New Android SDK released

After the rumors about the HTC Dream which should be on the market earlier than expected after the supposed delays, Google has released a Beta of the new Android SDK.

The SDK can be downloaded at http://code.google.com/android/download_list.html and for information about upgrading from the previous version you can visit http://code.google.com/android/intro/upgrading.html .

Google wants to move quickly towards the release of the SDK 1.0.

The important changes in this new BETA release are:

• First and most obviously, the new Home screen is included, along with a ton of UI changes for 1.0.


• Some new applications are included: an Alarm Clock, Calculator, Camera, Music player, Picture viewer, and Messaging (for SMS/MMS conversations.)


• Several new development tools were added, such as a graphical preview for XML layouts for users of Eclipse, and a tool for constructing 9-patch images.


• Since we've got a new Home screen application now, we thought the now-obsolete version from the M5 early-look SDK might be helpful to developers, so its source is included as a sample.


• A number of new APIs are fleshed out and improved, and others are now close to their final forms for 1.0.


• Tons of bugs were fixed, of course. (If you had problems with the MediaPlayer, try it now!)

This is how the new main screen of the emulator looks:

Sony Ericsson Virtual Lab

The registered Sony Ericsson Developers Community members have now the opportunity to test their own application on pre-commercial phones.This is an online services which:

• 
  
  is a global service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  
  


• 
  
  is convenient: no shipping of phones or firmware updating required
  
  


• 
  
  has selected 2007 phones, representative of JP-7, JP-8 and UIQ 3
  
  


• 
  
  can test key presses and network behavior
  
  


• 
  
  has on-line session reservation, virtual view of phone and real-time results
  
  


• 
  
  for one hour testing slot per phone, $18-20 (USD) per hour depending on selected monthly package
  
  

Link: developer.sonyericsson.com/site/global/products/virtuallab/p_virtual_lab.jsp

FileConnection API System properties

At this link, we can find several interesting J2ME system properties useful when we are working with File Connection API and we want know, for example, names and path of some directories.

The link is from Forum Nokia website but is a good start for all the devices supporting this optional package.

www.forum.nokia.com/document/Java_ME_Developers_Library_v1/GUID-545CA84A-8378-4DFA-9035-94479F5BE26E.html

Filesystem in Serie60 Emulator

When we are working with FileConnection API, it's good to have an easy way to put file in the file system of the emulator to test at least the read side of our midlets.

If we are using the Nokia Serie 60 3rd edition FP1 emulator we can find the filesystem at

C:NokiaDevicesS60_3rd_MIDP_SDK_FP1binepoc32winscwc

(supposing we have installed the SDK under C:).

If you enter in the "Data" folder, you can then see the folders for the files like Images, Sounds, etc.

Use of the Samsung J2ME emulator

Once you have installed a Samsung emulator it's a little bit difficult to understand how to use it. Here is a little guide to start a midlet in the emulator (from Samsung website).

"To run your MIDlet on the emulator, please place your JAD and JAR files in a folder which does not contain any special character or space in its name. Click "File", "Import MIDlet" and then locate where your JAD and JAR files are.

If the phone skin is too large for your computer, placing the phone’s keypad out of view, please use num keys of your keyboard."

URL: developer.samsungmobile.com/Developer/resources/board_read.jsp

J2ME WTK Record Store deleted each time you run the application

Past days I experienced a weird problem building and running a midlet with Antenna inside Eclipse. Each time I built and run the application, the WTK "DefaultColorPhone" emulator I used had the RMS completely deleted. Everything was fine if I exited from the appliction and started again without any building.

The solution has been going to the Windows current user "Documents and Settings" folder and browse in "j2mewtk2.5.2appdbDefaultColorPhone". There I found a file in.use that was the lock for the existent RMS and that was the reason why the WTK generated a new clean RMS each time I built the application. Deleting it everything is ok again.

The new J2ME Wireless Toolkit 3.0: Java Platform Micro Edition SDK 3.0 (with built-in LWUIT library)

Sun has released the new SDK for Java Mobile Development which is the successor of the Java Wireless Toolkit 2.5.2 and the Java Toolkit 1.0 for CDC. As they say " It integrates CLDC, CDC and Blu-ray Disc Java (BD-J) technology into one SDK".

The reported key features are:

• Integration with 3rd party emulators and Windows Mobile devices


• On-device deployment and on-device debugging


• CLDC/MIDP, CDC/FP/PBP/AGUI and BD-J integrated into one SDK


• New CLDC HotSpot Virtual Machine


• Optimized MSA 1.1 stack with extensions


• Profiling support


• BD-J support


• New development environment based on Netbeans Platform


• Lightweight UI Toolkit (LWUIT) integration


• Device search database integrated in SDK

Some of the new features are really appreciated.

For example the MSA 1.1 stack with extension includes the following new JSR:

• Mobile Sensor API (JSR 256)


• XML API for Java ME (JSR 280)


• Java Binding for the OpenGL ES API (JSR 239)

Also the integration with LWUIT is a very good features. This SDK is is the first developer's kit that comes with a built-in LWUIT library, resource manager and demo application.

And last but not least, the integrated device database which is a built-in WURFL database search engine with thousands of mobile devices. More than 8000 platforms are accessible using the database in the SDK.

I haven't tried the new SDK yet but I will do soon. If anyone has already tried it please post a comment.