Java is destined to become the “gold standard” for moving applications from the data center to billions of smart devices at the network edge, said Scott McNealy, Sun’s Chairman, President and CEO, in a keynote address at the JavaOne Conference in San Francisco. In comparison to Microsoft’s .Net initiative, McNealy said Java deserves high marks for maturity, security, affordability and migration into mobile devices. As an example of Java’s ability to tie together devices and services across multiple networks, McNealy demonstrated Verizon Communications’ forthcoming Digital Companion service, which acts as a virtual agent for wireline and wireless voice services. Shaygan Kheradpri, Chief Information Officer at Verizon Communications, said the J2ME environment allows messaging, presence and applications to follow the user from one network to the next. This enables an integrated address book to synchronize data from Caller ID, email, paging and instant messaging.
Users want access to their music library wherever they go, said Michael Nash, Senior VP of Internet Strategy and Business Development for the Warner Music Group. This creates a tremendous opportunity for delivering personalized streaming audio and video content to mobile devices. Based on the huge market uptake for downloadable ringtones, Nash estimates that by 2008 there could be a $5 billion to $8 billion market for mobile music services. The ringtone phenomenon, which has spread from Asia to Europe and now North America, suggests that a cool downloaded app, such as a game or a catchy ringtone, can quickly zoom up the sales charts.
Java has reached a critical volume threshold, agreed John Gage, Chief Scientist at Sun Microsystems, and we are now starting to see the tremendous power of moving intelligence to the network edge. He estimates that the high tech industry is creating 300 million new silicon processors per month, mostly for embedded uses. Java’s potential is to ensure that all these devices work seamlessly over a common network.
http://www.sun.com
