Sun Microsystems Inc. acquired wireless Java downloading company Pixo Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
“The adoption of Java technology and the Java Card Subscriber Identity Module standard are unleashing revenue opportunities on a sea of new and emerging devices,” said Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of Software for Sun. “From mobile phones to home audio equipment, set-top boxes to desktop personal computers, Java and Java Card technologies bring authentication, and new service delivery possibilities wherever they go. The acquisition of Pixo accelerates that opportunity for Sun, for the operators of those services, the users of those devices, and the providers of all forms of digital content-from music and videos, to games and enterprise applications. Pixo provides a critical link integrating the evolution of Java 2 Platform Micro Edition, with the pervasive adoption of Sun’s Solaris Operating Environment and Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition.”
Pixo offers a Java download server for sale to wireless carriers, which allows subscribers to access and download Java applications to their phone over the air. Pixo counts Bell Mobility in Canada as a customer, and European wireless data company End2End has also licensed Pixo’s server. Hewlett-Packard Co. and Siemens resell the product.
Sun said it would use Pixo’s technology to offer a variety of new Java functions. For example, Sun said network operators will be able to know what type of game to recommend to an end-user based on previous downloads or can notify customers of the availability of a new level of a previously downloaded game.
The move follows a similar one from Motorola last year, which acquired wireless Java downloading company 4thPass.
