Kada Systems Inc. announced the availability of version 1.5 of the Kada Mobile Platform, which will support the Pocket PC operating system in addition to Palm OS 3.5.
Kada Mobile 1.5 also will provide increased portability across other database platforms including the Oracle, PointBase and Sybase UltraLite.
Kada Mobile 1.5 will make it possible for Java developers to build and deploy fully functional Java 2 mobile applications across operating system, device and database platforms, the company said. It offers application programming interfaces that enable infrared beaming between devices, alarm management and serial port access, said Kada.
The Kada mobile platform is powered by the Kada virtual machine, or a “clean room” implementation of the Java virtual machine, which allows developers to test, optimize and deploy applications for wirelessly enabled PDAs. Applications developed with Kada Mobile 1.5 can operate locally on a PDA, independent of a wireless connection, and when no wireless connection is available, the device can synchronize with a server at a later time.
Kada Mobile 1.5 will be generally available later this month, with developer kits starting at $295 for a single developer’s license. Versions supporting the EPOC, RIM and embedded Linux operating systems are planned, Kada said. The company launched the first version of the Kada Mobile Platform at the beginning of April.
Kada also launched its Mobile Developer Studio Alliance program, designed to offer Kada’s Internet development environment alliance partners with direct access to, and integration with, the tuning testing and optimizing tools that plug into any Java IDE and instantly mobile enable the development environment.
Kada said it provides its alliance partners with a development license of the Kada Mobile Platform and Kada Mobile Developer Studio tools, technical support and assistance, referral fees, demonstration licenses and marketing programs.
The tools include the Kada Minimizer, which enables the creation of mobile application profiles through a process of eliminating any unreferenced classes, methods, fields and pool entries; the Kada Debugger Interface, which permits source-level debugging of Java applications; the Kada Installer, which uses device-specific methods to install application files; and the Kada Launcher, which enables developers to create shortcuts on a handheld, giving the end user the ability to launch a Java application by clicking an icon.
