me who thinks 6600 is ugly, looks-wise?

Sony Ericcson Z1010 is what I would upgrade to (from my T610) , if I had some spare cash!
[ May 20, 2004: Message edited by: Ashok Mash ]

[David Price]

Originally posted by Michael Yuan:
Nokia's cheap mass market phones (Series 40) have just come out to support MIDP 2 (6310 and 5410, I do not think either is available now)

Just a note: the phones Michael had in mind are probably Nokia 6230 and 5140. The 6230 is shipping already, but it's not cheap, it costs as much as the 6600. I usually check this Finnish mobile phone shop web site: Makitorppa to keep track of what's shipping (in Europe) and what their unsubsidized market prices are.

[Renee Dopplick]

Yo, Bartender Bert,

The range just got a little more exciting with the Motorola i830 Mobile Phone. Unveiled today, the phone is compatible with Nextel.

Specs:
3.6 ounces
3.3 x 1.8 x 0.8 inches
Photo: http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/graphics/detail/0,,3875_0-48,00.html

Features:
GPS - including visual and audible driving directions -- but if it's like the other GPS driving directions that are phone-based (like TeleNav), they are currently just too slow to be practical. If you are slowly riding your horse however, this phone just may be the ticket to get you up across the ranch and back without getting lost. I would go for a larger PDA with GPS if driving directions/location based services are your primary goal right now. Has anyone else had problems or successes using your GPS w/ driving direction phone?

Java - for all that fun stuff and with airplane mode, you can still run applications/games while in flight -- if you get a tech savvy cabin crew that understands you aren't "operating your phone". FAA regulations still apply so if they interpret it as using your phone, you'll still need to put the phone away.

Speakerphone and all those other services you would expect.

- Renee

[Bert Bates]

Thanks Renee!

And all for under $200 I assume?

- Bert

[Chengwei Lee]

Nokia was the early adoptor for J2ME. In fact most of its upcoming phones are Java-enabled. However, it is losing market share very fast. Some of the reasons being too costly. Also, Nokia loves to cripple its IR port. It lacks the flexibility for installing midlets. You've to go through its proprietary software to do installation, sucks big time. Not to mention it has a poor screen size with a bulky handset.

[Michael Yuan]

Originally posted by Cheng Wei Lee:
Nokia was the early adoptor for J2ME. In fact most of its upcoming phones are Java-enabled. However, it is losing market share very fast. Some of the reasons being too costly. Also, Nokia loves to cripple its IR port. It lacks the flexibility for installing midlets. You've to go through its proprietary software to do installation, sucks big time. Not to mention it has a poor screen size with a bulky handset.

Well, I tend to think Moto is the early adopter of J2ME -- Nokia phones do not have nearly as many bleeding edge proprietary J2ME APIs as Moto phones. In fact, almost all GSM phones in 2004 from major vendors support J2ME -- so that is hardly Nokia specific either.

I install MIDlet to Nokia phones via OTA or via bluetooth.

On the other hand, I do not think Nokia is lose market share "fast". Palm is losing market share fast.

[Chengwei Lee]

Indeed most major vendor has adopted J2ME in their handsets, however, till date I haven't see any supporting MIDP 2.0. It is indeed puzzling. If I;m not mistaken, MIDP 2.0 has been around for a while, a year or so, what's stopping it from being widely accepted?

Yes, we could use OTA, IR and BT to install midlets to nokia, but not many are fortunate enough to use OTA and not many nokia phones support BT. Also, I'm not sure about all models of nokia, but those that I came across needs its application inorder to install the jad file. Whereas Sony Ercisson phones allow me to simply send over a jar file, installation is more hassle free.

I can't expect my users to need to use another application to install the midlets, not all of the users are savy enough to that...

[Nobuhiro Watsuki]

I feel the need to buy a "SCMAD phone".
Tips anyone?

[Ko Ko Naing]

Originally posted by Nobuhiro Watsuki:
I feel the need to buy a "SCMAD phone".
Tips anyone?

What do u mean by SCMAD phone? Do u mean the phone that should be used to test the applications developed for the preparation for the SCMAD test?

[Nobuhiro Watsuki]

yes, a MIDP 2.0 and MMAPI 1.1 capable phone.
Any real life experience anyone?

edit:
here's a nice list:

http://www.benhui.net/modules.php?name=Midp2Phones

I like the Sony Ericsson specs(MMAPI 1.1), does anybody own those?

The prepaid version here in the Netherlands is 99 euro's!

http://onlinewinkel.vodafone.nl/vodafone/RAPRD/isef500is.html?ab_agid=130
[ May 19, 2005: Message edited by: Nobuhiro Watsuki ]

[Bharat Roy]

Samsung SGH D500. Beautiful phone, excellent spec.

Click here

and here

[Nobuhiro Watsuki]

It is indeed a thing of beauty. A bit expensive at the moment.
I bought the sony and I love it. Very cool is the possibility to use float mobile agent to hook it up to your PC.