Proposed Specification for MIDP 3

This JSR will build upon the success of MIDP2 by enhancing the Profile with the following additions/changes:

• o Enable multiple concurrent MIDlets in one VM
  o Specify proper firewalling, runtime behaviors, and lifecycle management issues for MIDlets
  o Enable background MIDlets (e.g. UI-less)
  o Enable ?auto-launched? MIDlets (e.g. started at platform boot time)
  o Enable inter-MIDlet communications
  o Improve UI expressability and extensibility
  o Better support for devices with larger displays
  o Enable MIDlets to draw to secondary display(s)
  o Enable richer and higher performance games
  o Secure RMS stores
  o Removable/remote RMS stores
  o IPv6
  o Multiple network interfaces per device

* Enable and specify proper behavior for MIDlets on each of CLDC, CDC, and OSGi, for example:

* Enable shared libraries for MIDlets
* Tighten spec in all areas to improve cross-device interoperability
* Increase functionality in all areas. E.g.

* Specify standard ways for doing MIDlet provisioning through other means (e.g. OMA (SyncML) DM/DS, Bluetooth, removable media, MMS, JSR-232, etc.)
* Extensive device capabilities query
* Localization & Internationalization (if appropriate, integrating/augmenting JSR-238 as needed)

A key design goal of MIDP3 will be backward compatibility with MIDP2 content.

Android Features

Android™ will deliver a complete set of software for mobile devices: an operating system, middleware and key mobile applications. An early look at the Android Software Development Kit (SDK) is now available.

Open
Android was built from the ground-up to enable developers to create compelling mobile applications that take full advantage of all a handset has to offer. It is built to be truly open. For example, an application could call upon any of the phone’s core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users. Android is built on the open Linux Kernel. Furthermore, it utilizes a custom virtual machine that has been designed to optimize memory and hardware resources in a mobile environment. Android will be open source; it can be liberally extended to incorporate new cutting edge technologies as they emerge. The platform will continue to evolve as the developer community works together to build innovative mobile applications.

All applications are created equal
Android does not differentiate between the phone’s core applications and third-party applications. They can all be built to have equal access to a phone’s capabilities providing users with a broad spectrum of applications and services. With devices built on the Android Platform, users will be able to fully tailor the phone to their interests. They can swap out the phone’s homescreen, the style of the dialer, or any of the applications. They can even instruct their phones to use their favorite photo viewing application to handle the viewing of all photos.

Breaking down application boundaries
Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual’s mobile phone — such as the user’s contacts, calendar, or geographic location — to provide a more relevant user experience. With Android, a developer could build an application that enables users to view the location of their friends and be alerted when they are in the vicinity giving them a chance to connect.

Fast & easy application development
Android provides access to a wide range of useful libraries and tools that can be used to build rich applications. For example, Android enables developers to obtain the location of the device, and allows devices to communicate with one another enabling rich peer-to-peer social applications. In addition, Android includes a full set of tools that have been built from the ground up alongside the platform providing developers with high productivity and deep insight into their applications.

refrence: http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/android_overview.html