Sun is not new to cell phone software, its Java Mobile software has long been used on the Nokia Series 60 platform; last Tuesday during the JavaOne conference in San Francisco, Sun introduced software for a high-end cellphone that looked very similar to the Apple iPhone. The software is called Java Mobile FX and the device presented at the conference is just a prototype still many months away from becoming a reality.
The Java Mobile FX software is based on code Sun acquired from SavaJe Technologies, a merger completed just last Friday. The SavaJe software is a full implementation based on a desktop version of Java. It includes basic applications running on a real-time operating system.
Java Mobile FX is "a complete desktop-scale environment that puts the network in your hand," said Richard Green, executive vice president of Sun's software group, announcing the product in his keynote address.
No carriers or handset makers have licensed Java Mobile FX yet, but Sun is hoping to score some deals to put its software on cellphones by 2008. It's curious, how a still inexistent product like the iPhone can draw so much attention, and whether it'll be a success or a failure at least customers will benefit from all the innovation from competitors such as Sun.