Roundtable: Mobile Java experts speak

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These were some of the questions we posed to executives from three of Asia's most prominent players in the mobile Java arena: telco Singapore Telecommunications; phone maker Siemens; and wireless content facilitator Mobileway.

SingTel, one of the largest telco operators in Asia, has been a chief proponent of Java 2, Micro Edition (J2ME) in the region. In June, SingTel launched the Asia Mobile Java Challenge, together with associates in India, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. CNETAsia spoke with Clark Lam Wing Keung, SingTel's deputy director of Consumer Products-Mobile.

From handset maker Siemens, CNETAsia talked to Joseph Yii, general manager for Mobile Phones South & Southeast Asia. Siemens, based in Germany, has actively participated in the development of wireless Java in the region, having also organized a contest earlier this year. The company currently has two Java-enabled mobiles on the market, with more expected in the coming months.

France-based Mobileway, which claims to have direct connections to 88 mobile operators worldwide, manages transactions for carriers, content providers and consumers. CNETAsia spoke with Cyrille Even, general manager and vice president of Mobileway Asia Pacific.

In our electronic roundtable, the experts generally felt optimistic about the potential of wireless Java, but admitted the road ahead is paved with considerable challenges.

Q: What is the appeal of J2ME? How does that meet the needs of users of mobile phones which are essentially communication, and not computing, devices?

Lam (SingTel): J2ME allows flexible programming of applications such as games and productivity tools. It is customized for mobile devices with limited memory and processing capability. For communication devices, the trend today is to go for non-voice channels such as SMS chat and email. Today, mobile phones are no longer just for making calls. Users store their contact list, record appointments and play games on their handsets, too.

Mobile phone gaming is a value-added service in the entertainment and leisure sphere for our customers. We believe it will be a "time and mind filler" for our customers. They can engage in such a form of entertainment while commuting or taking a breather.

Yii (Siemens): The appeal of Java is that wherever the users are, whatever they need or want--it's only a button click away. They can just choose it, download and enjoy it--that's the world of wireless Java!

It is the ultimate personalization and includes two components: first, differentiation and self-expression; and second, increased usability of the device by allowing the phone to be adapted to personal needs.

With Java, users can access an infinite number of gaming, entertainment and information possibilities, from games to office as well as leisure and fun applications. Applications can be downloaded, stored and played at the users' discretion and latest technology like General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and a Wireless Application Browser (WAP) 1.2.1 browser enhance the swift download of content.

We strongly believe users' perception of the additional value and benefits that wireless Java offers will drive them to using more data-related communication.

Q: How does J2ME or mobile Java figure in your business plans for the near future, and how will this translate into services/products for the end-user?

SingTel: Java will be a key to our mobile data strategy. We will put in place more services and products that match the day-to-day needs of our customers by making full use of the Java handset capability. With the availability of more phone models that support Java applications, customers can expect fully animated games on their mobile phones, such as Pacman, Space Invaders and Street Fighter, which were previously available on the PC platform.

Siemens: Siemens has for a long time been heavily involved in the development and support of wireless Java technology. We are convinced wireless Java is the next step to seamless transaction in an open environment for applications running on present and future mobile phones.

The incorporation of Java technology in our mobile phones is a key component of our product strategy. The first Java-enabled Siemens handset was launched more than a year ago, and during CommunicAsia 2002, we announced the first mass-market Java-enabled mobile phone, the M50.

Most of our next-generation mobile phones will feature this technology as a standard and come-with-the-phone software.

Even (Mobileway): Basically what we do today in this area is that we are working very closely with the phone manufacturers in order to help make the monetization of Java content possible. Usually the issue on Java is that the content owner can be completely different from the network owner. The network owner can be operating the service but the content is offered by a third party outside the network. So how do you make the end user pay for this service? Our role is mainly to aggregate these billing systems to the content providers.

Q: When do you expect to see mass market acceptance of J2ME? Who will be the key industry players in Asia?

SingTel: We expect market acceptance to pick up in 2003 as there will be more Java handsets available in the market.

Siemens: The real hype will come when Java meets GPRS. The first step is the roll-out of a GPRS infrastructure throughout the region--which will be done mostly by the end of the year in Southeast Asia. The second important step is that the industry, in the meantime, educates the user about the benefits of GPRS so that a fast adoption will take place.

To make wireless Java a success, all industry players have to work together: the infrastructure providers; platform suppliers; mobile phone manufacturers; operators; and application developers.

Mobileway: I think as with all these services, it depends on a certain number of factors. It depends on the capability of handsets, which is the most often-used criteria. It will depend also on how user-friendly the programs are, as well as the interest of developers to develop games. If the Java pricing model is wrong, it will be too expensive and not be taken up by the consumers. If it's too cheap, there will be no interest from developers to spend time on it. But what we are starting to see in Europe is that Java games are priced at around 1 euro, which is reasonably good enough for developers to be interested, and is still reasonably cheap enough for end users. These, I would say, are the main criteria because, technically, it's no big deal. It's not a 3G network where you have to completely change (the networks); it's mainly handset-based.

It's difficult to say (who the key players will be), but today, there are a certain number of powerful players in this market. I cannot speak on their behalf, but you can look at the market share of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Siemens. Some of the other players may not be as well-known (in the Java field) but could be effective, such as Samsung from the handset point of view. Operators have a very big role to play as well as they are the ones holding the billing system. Some operators are quite advanced in this regard, such as Hong Kong's CSL and Hutchison, SingTel, and Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan. As long as they are moving fast enough, I think the service takeup will be high.