Alarms

In addition to enabling an app to be launched in response to an incoming message, push functionality enables a MIDlet to be launched at a particular time. This alarm functionality does not take the place of the timers that have been available since MIDP 1.0; they are meant to work together.

app Developers

Strongly Recommend: Use an alarm so that your MIDlet will be launched at a particular time; use a timer so that your MIDlet will take an action when it is running.

The device uses an alarm to start your MIDlet if the MIDlet is not running at a particular time of day; the alarm does not affect your MIDlet if it is already running. For a running MIDlet to take an action at a particular time, it must use a timer.