The Java ME platform is a very functional one, uses a modular approach and this is why it’s considered to be the best solution for a wide range of mobile devices. Java ME is a very complex environment for mobile applications, remaining in the same time very flexible. Most of the applications based on Java ME are portable to other mobile devices. Nevertheless, there are some device parameters that you should consider if you want your applications to be porting friendly: the screen resolution, heap size and the maximum application size. Usually the applications that don’t exceed 1 MB have a high probability of being compatible with a higher number on mobile phones.

iPhone is the mobile phone series manufactured by Apple and it’s one of the people’s favourite thanks to its various functions and its smooth and modern design. The team of researchers at Apple is constantly adding features and improving the already existing ones, providing precious options to the users, both the regular ones and the iPhone developers. Due to the flexibility of iPhone platform, there are many developers specialised in iPhone applications whose activity seems to be incessant, as there are more and more expectations to meet on the market.

Running on the Linux kernel, Android is adopted on many mobile devices and due to the flexibility that the mobile operating system it offers it’s possible to become very popular in the near feature. The main attraction of the mobile platform is that besides the Android specific Java SDK, normal Java IDEs can be used in developing mobile applications. The Android mobile OS is very adaptable to many handset layouts as 3D graphics library based on OpenGL ES 1.0 specifications or traditional smartphone layouts. Another innovation is that it’s possible for the developers to create programs that combine information from the internet with data from the mobile device. This way a mobile application developer can build rich social applications with no boundaries.

Nokia is a mobile phone manufacturer that provides suitable pieces of equipment for all the market segments, from entry-level phones to top-end mobile phones. Given the wide range of products, Nokia uses three main device platforms: Series 40 platform (for the midrange phones), Symbian S60 platform (usually for smartphones) and Maemo platform (for high performance devices like Internet Tablets). All the platforms that Nokia uses are reliable for mobile application development. There are lots of exciting mobile applications that can run on Nokia mobile devices, for both regular users or for companies.

The latest Palm mobile devices are based on the Palm webOS operating system. Some of the previous models were based on Windows Mobile but the producers decided to focus on developing their own mobile operating system. WebOS is a new Linux based platform but some of the available applications are still based on those used on the Palm OS. The applications that are already included in the Palm devices make your life easier but new exciting applications are developed as well. This way, it’s possible to install and use new features on your Palm smartphone and benefit of its multitasking capabilities.

Blackberry dominated the smartphone market for a long time. Its QWERTY keyboard, the e-mail push support and the ease of browsing the internet are the reasons why Blackberry is so popular. The operating system that the device is using, Blackberry OS, supports multitasking and it is very reliable for business users. The OS supports internet faxing and wireless information services as well as a multi touch interface. There are lots of applications available for Blackberry, even for the new touch screen phone, Blackberry Storm.