On Monday evening I took part in a panel discussion about mobile Java, hosted by Sun and organised by Momo London.
We covered several topics around the present and future of Java ME as a platform for deploying applications to mobile devices. My key points were that it is still extremely popular - despite its low profile - and is getting easier.
The topic that left me thinking after the panel was the discussion over App Stores: where is Java's version of the App Store or Google Marketplace? The fact that mobile operators and device manufacturers are launching app stores at the rate of knots didn't feel like a strong enough answer.
Having slept over it, I now realise that we were comparing apples and oranges. People do not care for a 'Java store'. If they see an 'App Store' icon on their home screen, they will however have a pretty good idea of what they can get out of it.
As a Nokia user, for example, I would look at an iPhone TV ad and think "I wander if my brand new gadget can do the same...". I wouldn't care to know that I'm actually looking for Java applications (or Flash Lite, Symbian and widgets for that matter).
Comparing Apple and apples would therefore involve looking at how Ovi and other app stores match the iPhone experience in terms of:
* awareness of the store
* how easy it is to find (homescreen or top-menu access)
* navigation and search to find what I want
* convenience of payment mechanics
* simplicity of the installation process
Brands, publishers and developers would probably like to see few rather than many marketplaces, but if Vodafone, Nokia, Orange, Sony Ericsson, Blackberry can give us easy access to several millions of users each, then I suspect we won't complain too much.
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