April 13, 2004

8:29 AM

I'd like to write a few applications for my Nokia 3650. I've played a little bit with Nokia's developer APIs in C++, and I've looked at a few J2ME code examples, but I don't have significant experience in either. I don't have the time (or interest) to become proficient in both - which development kit should I dive into, and why? I'm more concerned with performance on the 3650 than other phones, and I'm a pretty good programmer, so a steep learning curve is not too much of a concern. Thanks in advance.
posted by djacobs to (2 comments total)

If you're concerned with performance, play with the C++ API. So far I've never seen an in-phone Java VM that has acceptable performance. On the other hand, if you're interested in learning a skill you could reuse later, learning J2ME means you can code for other phones -- such as the phone you get after your current one dies or is lost.
posted by majick at 10:36 AM on April 13, 2004

Well the 3650 has a pretty decently speedy VM (compared to most other phones). I'd probably go with J2ME, OPL (which is a cute and easy BASIC style language from Psion) or the upcoming Perl and Python ports from Nokia just because I personally like the whole scripting/lightweight thing. The 3650 JVM has a few useful added APIs like the Mobile Media one (so you can access the camera) which is also pretty useful.

There's some pretty decent documentation on the Symbian C++ APIs I'm told but they're supposedly slightly unique. Once you 'get' how they work they're very good but it can take a while. Note that I've never actually used the C++ end and am going on friends opinions there but by and large I'd echo majick, if you really need performace you've got to get as close to the metal as possible.

Either way you go let us know what you make!
posted by nedrichards at 4:56 PM on April 13, 2004