Java, lol

I was told by a game developer at this seminar that if I want to learn how to program games, a good way to start is with Java and making cellphone games. I plan on learning C++ before Java anyway but around how long would it take a newbie to learn Java or when would it be a good idea to learn Java if not at all?

Why are there so many inexperienced programmers running around saying that Python is the One And Only language?  Did they start teaching it in high schools or something?  Different languages have different uses.  In this case, the OP wanted to get into gave development.  Almost all large scale commercial games are written in C++, therefore learning it along with the OpenGL and DirectX APIs should be his ultimate goal.  That being said, Java would be a good way to start because all the libraries needed for basic games are built in (timers, graphics, etc.) and the language is easier to work with for beginners.  He could start with basic programs, then work up to taking input, timing the game, and using the graphics library.  After that, C++ would be lot easier to understand and through learning memory management he could learn about all the various optimization structures like quadtrees, scene graphs, bsp trees, etc.