Driving Asia's takeup: Get ready to plug into wireless Java

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"We were just spectacularly amazed... at the kinds of games and utilities and tools and client-server kinds of things that came up in such a short period of time," said Motorola CEO Chris Galvin.

Plugging away
Despite the best efforts of Motorola in the two years since then, J2ME struggled to make an impact outside Japan and Korea for a variety of reasons. Many of these issues are today gradually being resolved as handsets makers deliver more Java-enabled phones to the mass market, while mobile operators focus on J2ME as a means of boosting revenues. But one piece of the puzzle is still missing: wireless Java programmers.

"(Research firm) Gartner and others have indicated that Java is already one of the leading development platforms in the world today... What remains is for all you Java developers to take the mobile platform seriously," said Harin Grewal, assistant director at Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)'s Innovation & Wireless Division.

Grewal was speaking at a Siemens wireless Java workshop in May, which was part of the German giant's J2ME developer contest. Apart from Siemens, other handset makers have also been trying to coax third-party content providers onboard. Nokia organized developer conferences in Malaysia and Singapore earlier this year.

"Nokia is a technology company. We can't do everything on our own. That's just impossible. We need the developers to create the wide variety of applications that will excite consumers," Nigel Rundstrom, vice president for Product Management and Business Development, told CNETAsia at the Singapore event which coincided with the launch of Nokia's Java-enabled 6610 handset.

"Then we get the 'snowball effect' where we have attractive applications and consumers buy them. It encourages more application developers to come into the market... that's when we have the momentum going," he added.

The Asian connection
Regional mobile operators are also catching on. In June, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), its regional affiliates and Sun Microsystems teamed up for the Asia Java Mobile Challenge. The contest, which closed in August, offered not only cash prizes but sought-after business contracts with SingTel, Advanced Info Service in Thailand, India's Bharti, Globe in the Philippines, Australia's Optus, and Indonesia's Telkomsel.

"The competition provides a platform for SingTel and our regional associates to offer fresh and innovative mobile services to our combined base of more than 22 million customers across the region," SingTel Mobile CEO Lucas Chow said in a statement to the regional media.

"What makes this competition compelling is the use of commercial contracts as a prize for the winners. This means there's a deep understanding of what makes a developer tick," Doug Kacwert, Sun Developer Network vice president, added in the statement.

Regulator push
Asian regulators have been key players in the continuing Java drive in the region. In Hong Kong, government regulator Office of Telecommunications Authority organized a two-day workshop in September, touching on technology enablers for mobile content such as multimedia messaging service (MMS) and wireless Java.

Singapore's IDA has also been extremely active in this field, taking part in several industry efforts under its Wired with Wireless initiative. Last June, the regulator announced a collaboration with Sun Microsystems and national R&D body Institute for Communications Research (ICR) to form the Java Wireless Competency Center (JWCC).

Yong Ying-I, then-CEO of IDA, said at the signing of the Memorandum of Intent that JWCC will "fuel, nurture, and accelerate the growth of our wireless industry".

Then in May, six consortia were awarded under IDA's Call for Collaboration (CFC) for Wireless Java Solutions. Applications selected included a wireless financial portal for Java phones created by technology enabler CyberQuote and Singapore operator MobileOne (M1). Sun and JWCC will also work together to develop a J2ME base interface that allows mobile devices to act as if they are connected directly through a corporate firewall.

A third consortium comprising wireless and Internet provider ThatWeb Solutions, M1 and communications and electronics provider Motorola Electronics was also awarded a CFC. The partners will develop Java MiMail, a souped-up email client that allows users to view attachments such as spreadsheets and pictures on their phones, and even print hard copies of their emails or attached files through fax machines.

Despite the current depressed telco landscape, Victor Soucik, general manager of ThatWeb, believes developers should grasp the opportunities afforded by J2ME.

"So when the market picks up, we will be ready," he added.