In this "year of the mobile web" where pundits everywhere are talking about how "the web is the platform" ....

In this time of "let's get a good enough browser and then mobile will take off" ...

In this time of "Java ME is dead" ...

4 of our 6 first quarter projects have major components in Java ME. These are new applications, from companies who understand the porting issues and the complexities.

Why are they using Java ME?

• Because they need to store some of their application logic and/or data locally
• Because the app or data needs to be available without the network
• Because the application would be dreadfully slow as a web app
• Because they are creating a push messaging client that needs more rich interaction than simple SMS (and better interoperability than MMS)

This quarter is not particularly different from other quarters: we get far more work designing applications than designing web sites.

Java has lots and lots of problems. You know what they are. I think they are fixable, and the good news is that we can use the platform now. So many of the browser and widget platform possibilities keep being "just around the corner" and the opportunity is now.

Java ME is going to keep on chugging, maybe even seeing a rebirth, for quite a while yet. SavaJe doesn't spell the death of Java ME either.