email article printer friendly

Tipping Point
by Dan Ruby

More of the pieces are filling in for wireless Java. For years, the promise of rich, plentiful Java applications on mobile and embedded devices has been held out as Java's land of opportunity. But real applications beyond games and ring tones have remained elusive, especially in the U.S. market. Now, with important developments in infrastructure, user experience, and business models, we are nearer to reaching the tipping point where development of Java-based digital content and services will be readily monetized through established channels of distribution.

Here are some recent developments that might give you confidence that Java-enabled mobile devices are truly on track to take off as a platform for consumer and enterprise applications.

Billing and provisioning: As telecom operators move toward offering downloadable digital content, they need infrastructure for managing secure access and distribution to on end-user mobile devices. In June, Sun put more muscle into its offering to carriers with the acquisition of the Pixo billing and provisioning server. Among other functions, Pixo lets the operator apply rights and permissions to downloadable files. An application might be set to expire after a set number of uses or time period, for example.

With tools like Pixo, operators can easily manage, market, and bill for all types of wireless content and services. Other server products are available for download management, but Sun's entry is notable since it is determined to fill every niche in the wireless Java ecosystem to ensure that the overall platform is successful. One way to do that is with an easy-to-implement content management system for carriers.

In the future, provisioning tools will be useful inside the enterprise to make available and track usage of business applications. Today, the focus is on the low-hanging fruit of the carriers, who are scrambling to get to market with their software download services.

Business models: One of the stumbling blocks for widespread availability of mobile applications has been the need for developers to test and modify versions for different handsets and providers, rendering applications something less than portable. The announcement at JavaOne of a united testing initiative supported by Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, Sony Ericsson, and Sun Microsystems will address that need by providing common certification criteria for content testing.

The program will benefit handset manufacturers and network operators by speeding up the adoption of downloadable content to mobile devices. For developers, meeting a single test criteria will go far to reduce deployment obstacles and provide an opportunity to monetize their investment in Java wireless development. Applications that pass the certification will carry a "Java Verified" logo, which will further position the Java brand as a symbol of quality and reliability in the wireless industry.