You can get an older jar here:
mysql-connector-java-5.1.22-bin.jar.zip (797k). The manifest for the jar shows that it was created with Java 1.5.0_22-b03.
I tried it myself in an Android app, and found that I needed to call
Class.forName("com.mysql.jdbc.Driver") to get the driver loaded, and include
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" /> in the application's
AndroidManifest.xml file to allow network access.
I agree with Tim's comment (my underlining):
Tim Moores wrote:... I've never used JDBC on Android (and it doesn't strike me as a particularly good idea).
I think a better solution would be to develop a simple HTTP/JSON based protocol for communications between the application and the data source, rather than connecting to the database server directly over a possibly unreliable and insecure wireless network.