The Java platform for embedded and mobile devices is Java ME. The “ME” means Micro Edition, a Java platform designed for hardware with tighter limits on memory, processing power, display size, storage, or battery life than ordinary desktops and servers.
Java ME grew out of Sun Microsystems’ earlier J2ME name, short for Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition. Instead of requiring the full Java SE library, it used configurations and profiles: CLDC targeted highly constrained devices, while CDC served more capable embedded hardware. Mobile Information Device Profile, or MIDP, added user-interface, networking, and storage APIs for phones.
Java ME applications on mobile phones were commonly called MIDlets and were distributed in JAR files, often accompanied by a JAD descriptor. The platform powered games, messaging tools, and other software on many pre-smartphone handsets, including Nokia Series 40 phones. It was also used in PDAs, set-top boxes, printers, sensors, and industrial equipment.
A common mix-up is choosing Java SE or Java EE. Java SE is the general-purpose desktop and server platform; Java EE, now Jakarta EE, adds enterprise server technologies. JavaFX is a user-interface toolkit, not the Micro Edition platform.