'Java to go' getting warmer
By Debbie Gage, Sm@rt Partner
dailynews.yahoo.com
Monday September 18 09:15 PM EDT
Sun is set to announce new wireless Java partnerships with Motorola,
Nokia and others. Java devices promise to use less bandwidth and be
more flexible.
Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW - news) on Tuesday will announce partners committed to
shipping Java on wireless devices, along with its long-awaited Mobile Information Device profile.
Around 20 companies -- including Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, and Research in Motion -- are expected to
join Sun in announcing Java-enabled wireless products to be delivered over the next couple of quarters.
Motorola -- whose CEO Chris Galvin has pledged to "drive Java across all of
Motorola" -- led the design of Mobile Information Device (MID), which defines
how developers should build applications and services for two-way pagers,
wireless handsets, and other small, resource-constrained devices.
Research In Motion shipped an early version of MID on its Blackberry pager at
Sun's JavaOne Developer Conference in June.
Sun group marketing manager Eric Chu said Research In Motion provided
valuable experience in how to design services that consumers will want to use,
something that service providers are desperate to provide.
Consumers the winners
"It's not about bringing the PC into these devices -- it's about enhancing the consumer lifestyle," Chu said.
"Consumers don't use technology for technology's sake.
"We also had to get the technical people to hone in on what problems to solve -- not all of the services
have to be completely network-centric," Chu continued. "For example, you can put a calendar application
inside a device and have the app fetch only what's changed since the last time you checked, instead of
fetching an entire calendar page."
Chu said he believes Java services will be less demanding of bandwidth than those written in various
mark-up languages since Java enables a flexible design that allows developers to divide intelligence
between client and server.
He also claimed the consumer experience would be richer: Developers are focusing on games, navigational
data and financial information with rich user interfaces.
Sun plans to ship an early release of an emulator that will let developers build Java content on a desktop
and run it in an environment that looks like their target device, such as a Motorola or Nokia phone. Nokia
led the design of MID's user interface.
Other partners expected to join Sun include Sony, NEC, Matsushita/Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu,
Symbian, NTT Docomo, LG Telecom, SmarTone, Far EasTone, Telefonica, Nextel and One 2 One.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************************
Sounds to me like we are getting closer to products that really need a PTSC chip in them.
All the best,
Michael |
