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I'm a J2ME developer. I kind of see J2ME fading out in a few years. I wanted to know what would be a better platform to start learning now so I'm prepared in the future?

It seems like iPhone is the hot thing right now. Android is moving in pretty close, especially since Google just bought Motorola. Windows Mobile might pick up too I guess since they are working hard with Nokia in their partnership.

What would you recommend I start learning?

gnat
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3 Answers3

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I would recommend Android (based on the information you put in the question)

Pro's

  • Programming Language you are comfortable with.
  • Support for Development Tools/Environment you may use (Eclipse, ant etc...) which run on Linux/MacOS/Win
  • Low/No Cost to Get started (depending on whether you want to purchase a handset
  • Has many similar paradigms which map to WP7, and iPhone
  • Large, active community (esp. on Stackoverflow) - developing third party libraries

Cons

  • Android is a large framework, often with a large number of good ways to solve a problem (sometimes its bewildering to figure out how the 'best' way to accomplish something is...

  • Complexity/Diversity of Handset market - Many different Android devices are out in the marketplace and have vastly different specifications, and Android OS versions - This makes developing a little more complex (especially if you are trying to provide a uniform experience to a wide audience) (though Android does provide support for this)

Mr Robot
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  • Windows Phone Pros - cost (as cheap as Android devices, and all the necessary development tools and training can be had free, and if you've got a compelling app on another platform, you can talk with Brandon Watson at MS, and may just get a device free. Development tools - there is no better IDE than Visual Studio. Period. Programming language - Wouldn't be hard at all going from J2ME to C#. Large active community. Get in on the ground floor - your apps are not going to compete with nearly as many as on other platforms. Security - Apple and Android can't hold a candle to security of WP7. – Rich Hopkins Aug 29 '11 at 14:47
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If you look at the larger picture, learning iOS development means being able to deploy to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. On both the Android and WP7 front, there are few or no popular devices like the Touch or even the iPad (there are some Android tablets but none are selling very well).

Another thing to consider is the pricing model you are most interested in. If you plan to charge money for an application instead of using ads to support it, that model works better on iOS.

Kendall Helmstetter Gelner
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IDC and Gartner predicted that Windows Phone would be the number two smart phone worldwide by 2015 (just behind Android). So, one of those could be a good idea. I personally love the iPhone but I'm concerned more now (without Jobs) about it's future.

Erre Efe
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    lol, you actually believe that they will beat iPhone? – ABCD Aug 29 '11 at 00:41
  • If you have other opinion, just answer. – Erre Efe Aug 29 '11 at 00:42
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    Not taking any direction here, but I'd say its possible. I mean it's 2011. Thats 4 years in the future. 4 years ago the first iphone was released. Were you able to predict what happened in these years since then, let alone see the iphone coming at all? I was not for sure. –  Aug 29 '11 at 00:46
  • I don't think there's any way to accurately predict that far ahead. I mean, things looked promising for WebOS when HP started embracing it, but they killed it in about a year. Four years from now, Windows Mobile could be number one, or completely abandoned. – Tenfour04 Aug 29 '11 at 03:14
  • As a user of Windows Mobile for several years, because of its capabilities in my enterprise environment, I loved it but would never recommend it to consumers. But since Windows Phone is NOT another iteration of Windows Mobile, and because it is such a simply awesome OS, I definitely recommend it to both consumers and developers. Windows Phone is NOT Windows Mobile. Look at it if you think otherwise. – Rich Hopkins Aug 29 '11 at 14:42