Texas Instruments to License Sun Microsystems' Java for Chips
Dallas, Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Texas Instruments Inc. said
it will use Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Java computer language in its
chips for cellular phones and pagers that let callers plug into
the Internet.
Java, introduced in 1995, is used to write software that can
run on a variety of devices and operating systems, doing away
with the need to write separate programs for every device.
The licensing agreement underscores the growing number of
companies that are using Java to make their equipment compatible
with the Internet and is a boost for Sun, which has been
enhancing the technology so it can be used with more than just
computers.
Under the accord, Texas Instruments licensed Sun's Embedded
Java and PersonalJava specifications, used with consumer devices.
Texas Instruments said it plans next year to offer systems for
phones and pagers that are compatible with Java.
With the Sun technology, the devices can connect to the
Internet to look up information, including local maps and airline
schedules, or receive videos.
For Sun, wider use of Java is aimed at increasing demand for
its servers, the central computers on the Internet and corporate
computer networks that relay and store information and Java
programs.
In August, Alcatel Alsthom SA, Northern Telecom Ltd. and
Samsung Corp. said they will use Java in screen phones that
connect to the Internet and send e-mail. Sun also has lined up
companies including Siemens AG and Schlumberger Ltd. to use the
language with smart cards, devices similar to credit cards that
contain a microchip containing the bearer's information.
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