SUN MICROSYSTEMS Company has edge over Microsoft as Java goes mobile
Sun tries to keep lead against Microsoft in software for mobile devices.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The latest cell phones can show you the nearest bathrooms in San Francisco or which subway to take in London. They can also help with your diet by tracking calorie intake.
Behind such programs and more is the very technology at the center of an intense battle between Microsoft Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. over control of desktop computers.
Though Sun has mostly lost that fight, the beleaguered Silicon Valley icon is trying to give new life to its Java programming language with an aggressive push into mobile devices. Once again, it finds a foe in Microsoft. But this time Sun has the lead.
What it offers
Java gives consumers nifty applications like games, weather and maps. It helps motorists avoid traffic congestion and lets companies track salespeople on the go.
Nokia, the world's No. 1 seller of cell phones, already has more than three dozen Java-enabled models, and plans to include Java in all but its low-end units in the future, said Victor Brilon, Nokia's Java application manager. One phone model even uses Java to snap photographs.
Sun, which distributes Java for free and sells computers to power Java services, says more than 94 million Java devices are in use.
What began as a novelty in Japan has garnered broader interest in Europe and North America over the past year, with 53 wireless carriers embracing Java, up from 35 last year, according to Sun.
Java also is appearing in cars, printers and camcorders. Alan Brenner, Sun's vice president for consumer and mobile systems, said makers of medical devices are also taking a look.
Though Sun isn't conceding the desktop, it suffered a setback recently when a federal appeals court refused to require that Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system carry Sun's tools for running Java applications.
But the ruling merely underscores how technology moves faster than the law.
Will package software
The top two computer manufacturers, Dell Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co., will package Sun's software -- even if Microsoft won't. And many program developers say their focus had long shifted away from desktops anyhow.
"There are other frontiers to be won," said Dave Chappell, chief technology officer for Sonic Software Corp. and co-author of "Java Web Services."
"Handheld devices, phones and even automobiles, those things combined are much larger than the desktop."
The idea behind Java is simple. Write a program once and run it anywhere, no matter the operating system in use.
A game or a word processor that works on Windows should also run on Macintosh, Linux and other platforms.
In practice, however, early versions of Java suffered performance problems. Meanwhile, in what led to Sun's $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, the Redmond, Wash. software giant modified Java for Windows. Microsoft calls the changes improvements; Sun says it effectively killed Java by removing its ability to work across different systems.
"The sort of Java-powered version of Microsoft Word has not really materialized in any competitively meaningful way," said Rick Ross, who runs the Javalobby group of developers.
Back-end computers
Many of the Java desktop programs are niche applications, but Java is particularly strong in back-end office applications for such tasks as managing supply chains and powering e-commerce searches.
Back-end computers are more likely to use Windows alternatives like Linux and Sun's Solaris, playing into Java's strengths of platform neutrality.
"For building enterprise applications, Java is not just alive and well but in many cases dominant," said Forrester analyst Ted Schadler.