Hi, I work in an environment were most people use Nokia (Symbian OS) and I am required to develop software that handles SMS inbox. I know Java (J2ME or MIDP) would be the best being platform-independent, but it doesn't support accessing the SMS inbox to read or create messages.
so what is the next best language/platform to use, bearing in mind future scalability to other mobile operating systems (windows mobile, Palm OS, and Android)?
You could use C/C++ for some platforms, but if you want your source to be crossplatform compatible you don't have any options except Java. And yes, Java applications can read user data (including SMS, I believe), if they have appropriate permissions.
I would have to agree that Java would be the common language to use except for the iPhone most smartphones are running Java based OS's.
Could you explain you project a little more? is this a program on the phone itself of a service through a short code?
Do you have to access the actual inbox, or is it enough to be able to read SMS messages, sent specifically to your application, as they arrive? In that case, you can use the push registry to register that your MIDlet should receive incoming messages.
I think it would be wise of you if you first went to the manufacturer's website of the Mobile Phone you'd like to develop for and see what language runs on that phone. And do the same for other different Mobiles... I think that would help narrow your choice down...