Java ME 3.0's integration with Windows Mobile is hailed, but critics want to know when Mac, Linux, and OpenSolaris support will be offered A software development kit for Java ME (Micro Edition) 3.0 that features integration with Windows Mobile devices is now available, according to Sun Microsystems.Java ME puts Java on mobile units. Built to run on Windows XP and Vista, the SDK is the successor to Java Wireless Toolkit 2.5.2 and Java Toolkit 1.0 for CDC (Connected Device Configuration).Some critics wanted to know when Mac, Linux, and OpenSolaris support would be offered. “Well, [Sun] can be releasing Java ME Platform SDK 10.0 for all I care, but where is the Mac and Linux support that people have been wanting for years?” asked one person online. Sun, however, was cheery about the release, which became available earlier this month.“It’s a massive release of tasty new stuff for mobile and embedded developers,” said Sun’s James Gosling, CTO of the Sun Client Software Group, in a blog entry.“This a great new milestone for the most widely used Java ME development kit, formerly known as the WTK [Sun Java Wireless Toolkit],” said Terrence Barr, senior technologist at Sun, also in a blog entry. The SDK “sports redesigned underpinnings, improved device emulation and a host of new features and improvements — it should quickly become the tool of choice not only for CLDC/MIDP (Connected Limited Device Configuration/ Mobile Information Device Profile) developers, but also for CDC and BD-J (Blu-Ray) projects,” Barr said.[ Sun recently detailed other technologies aimed at boosting apps for handhelds. ]The SDK, accessible on Sun’s site, can be extended with the phoneME Feature MR4 runtime. PhoneME includes focuses for Java ME on feature phones and the advanced phone segment. Also featured in the SDK is a development environment based on the NetBeans platform. In addition to integrating with Windows Mobile devices, SDK 3.0 integrates with third-party emulators and offers on-device deployment and debugging. With the kit, one SDK is provided for a host of platforms, including CLDC/MIDP. A new CLDC HotSpot virtual machine is highlighted as well, as is an optimized MSA (Mobile Service Architecture) 1.1 stack with extensions.Other features include profiling support and a network monitor. Lightweight UI Toolkit (LWUIT) integration is included along with a device search database and a JavaFX Mobile emulator.Java ME can run on devices such as phones, personal digital assistants, TV set-top boxes, and printers. Software Development