Sun buys up SavaJe, but motive remains unclear

Sun Microsystems Inc. announced it acquired SavaJe Technologies, which sold a Java-based operating system for cellphones. Sun provided no information on the deal, including the purchase price, and instead said that “additional information regarding the acquisition of these assets will be unveiled at the annual JavaOne Conference being held in San Francisco, May 8-11, 2007.”
Sun said the transaction will be “immaterial” to its earnings per share.
The announcement brings SavaJe’s long, slow story to a close. The company launched with much fanfare in 2001 and what appeared to be significant support from numerous European carriers. Indeed, T-Mobile and Orange in Europe invested in the company.
SavaJe (pronounced “savage”) promised a fully customizable operating system based on Sun’s Java programming language. SavaJe said at the time that a Java-based OS would put the company ahead of such OS heavyweights as Symbian and Microsoft Corp.
However, as the years dragged by, SavaJe’s prospects dwindled. The company announced in 2004 that LG Electronics Co. Ltd. would build a phone using its operating system, but it is unclear whether the device ever made it to market. Later, in May 2006, SavaJe announced its own Jasper S20 handset, which the company said was built by Group Sense Ltd. of Hong Kong. Again, it’s unclear what impact that handset made.
Now, under Sun’s wing, the SavaJe business gains significant backing. But exactly how Sun will use SavaJe’s technologies remains to be seen.
Sun sells a variety of software products to wireless carriers, and the company’s Java programming language is widely used to run applications such as games on cellphones across the world.