Sprint and Sun push Java as the unifying force for the 'middle web'
Mobile Java has been a fragmented platform, and has not achieved a fraction of the uniformity of its bigger siblings, but now thee are more serious attempts to bring many of the features of PC-based Java to the mobile world, luring developers and improving the functionality of cellphone apps. Recently we saw Sony Ericsson's Project Capuchin looking to provide a converged Flash/Java platform for mobile developers, and at the JavaOne show in San Francisco last week Sprint Nextel announced a new Java platform geared to expanding the range of open access programs, supporting a full internet experience, on which its Clearwire WiMAX joint venture network will depend for differentiation.
Sprint showed off a revamped developer program and an upgraded toolkit along with Titan, a platform aimed at "opening the door to millions of developers who have traditionally designed for a desktop environment". It offers the same codes, tools and resources as those used for desktop applications, and is available in beta version for Windows Mobile developers, though it will later be moved to other operating systems too. The carrier also unveiled the Sprint Wireless Toolkit 3.3, which includes developer resources for the upcoming Samsung Instinct CDMA handset, one of the string of 'iPhone killers' supporting challenges to AT&T.
Also at JavaOne, Nokia announced an upgraded version of its Java-based software development kit, geared in particular to mobile games and the Finnish giant's SNAP Mobile Java gaming business. The SDK includes the SNAP Mobile Client API libraries, as well as an Emulation Environment application and a handset and network compatibility test tool.
Of course, despite progressive moves to open source Java, the platform's creator Sun remains a pivotal force, even if it has never really exploited the potential of its control of Java. Sun came down firmly on the side of the 'one internet' camp last October, when it said it would gradually phase out the mobile specific version of Java, J2ME, in favour of a unified system - an approach recently echoed by Adobe. Sun also acquired SavaJe, maker of a mobile operating system based entirely on PC - rather than mobile - Java; and staked a claim to real influence in the mobile internet market, with the launch of FX Mobiel last year. All these showed a new determination by Sun to put its technology at the heart of one of the most important developments in the wireless world, the mobile internet user interface and applications environment.
Nearly all the mobile heavyweights, apart from Microsoft, use Java heavily in their platforms, but Sun has failed to create much impact under its own brand, ceding the dominant influence in standards processes to Nokia and others. Now it aims to change that, and is rumored to be working with Samsung on a handset software platform based on FX Mobile and SavaJe. This would be a direct alternative to other systems that use Java, such as Nokia's Series 60 or Motorola/Sony Ericsson's UIQ, as well as to non-Java contenders like Qualcomm Brew, Apple iPhone and Microsoft Windows Mobile.
From Sun's point of view, a unified Java across all clients would increase the benefits Java already promises in terms of cross-platform harmony - a large developer community, economies of scale for Java supporters, the ability to write once and run on a wide variety of devices. This will be important to operators too, as many look to provide internet services, such as music stores, that will work seamlessly across all a subscriber's platforms, including home PCs and media centers and a variety of handhelds. Again, this shows Sun reflecting how the open model of PC software is starting to filter into the mobile world, where traditionally each application has had to be rewritten not only for PCs and handsets, but for each handset model and each operator. With open access and the breakdown of the tethering of the device to the network and contract, the carriers are reluctantly having to adopt a new model, and unifying PC and mobile systems will be a key aspect of that - and one that plays to Java's strengths, provided Java is as harmonized as it always claims to be.
In reality, mobile Java has become highly fragmented because it has so many higher level extensions (called JSRs or Java specification requests) layered on top of its basic platform. This allowed the core abilities to be kept compact, but reduced the potential to write once, run anywhere, since each cellphone was exploiting a different combination of JSRs. J2SE has a far richer set of basic abilities and so requires fewer extensions, aiding portability. This will enable Java to line up better against other software technologies that are seeking to steal its thunder in creating rich web applications. Ajax, Adobe Apollo, Microsoft Silverlight and Google Gears are all trying to muscle in on this territory on PCs and, increasingly, in the mobile world too. Sun claims Java FX can beat these once it can be used across all devices seamlessly and draw on the power of J2SE - in particular, it claims a richer user interface, faster performance, a robust and well trusted language and better abilities when a computer is offline. And the evolution of powerful mobile internet devices is starting to remove the technical barriers to using fully blown Java on a handset.
All this is leading to the creation of the so-called 'Middle Web', which bridges the gulf between the mobile and PC internet, and should enable companies to develop applications and web sites for both platforms without significant variation. "Essentially, the belief is that we will be seeing many more iPhone-like devices that are capable of browsing the full web in all of its glory (minus flash glory for now) with things like Javascript, DHTML, and full Ajax support," wrote Omar Hamoui, CEO of AdMob, in a recent post on the company blog. "In general, as this trend continues, the richness and depth of mobile services will expand dramatically by making it possible for companies and individuals to build and extend their services with the tools and technologies they already know."
