SAN FRANCISCO-It’s a numbers game.
Three million developers. Three million downloads of the J2ME software development kit last year. Five hundred fifty million desktops running Java. Fifty-three wireless carriers deploying Java services to 100 million subscribers. One hundred million Java-enabled handsets in the world. Three hundred million Java smart cards. Five hundred Java user groups. One community.
“Java is everywhere,” exclaimed Sun Microsystems Inc.’s Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of software, kicking off last week’s JavaOne Developer Conference in San Francisco. The five-day, 15,000-attendee conference permeated with talk about wireless opportunities. Mobility is the next frontier for Java apps.
“It’s time to make your content and applications mobile,” Vodafone Live’s Guy Laurence told a packed audience of developers at the opening-day keynote address. “In a mobile world, the train is leaving the station.”
The next challenges for the Java community are to improve the platform, simplify the platform, get another 7 million developers on board, integrate the various Java platforms, propel the network effect and grow the market, Schwartz said.
As part of that campaign, Sun introduced a new, streamlined Java logo and announced plans to begin a “Java Powered” advertising campaign later this year to highlight the Java brand. Execs said the Java logo will appear in handsets and other wireless devices, as well as off the network, like on billboards and on TV.
As part of its increased focus on branding, java.com is a new Web site to promote consumer products and partners using Java technologies. Java.net is a new Web portal where developers can relate to their peers about Java apps.
It is in every carrier’s interest to drive the Java open platform,” said Juan Dewer, Sun’s senior director of consumer mobility and strategic solutions.
Schwartz several times talked about the opportunities that could exist if the Java card in the handset could be used to buy something on the Web and the charges would appear alongside the monthly phone bill.
Digital rights management will have to be addressed by industry if the wireless data business is to develop, and the various sectors of the industry are working to get those solutions in place.
Mobile music is expected to drive the industry. In three to five years, wireless music is expected to be a $5 billion to $10 billion business, said Michael Nash, senior vice president, Internet strategy and business development at Warner Music Group. Warner Music and Sprint PCS have been testing a service that sends out streaming music in a 30-second mobile clip over J2ME-enabled phones, and it has been successful, Nash said, although he declined to release any specific figures. “We’re willing to try things with our partners,” Nash explained, because all players in the wireless data ecosystem need to work together to find out the best ways to develop the industry.
Meanwhile, the industry needs to strike the right balance between standardization of the J2Me platform and the need for handset manufacturers and wireless carriers to differentiate their products and services, said Chris Erickson, president and chief operating officer of Tira Wireless Inc.
One differentiator is Haptics by Motorola Inc. Haptics enables the handset to vibrate and light up with different colors depending on what is happening. For example, the handset may vibrate when the user is playing a racing game and the car crashes, or the handset may light up blue when your spouse calls, explained Motorola’s Michael Bordelon. “Kisses” even can be sent over the phone by blowing into the microphone, he said.
Along with its consumer strategy, Sun is aiming to expand its focus on the mobile enterprise market. Nextel Communications Inc., which targets the enterprise space, has been one of the pioneers in using Java for business apps. WiredTime.com is a Canadian company that developed a mobile application for companies in the snow-clearing business using a Motorola iDEN handset and a mobile bar-code reader. The simple application has cut down billable time by 23 percent and allowed companies to better track their data, an example of how existing technology can be used to wirelessly enable the business side.
Java is the largest programming language in the world. Sun has been successful getting into the hands of the technologist, but now needs to work down the chain to the corporate development segment, where easier applications can be written, said Sun’s Richard Green, vice president, Sun developer tools and Java software.
In fact, Hewlett Packard Co., Dell Computer Corp. and Lindows.com Inc. agreed to include Java technology on their products. In contrast, rival Microsoft Corp. is taking Java off its products.
