Bluepulse: Powerful in its Simplicity
March 20, 2006 · Print This Article
I’ve been using Bluepulse and developing on their platform for a few months now. There seems to be both hot and cold feedback, depending on where you look. Hot feedback is based on what Bluepulse is, and the cold feedback based on what it isn’t. Make sense?
The Bluepulse folks have made some pretty bold claims about device and carrier support, and from what I’ve seen, they’ve done an exceptional job here. One of the reasons their support is so broad is because, conceptually, they’ve created their own custom browser that supports an XHTML subset. This is where I see the bulk of the negative feedback. Bluepulse is really a layer between you and the content / application that you are viewing (the widget), but this is what makes it so powerful.
They’ve built a platform that enables a mobile phone to access and use a traditional web application that adheres to their rules regarding output. Conceptually, it’s simple (technically, I’m sure it’s not), and I think some people are looking for complexity. Much of the positive feedback revolves around this simplicity, and the doors it opens up for the average mobile user.
With device capabilities progressing so rapidly, is there really a need for a lowest common denominator service like this? As a mobile developer, I long for the day when there is consistent support across devices and carriers, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Until it does, it’s not device capabilities, but compatibility, that makes the difference, and this is where Bluepulse excels. Add to that the extensibility made possible with widgets, and the convenience of having all of your widgets available in one centralized location, and you have yourself an appealing package.
Of course, it can’t replace the powerful J2ME application that is built for a limited device list, or the applications built on top of a manufacturer’s API, but those applications won’t have the potential reach that Bluepulse has for a while to come.
Tags: Bluepulse, J2ME, mobile applications, mobile
Good summary of what BP do. I’m still not completely sure their ‘layer’ is nessecary but having widgets available at one location may make it worth while.
I agree, Peter. I love the responsiveness, power, and flexibility in a “native” Java ME application, but having a dashboard of widgets is incredibly convenient. I find myself more and more signing into bluepulse for utility-type operations, and using specialized apps (like Shozu) for more specific functionality.
That layer also provides some guidelines for what should and shouldn’t be a widget. If something can be processed on device, I don’t see much justification to turn it into a widget — though I’ll readily admit that time to market, consolidation, and not having to deal with device issues is compelling.
I’ve said that least 144860 times. The problem this like that is they are just too compilcated for the average bird, if you know what I mean