J2ME technology, is targetting the huge consumer space, which covers the wide range of tiny commodities such as smart
cards or a pager or some such small device, to upto something like a PDA or a Computer.
Inshort, The JavaTM 2 Platform, Micro Edition is the edition of the Java 2 platform targeted at consumer electronics and embedded devices. The J2ME technology consists of a virtual machine and a set of APIs suitable for providing tailored runtime environments for consumer and embedded electronics. The J2ME technology has two primary kinds of components--configurations and profiles.
It provides :
Write wonce run anywhere , over any device. and thus code portability
and the best part is the applications written in J2ME are upward compatible to J2SE and
J2EE applications.
With the delivery of the J2ME platform, Sun provides a complete, end-to-end solution for creating state-of-the-art networked products and applications for the consumer and embedded market. J2ME technology enables device manufacturers, service providers, and content creators to gain a competitive advantage and capitalize on new revenue streams by rapidly and cost-effectively developing and deploying compelling new applications and services to their customers worldwide.
The J2ME technology has two design centers--things that you hold in your hand and things you plug into a wall. These design centers have different qualities that are optimized for in the virtual machine and low-level libraries themselves. Configurations are composed of the two low-level APIs and optimized virtual machines targeted at two broad categories of devices: (1) those with 128-512 K of memory available for the Java technology environment (and applications) and (2) those with 512 K + available for the Java technology environment (and applications). Configurations are nestable, so that any software able to execute on a less capable configuration is able to execute on a more capable one.
As with all Sun JavaTM platform technologies, all J2ME components will be made available for research and development purposes via the Sun Community Source Licensing model. Commercial redistribution terms can be negotiated with Sun via a sales representative. As of Wednesday, May 24th--the J2ME Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) was available for download at:
http://www.sun.com/software/communitysource/j2me/