Sun To Launch Java-Powered Phones, Ovens

The $8.4 billion Sun Microsystems, which captured the Internet market with its innovative Java technology last year, has announced the launch of Java-powered telephones for day-to-day use by next year.

Java-powered phones using Java platforms and Java chips would revolutionise the residential, enterprise and wireless applications of telecommunications, said Anand Halbe, India country manager, Sun Microsystems.

Halbe said the company had jointly undertaken a project with Northern Telecom to incorporate the Java software and Java chips into future telephones. Global customer trials would begin this year, he added.

Java technology was introduced by Sun Microsystems last year. It was available across the Internet and adaptable to any workstation. A programme using the Java language can be downloaded to any destination around the globe over the Internet. Later, the company transformed the same technology into three different sizes of microprocessors such as ultra, micro and pico Java chips. What is going into the consumer durables such as telephones and micro-ovens would be these chips, Halbe said. This technology will enable people to switch on their micro-oven sitting at their office and prepare a dinner or a lunch, he said, adding that Java technology would bring in a lot of changes in a variety of consumer durables in the years to come. However, Halbe said, Sun Microsystems would not be directly involved in the consumer durables and telecom products areas. We have already licenced Nokia for producing Java-powered cellular phones, he added.

Picojava optimised processors would find applications in cellular phones, printers and many other consumer durables. Microjava would additionally have memory, communications and control functions to the Picojava core. Ultrajava would additionally have advanced graphics circuits and features making it an excellent solution for advanced 3-d graphics and other multimedia applications. Catching up with the trend, major operating system developers including Microsoft are planning to embed Java into their future operating systems, Halbe said.

Java revolution has changed the way people look at hardware and software, and established network computing as the way of the future, Halbe added.