The Location API for J2ME (JSR-179) allows you to develop applications based on the physical location of a device. It enables the MIDlet application to access location information and services through user-designated GPS devices, for example, retrieving device location position and landmarks.
The implementation of the API contains all mandatory, and the following optional parts, of the Location API (JSR-179).
Multiple landmark stores that can be shared with native applications are supported. It is possible to access landmark stores on different drives and external media, but stores can only be created on the default drive.
If a mobile device supports positioning technology, it is possible to retrieve optional information such as:
Altitude
Speed and course
Address info
If a mobile device supports orientation technology, it is possible to retrieve optional information, such as:
Azimuth (horizontal pointing direction)
Pitch (vertical elevation angle)
Roll (rotation of the device around its own longitudinal axis)
IsMagnetic
Note: Pitch and Roll default
to Float.NaN.
User selection on GPS settings under “connectivity” dictates what GPS technologies/devices to be used in the MIDlet application regardless of criteria. However, when AGPS is selected against MIDlet’s designated criteria of no-cost-allowed constraint, API will be automatically default to use Internal GPS technology in the MIDlet application.
Only one LocationProvider instance is
allocated on each type of GPS technology through a MIDlet application.
When AGPS technology device is selected, there is an extra security prompt for use to confirm that there will be cost involved if necessarily. However, if the MIDlet application is manufacture-signed, no security prompt will be carried out for user confirmation.
New categories can be added or deleted from a store.
For positioning technology that support the National Marine
Electronics Association (NMEA) format (i.e. Global Positioning System (GPS))
this information can be obtained with the Location.getExtraInfo() method.
The specific NMEA sentences depend on what the location technology supports,
but no sentences are filtered out.
From S60 3rd Edition FP 2 and Series 40 6th Edition onwards, the API implementation supports the Mobile Service Architecture (MSA) as defined in JSR-248 Mobile Service Architecture.
The following optional features are not supported in the implementation of the Location API:
There is no proximity listener support, which is used to receive notifications of when the mobile device enters an area (specified by coordinates and a radius).
Orientation information retrieval is not supported in Series 40 devices.
In S60, it is not possible to select where landmark stores should be created.