WIRELESS INDUSTRY SPECIFIES JAVA TECHNOLOGY FOR NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS INTERACTIVE SERVICES
WIRELESS INDUSTRY SPECIFIES JAVA TECHNOLOGY FOR NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS INTERACTIVE SERVICES
Motorola, Nokia, Siemens, Research In Motion, Sony, NEC, Matsushita/Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, Symbian, SmarTone, Far EasTone, Telefonica, Nextel and One 2 One Among Companies Beginning To Ship Wireless Handsets and Services Based on Java Technology
PALO ALTO, CA. -- September 19, 2000 -- Delivering Java technologies for the
wireless market, Sun Microsystems, Inc. and its wireless industry partners
today announced the shipment of the Mobile Information Device (MID) profile
enabling the creation of next generation, personalized, interactive services for
wireless devices.
Based on the Java 2 Platform Micro Edition J2ME, the MID profile
dramatically enhances the overall consumer experience by enabling dynamic,
personalized interactive services for wireless devices. Created by more than
twenty companies through the Java Community Process (JCP), the availability of
the MID profile demonstrates how the wireless industry can collaborate to
develop open, standards-based technologies that will enable practical and
entertaining mobile interactive services. The MID profile is available for
immediate download from http://java.sun.com/products/midp.
Companies that are developing or deploying Java technology based wireless
services and products for near term delivery include Motorola, Nokia, Siemens,
Research In Motion, Sony, NEC, Matsushita/Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Fujitsu,
Symbian, SmarTone, Far EasTone, Telefonica, Nextel and
One 2 One.
"Leveraging Java technology, wireless device manufacturers, operators and
content creators can develop highly differentiated products and services by
providing dynamic, personalized, interactive content that can be offered to
consumers at any time," said Patricia C. Sueltz, executive vice president,
Sun's Software Systems Group. "The completion of the MID profile specification
for Java technology in wireless advances the capabilities for wireless
application development and network connectivity to a new level of
sophistication and dramatically illustrates how the Java Community Process
balances cross-industry cooperation with speed to market. We are gratified that
such a large list of wireless industry players have selected Java technology as
the foundation upon which they build their next generation personalized,
interactive services."
For consumers, Java technology enabled interactive services are the next step beyond
today's text-based static content. Java software enhances the user experience by
supporting easy-to-use, graphical, interactive services for wireless
devices. Examples include:
- Dynamically-generated, personalized stock quotes that can display graphs and
give purchase and/or sell alerts for specific stocks utilizing the wireless network
efficiently.
- Real-time, location-specific weather reports that display periodic forecast
updates.
- Real time, location specific traffic reports that update local traffic
conditions and supply alternate highway routes depending on traffic delays and
accidents.
- Games that can downloaded and played offline by individual users achieving
cost effective use of the wireless network.
The MID profile for the wireless platform was developed by an expert group
utilizing the Java Community Process. Companies involved in the development of
the wireless profile include: America Online, DDI, Ericsson, Espial Group,
Inc., Fujitsu, Hitachi, J-Phone Tokyo Co., Matsushita (Panasonic), Mitsubishi,
Motorola, NEC, Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Palm Computing, Research In Motion (RIM),
Samsung, Sharp Labs, Siemens, Sony, Sun Microsystems, Symbian and Telecordia.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - The Network Is The
Computer -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW), to
its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware,
software and services that power the Internet and allow companies
worldwide to dot-com their businesses. With $15.7 billion in annual
revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World
Wide Web at
http://sun.com.
QUOTE ADDENDUM
Motorola
"The release of the MID profile specification for the Java 2 Platform, Micro
Edition (J2ME) marks an important milestone in the evolution of Java
technology," said Anne-Marie Larkin, vice president of the Wireless Software
Applications and Services group at Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector.
"The MIDP specification enables software developers to write applications for
wireless devices, lets operators share those applications across their networks,
and will drive the success of the wireless Internet."
For more information, contact Laurie Mills, 512-895-8815, laurie.mills@motorola.com
Nokia
"The Java programming environment is a good fit with our vision of the Mobile
Information Society and introduces a new dimension to the mobile phone user
experience. For example, users will be able to retrieve Java based applications
over the mobile network using WAP and execute them on the mobile device. As a
programming language primarily designed for easy network use and widely
supported in the industry, Java technology is also a natural choice for Nokia
and the whole wireless industry. We welcome Sun Microsystem's activity in the
mobile arena and in the delivery of the MID profile. We are also very happy to
see that all major mobile phone manufacturers are supporting Java technology and
including it in their future plans", said Soren Jenry Petersen, Vice President,
Strategy and Business Development, Nokia Mobile Phones.
For more information, contact Pekka Isosomppi, +358 10 505 5861,
pekka.isosomppi@nokia.com
or Cherie Gary, 972-894-6146, cherie.gary@nokia.com
Siemens
Georges Boulloy, Vice President, Product Marketing Siemens, Communications
Devices said, "We want to ensure that Siemens is at the forefront of this next
crucial stage in the mobile revolution. The Java platform is already one of the
most accepted Internet technologies, therefore Java technology enabled Siemens
mobile phones will build a mobile world of unlimited opportunities for users,
developers and operators."
For more information, contact Georg Wolf, +49-89-722-32431,
georg.wolf@mch.siemens.de
Far EasTone
"Far EasTone is excited by the opportunity to work with Sun in deploying Java
Technology to wireless devices," said Joseph O'Konek, president of Far EasTone.
"We were a pioneer in offering a Java technology based SIM card in Taiwan. We
look forward to having devices with easy to use interfaces which will open the
doors to an explosion of useful and fun, interactive applications and services
that will delight our customers."
For more information, contact Yvonne Lan, 886-287935662, ylan@fareastone.com.tw or
Pauline Tsai, 886-287935015, altsai@fareastone.com.tw
One 2 One
"One 2 One chose to work with Sun to develop a Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME)
technology based solution because of the flexibility that it allows us to work
with a variety of developers and manufacturers," said Craig Tillotson, One 2 One
Strategic Development Director. "In today's fast-paced, Internet driven
society, a Java technology based solution provides us with a competitive edge,
allowing us to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy new wireless services to
consumers."
For more information, contact Jay Saw, +44-7961194951, jay.saw@one2one.co.uk
Telefonica
"our collaboration in MID profile development will allow us to ensure its
compatibility with current GSM/GPRS and future UMTS service platform. We expect
to differentiate our offer to the market by leading the delivery of advanced
services to our customers, both consumers and corporate users." said Miguel
Menchen, General Manager of Telefonica Moviles, "Java technology enabled
terminals will be combined with innovative wireless services provided by our
WirelessISP, so and increasing number of content providers will have new
capabilities to personalize, locate, secure and bill their services."
For more information, contact Javier Garcia, +34-630004607, garcia_jav@tsm.es
SmarTone
"Being Hong Kong's leading mobile multimedia provider, SmarTone is delighted to
collaborate with Sun Microsystems to pioneer the development of Java technology
based interactive wireless services for GSM network in Asia. We strongly
believe the collaboration will enable our customers to enjoy extremely rich and
sophisticated interactive content on their Java technology enabled mobile
phones over our speedy and quality wireless network," said Stephen Chau,
SmarTone's Chief Technology Officer.
For more information, contact Anita Tsui, 852-259-43770, anita_tsui@hksmartone.com
NEC Corporation
"NEC has a plan to deploy MIDP-based devices for overseas markets in the future,"
said Ben Nakamura, Associate Senior Vice President and Executive General Manager,
Mobile Terminals Operations Unit, NEC Networks, NEC Corporation
For more information, contact Hideaki Nakataka, +81-45-932-1114,
nakataka@mcd.yh.nec.co.jp
Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, Java Community Process, "The Network Is The Computer" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
PR Contacts for Press and Analysts:
