JavaME opensource; MIDP emulators
MIDP 2.1 was released on 20 June 2006.
It only brings minor differences with respect to MIDP 2.0.
MIDP 3.0 is expected to be released toward the end of 2006.
The Reference Implementation (of MIDP 3.0) will be released as Open Source under the Motorola Extensible License.
Sun recently announced that it plans to open source JavaME before the end of 2006; this would mean to open source the WTK and perhaps the MIDP 2.x Reference Implementation. Sun has yet to decide what license to use.
I recently looked into emulators capable of running JavaME applications as an applet in browser (JavaSE). Such an emulator is useful for presenting MIDlets in the browser, so that the user is able to try the application before installing it on the phone.
Right now it is usual to put screenshots (pictures) of MIDlets on the web page, but having a running screenshot allowing to try the application is much more powerful.
The emulators I found are: ME4SE and Microemulator.
ME4SE is licensed under GPL. It isn’t developed anymore. It implements MIDP 1.0, and partially MIDP 2.0. Also some functionality (like phone skins) isn’t released under GPL, but only available under a commercial license.
Microemulator is under active development but it seems to be, right now, less mature than ME4SE. Microemulator is licensed under LGPL.
In short, while both projects are interesting, none is very useful now; and it seems that only the Microemulator is progressing. Yet what they potentially offer, the possibility to run MIDlet in the browser, is very useful indeed.
What is interesting to see is whether the annonced release as open source of the MIDP 2.0 and MIDP 3.0 RIs (reference implementations) will allow to easily transform them in MIDP emulators over JavaSE. We only have to wait about 4 moths (until the end of 2006) to see it.