consulting firm Ovum. “If you’re a developer and you’re looking
to broaden your reach by supporting a wide range of mobile or
embedded devices, Java is an obvious choice. It’s the same if you
want to run cross-platform and not have to maintain multiple ver-
sions of your code. Java is the obvious choice to start with.”
In fact, many devices outside the datacenter use custom applica-
tions to communicate and do business. These mobile devices and
machines with embedded applications must deliver extreme reli-
ability and compatibility when communicating with other devices,
and many of them use Java ME to accomplish that.
JAVA ME
Java ME is a combination of technologies and specifications designed
to create a platform for devices ranging from mobile phones to
consumer products to embedded devices. By using Java ME, organizations can create a complete Java runtime environment that’s
designed to fit the needs of a specific device or market.
From a technology perspective, Java ME includes flexible user
interfaces, robust security, over-the-air provisioning, and support
for network and offline applications. Working with the Java ME plat-
form, developers can leverage hardware device capabilities while still
Manfred Kube, director of business development for mHealth at
CINTERION Wireless Modules GmbH, in Munich, Germany. “For
example, through regular remote monitoring, a doctor might be
able to detect that a cardiac patient’s condition is getting worse
and possibly prevent a potentially deadly heart attack or other
health problem.”
CINTERION is the global leader in cellular machine-to-machine
(M2M) communication modules for M2M applications. Its modules
are finding their way into more and more applications, including
mobile healthcare solutions such as the Philips Respironics Sleep
Therapy system. The system is a medical telemetry application that
uses a combination of Java ME, CINTERION’s M2M module, and
Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks to create
a link between patients and doctors for the monitoring of potentially
deadly sleep apnea.
“Java ME is ideal for our cellular M2M platforms
because of its security and the sandbox model.”
—Manfred Kube, Director of Business Development for mHealth, CINTERION Wireless Modules
maintaining cross-platform and cross-device opportunities.
“There are thousands of mobile and embedded devices that are
different from each other,” says Oracle’s Tournier. “That’s why Java
ME is a perfect solution. It lets you write an application for one device
and run it on many others.”
The Java ME stack is composed of three layers of software: a
configuration, which provides the Java Virtual Machine and basic
libraries; a profile, which provides APIs to support specific devices;
and optional packages that provide technology-specific APIs. Java
ME’s two popularly used configuration types are the Connected
Device Configuration (CDC, for higher-end embedded devices) and
the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC, for resource-constrained mobile devices).
Leading organizations are leveraging the different Java ME configurations and options to create a range of mobile and embedded
solutions that solve real-world problems.
JAVA DOC TORS
Although most technologists know that there might be Java running
in a mobile phone or a TV set-top box, you might be surprised to find
doctors prescribing Java ME.
“Wirelessly connected Java-based telemonitoring systems can
really help reduce hospitalization rates, improve patients’ quality
of life, and perhaps even prevent life-threatening conditions,” says
“Our Java-based M2M modules are solid proof of Java’s ‘write
once, run anywhere’ ability to deliver applications that are both back-
ward compatible and independent of hardware,” says Kube.
