Java on GameboyAdvance announced

[gregorypierce]

Java on GBA
aJile Systems introduces a plug-in cart to download Java aps on the GBA.
March 06, 2003 - At the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, ajile Systems demonstrated its peripheral for the Game Boy Advance: a cartridge that enables users to program and download Java-based software to the handheld through the use of a PC cable.

Hundreds of Java-based MIDP game titles are already available for tens of millions of Java-enabled mobile phones sold, and developers can easily convert these programs to work on the JAMiD cartridge.

The JAMiD cartridge includes aJile’s high-performance direct execution aJ-100 Java microprocessor, an MP3 audio player, and all of the necessary memory and interface hardware to download and run MIDP-compatible games and MP3 audio. aJile is selling the JAMiD as a complete development kit with software tools that enable game developers to rapidly create exciting MIDP game titles for Game Boy handhelds. aJile is also negotiating with OEMs in Asia, Europe and North America to manufacture and merchandise consumer versions of the JAMiD game cartridge.

The aJile JAMiD Development Kit will include a JAMiD Java gaming cartridge, J2ME/CLDC/MIDP Java Runtime, aJile development tool chain, JAMiD adapter boards and cables. The JAMiD Development Kit will be available in the first week of April, and is currently priced at $199 each. No details on a consumer version of the cartridge were available at the show.

[Abuse]

and developers can easily convert these programs to work on the JAMiD cartridge.

sigh, yet again manufacturers fail to understand the concept of java ???

[gregorypierce]

Well they don’t control the GBA so they’re working within the confines of what they could translate to the GBA OS. Its apparently not a lot of changes and within a weekend you can take a MIDP program and make it GBA material… for their cartridge.

What’s exceedingly cool now is that J2ME developers can now target the 2 mobile gaming platforms (GBA and nGage).

[bmyers]

I saw these folks at the GDC this past week and they look interesting. Not exactly in my core area, but what struck me is that they have a JVM in the hardware – basically Java on a chip.

So it is blazingly fast. The JVM is a somewhat old verson, tho – I forget if it was 1.1 or 1.2?

–Brad

[bleb]

[quote]basically Java on a chip.
[/quote]
Some ARM processors have a similar trick that allows them to execute bytecode directly on the silicon.

Annoyingly, this functionality isn’t available on the gadget ( http://english.gamepark.com ) I’ve just aquired.

Ah well, I suppose Java isn’t the best fit on such a platform, and I have to learn C at some point…