JAVAONE: Java spec promises better mobile experience

JSR 232 features management capabilities allowing operators to send software updates to phones

By James Niccolai, IDG News Service, 06/27/05

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The group has also had to coordinate each step of its work with a related standards body, the Open Systems Gateway Initiative.

JSR 232 could be a big benefit to both operators and enterprises, but its success depends partly on how much support it can muster from developers, said Mark Blowers, a senior research analyst with Butler Group, in Hull, England.

"It's still early days," he said. "They're at the end of the runway and now they have to see whether it takes off."

Some phone users will be hoping it does. Daren Sidall, a principal analyst with Gartner in the U.K., tried out a service from Hellomagazine.com recently that uses a Java program to deliver celebrity news and pictures to a mobile phone.

The first day's content looked fine, but after that he was unable to download updated content. He found out eventually that the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) settings on his phone needed changing. Asking his operator seemed like too much hassle so he cancelled the service.

"It's a classic case of a decent service falling at the first hurdle," he said.

It's also the type of problem that JSR 232 should help to fix.