It wasn't easy but we finally got the Java SDK put together, all of the documentation written, updated the API to the JSR-257 draft standard, wrote JavaDoc, a manual, tested, and then updated all of the other 3 java projects while we were at it. So to all of those people who have written and called wanting the Java SDK: you can download it now :-P

Of course if you're a commercial developer we would very much appreciate it if you would pay for it first, which you can do convieniently at the Semacode Store . Think of how happy you'll make the kitten.

And if kittens don't do it for you, well, let's see, I wrote some interesting info into the official press release that might pique your interest: there are now about 200 million phones that can run the software. That's about 10% of all mobile phones out there. And it's going up. Quickly.

Where did I get that number from? Well, it's a bit complex but basically we took the total sales for each company, and worked out what percentage over time of those sales are semacode-compatible phones (working from our freshly-updated hardware list ). Then we took analyst reports and projections that give the total number of sales in each year, per handset maker, accumulated them, added some spreadsheet pixie dust, and presto - a fairly reliable figure. And it's going to double by the end of the year, by the way.

Also, it's time to come out of the closet and announce that Semacode is a member of a Java Community Process standards committee. JSR 257: Contactless Communication API is defining both RF and visual tag interface for Java ME. This will be THE way to interact with visual tags and RFIDs, smart cards, etc. And since our SDK implements the public draft interface, you can future proof yourself. I've been in the Expert Group since about a month after last year's JavaOne.

Anything else? Semacode is free as always for all non-commercial use. The source code for the Standalone reader (not including the library) is included in that package under a simple BSD license. Go nuts with it.

Do you like the new icons?