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Mobile Java: The Power of Millions
With more development for mobile devices than PCs, now's the time to expand the network and capitalize on your investments.
by Kay Keppler

JavaOne, June 29, 2005

Pertti Korhonen, Senior Vice President and CTO, Nokia

Jon Bostrom, Senior Director of Java Technology Platforms, Nokia

Pertti Korhonen wants to put the server in your pocket.

"We can extend the power of the network by putting Java in every pocket," said Korhonen, senior vice president and CTO of Nokia, in his Wednesday keynote address at JavaOne. "The question and challenge is: Will mobile Java be part of your core business?"

Nokia dreams big. With 300 million devices sold by the end of this year—about a third of the market—it can afford to. Korhonen, and the rest of the industry, thinks about how to defragment a market that now has 635 models and expects by the end of 2006 to ship a billion units that deploy multiple languages, geographic locations, and operating systems, among other futuristic-sounding endeavors (also see Jim Fawcette's blog post on FTPOnline, "Semantic Web, Metadata Key to Next Gen Mobiles," June 21, 2005).

How to do that? The key is to create a consistent Java environment across platforms. Korhonen says that next-generation mobile Java is driving mobile Java standards.

"Industry collaboration will defragment Java, and we'll do that through Mobile Service Architecture, which is a means to simplify standards. This architecture has great support across the industry, because it ensures that everyone will have rich applications and that the licensing terms are open, fair, and predictable," he said.

How will it work? Two ways, Korhonen says—through interoperability for major mass-market players and extensibility for devices. This first will be accomplished through JSR 248 (now in draft form, with the spec due later this year), which seeks to establish standards to reduce fragmentation. It will support new JSRs that support Web services, security, graphics, and other functionality. JSR 249, which could be completed by early 2006, reflects tomorrow's opportunity for device management, beginning with application migration and using such applications as HP OpenView to manage devices.

"Tomorrow's apps must run in today's devices," Korhonen said. "Devices will be extensible and manageable. Devices will continue to expand once they leave the factory and will be as easy to support as desktops. Today's successful Java mobile market will end fragmentation today and add extensibility tomorrow."

Nokia's offerings are already rich. Today's Series 40 includes an expanded range of APIs, including 3-D graphics, location information, and more, and it supports network connectivity by synchronization. MIDP 2.0 functionality, usually associated with games, is used in instant messaging, chat, and e-mail applications. SNAP Mobile APIs are included in Sun's wireless toolkit; this functionality offers an end-to-end J2ME solution and offers opportunity for enabled multiplayer gaming.

Series 60 offers a richer environment, and the next cycle will include Connected Device Configuration (CDC) 1.1. Previously, when a device left the factory, there was no capability to take advantage of new JSR functionalities. You were limited to the current device portfolio. Now, Nokia wants to support post-deployment customization and extensibility. With CDC 1.1, there are no new APIs and developers will still write an MIDP without changing their code.