I have recently run into J2MEdit and I found it very interesting.
J2MEdit is a java application that should run on most mobiles providing you with a complete text editor for source code with syntax highlighting. If we would stop here there would be nothing new on the horizon.
The interesting thing about J2MEdit is that you can upload your application to their application servers and compile it there.
You can use a Java or c/c++ compiler while the editor will allow you to edit plain text, html, php, c, c++ and java files. From what I have tested on my Nokia E61i the editor is quite well designed with some features that you would not expect on a mobile phone.
You will be able to store documents locally or on their servers with ability to share them. What I have not been able to test is the compile options and how it really works. This is something I would really like to try.
Moreover I like their business model. You can download the editor and it is fully functional with local files. If you want to compile or share your files you will have to sign up for an account. Prices are as low as 2.6 USD per month for a yearly account.
I think this is the best way to spread a mobile application. Leave everybody free to download and test it and make your customers pay if they want premium services.
To be honest I do not foresee any real mobile programmer working on this for a real project but I think the share capability may prove to be worth in some occasions, specially if you are hitting the road or if you find a precious snippet of code you want to save and share.
I was just wandering how this would be effective if you could connect to a SVN or CSV server.
Why do I blog this? I really like this business model. Unfortunately the web site does not show enough informations about documentation and capability but I am really tempted to give this guys some bucks to do some extensive testing. It’s an application and a service, and I like it!
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