phoneME Project: Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the phoneME™ project and the phoneME Feature and phoneME advanced software are answered here.

General phoneME Project Questions

  1. Can I make changes to phoneME source code?
  2. How do I submit changes and/or bug reports?
  3. What's the difference between phoneME Feature and phoneME Advanced?
  4. Will phoneME support my device?
  5. How will I get support for phoneME Feature or phoneME Advanced?
  6. How do I suggest new features or capabilities for phoneME Feature or phoneME Advanced?
  7. Can I claim that my distribution of phoneME software is Java or Java ME platform compliant or compatible?
  8. How can I describe a product I create using code from the phoneME open source site if I don't wish to get it certified by Sun?
  9. Where can I get more information about the phoneME Project?

phoneME Feature Questions

  1. What is phoneME Feature?
  2. What is phoneME Feature MR1 software?
  3. What is phoneME Feature MR2 software?
  4. What about phoneME Feature MR3 software?
  5. On what platforms is phoneME Feature MR3 software available?
  6. What's the difference between phoneME Feature MR3 and Sun's commercial product (CLDC HotSpot Implementation 2.1 and Sun Java Wireless Client software 2.1)?
  7. How do I find out what features are planned for future releases of phoneME Feature software?

phoneME Advanced Questions

  1. What is phoneME Advanced MR1 software?
  2. Will phoneME Advanced software be backwards-compatible with the Java platform implementation on existing phones?
  3. I'm already using CLDC today, what more does phoneME Advanced software offer?
  4. What are the supported hardware and software platforms?

General phoneME Project Questions

Q: Can I make changes to phoneME source code?

A: We encourage you to contribute source code to the phoneME project. Please see the Community Participation Handbook for details on how to contribute.

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Q: How do I submit changes and/or bug reports?

A: If you believe you have identified a defect in the software, please visit the following URL to learn more about submitting a defect report: https://phoneme.dev.java.net/submit_bug.html

If you would like to contribute a bug fix or a feature enhancement, please see the Community Participation Handbook and the following discussion forum post.

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Q: What's the difference between phoneME Feature and phoneME Advanced software?

A: phoneME Feature software targets today’s mainstream devices, while phoneME Advanced software targets advanced phones.

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Q: Will phoneME software support my device?

A: The phoneME software is designed to run on or be easily ported to virtually any mobile device.

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Q: How will I get support for phoneME Feature or phoneME Advanced software?

A: For help with phoneME software, you may browse or post questions on the phoneME project forums or send your questions directly to the Help mailing list.

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Q: How do I suggest new features or capabilities for phoneME Feature or phoneME Advanced software?

A: The best way to suggest new features and/or capabilities is to bring your ideas to the phoneME project discussion forums.

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Q: Can I claim that my distribution of phoneME software is Java or Java ME platform compliant or compatible?

A: No. You cannot claim that, or refer to, any distribution of phoneME software as Java or Java ME platform compliant or compatible unless you have licensed the applicable Java ME Test Compatibility Kits (TCKs), have tested your distribution against the corresponding TCKs, and your distribution has passed the corresponding TCKs in accordance with the Java Community Process program.

For more information on the Java language brand, see Sun Microsystems' Java Brand page.

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Q: How can I describe a product I create using code from the phoneME open source site if I don't wish to get it certified by Sun?

If you create a derivative product from code you download from the phoneME community project site, it is not considered "Java Compatible" until it is certified by a Sun-approved Test Compatibility Kit (TCK) test suite. Instead, it is considered a "derivative work based on open source code from the phoneME Project."

Because "phoneME" is a trademark of Sun Microystems, and refers to an open source code base project, and is community sponsored by Sun for the benefit of the Java ecosystem, you can't call your implementation "phoneME" even if you don't change any code. You could, however, say something like "phoneXYZ, based on code from the phoneME project" or "phoneXYZ, a phoneME-based implementation."

Trademark law, however, does support a notion of "fair use" that allows the use of a trademarked word as text under certain guidelines. When making fair use of a Java or phoneME trademark, you should acknowledge that Sun Microsystems owns the trademark. The following language is appropriate:

"Sun, Sun Microsystems, Java, and phoneME..... are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. or other countries."

For a comprehensive description of how and when you are allowed to use the Java and phoneME trademarks, see the Sun Trademark and Logo Usage Requirements page.

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Q: Where can I get more information about the phoneME Project and Sun Microsystems' Open Source activities?

A: For more information, see the phoneME Project Front Page, the Java Technology Open Source FAQ, and the Mobile and Embedded Community page.

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phoneME Feature Questions

Q: What is phoneME Feature?

A: phoneME Feature is an open source development effort addressing the market and technical requirements of mainstream mobile devices (“feature phones”). The phoneME Feature software includes Java ME Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC), Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP), as well as a number of optional package JSRs that incorporate a variety of key wireless industry standards and capabilities.

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Q: What is phoneME Feature MR1?

A: phoneME Feature MR1 the first Milestone Release of the phoneME Feature software to the open source community. Its features are outlined on the phoneME Feature MR1 Feature List page.

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Q: What is phoneME Feature MR2?

A: phoneME Feature MR2 is the second milestone release of phoneME Feature software to the open source community. Its features are outlined on the phoneME MR2 Feature List page.

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Q: What about phoneME Feature MR3?

A: phoneME Feature MR3 is the third milestone release of phoneME Feature software to the open source community. Its features are outlined on the phoneME MR3 Software page.

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Q: On what platform is phoneME Feature MR3 software available?

A: phoneME Feature MR3 software supports development and deployment on the Windows x86 platform, in emulation mode. For more information, see the phoneME MR3 Software page and the MR3 Getting Started Guide.

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Q: What's the difference between phoneME Feature MR3 software and Sun's commercial product (CLDC HotSpot Implementation 2.1 and Sun Java Wireless Client 2.1)?

A: Sun’s commercial products (CLDC HotSpot Implementation 2.1 and Sun Java Wireless Client 2.1) are built from the phoneME Feature MR3 code base. However, there are some components included in the commercial code base that are not included in the open source code base because Sun does not have the necesssary rights to release them to the open source community. In addition, the licensing terms associated with Sun’s commercial product differ from those of the open source software. The phoneME Feature software is licensed under the GNU Public License, version 2. Sun’s commercial products are licensed under a standard Sun commerical license.

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Q: How do I find out what features are planned for future releases of phoneME Feature software?

A: Features and capabilities in future releases of phoneME Feature software will be determined based on market need and will be openly discussed and debated in the community. Final decisions on what gets incorporated into the code base will be determined by the Project Owner or PMC (as appropriate). For more details, please consult project management.

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phoneME Advanced Questions

Q: What is phoneME Advanced MR1 software?

A: phoneME Advanced is a development effort to enable an open source implementation of the Java ME platform addressing the technical needs of devices in the advanced phone segment of the market. The phoneME Advanced software is built around Java ME Connected Device Configuration (CDC) and incorporates implementations of a variety of key wireless industry standards. phoneME Advanced MR1 software represents the first milestone release of phoneME Advanced software in open source.

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Q: Will phoneME Advanced software be backwards-compatible with the Java technology implementation on existing phones?

A: One of the goals of the phoneME Advanced software is to help ensure that the application model used predominantly across today's mobile devices, Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP), is available and fully supported on advanced mobile phones. In addition, the phoneME project strives to deliver MIDP application compatibility across devices running either phoneME Advanced or phoneME Feature software.

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Q: I'm already using CLDC today, what more does phoneME Advanced software offer?

A: The CDC architecture is well suited to leverage key high-level OS features such as memory management, process structure, linking, multi-tasking, etc. In addition to providing enhanced compatibility to and from implementations of Java SE technology, the architecture is highly portable and reduces the integration effort associated with a variety of application environments and middleware components.

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Q: What are the supported hardware and software platforms?

A: phoneME Advanced software currently supports deployment on ARM, MIPS, and x86-based Linux devices. For a list of currently supported target hardware and software platforms, see the phoneME Advanced Getting Started Guide.

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Legal Notice

The phoneME project will in FAQ, and other forms of notice on the website, make clear that open source licensees do not have the right to refer to any distribution of phoneME as Java, Java ME platform compliant or compatible unless they license the Java ME TCKs from Sun and test their implementation and pass the corresponding TCK in accordance with the Java platform compatibility model.



For more information, see the Java Technology Open Source FAQ.