SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems, Inc., today announced full support for Mobile Service Architecture (MSA), the next generation Java(TM) platform for mobile phones, is available immediately across its mobile product line and the NetBeans(TM) Integrated Development Environment (IDE).

Sun, along with 13 other companies, including operators, OEMs and software vendors, participated in the development of MSA through the Java Community Process (SM). The goal of MSA is to provide greater handset platform functionality to application developers and reduce implementation variation through the creation of standard Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and specific component clarifications. The new capabilities of MSA allow for the creation of compelling mobile applications and services. Examples of these capabilities include: 3D graphics, personal information management, bluetooth, animation, web services, location services and payment services. More information about MSA can be found at: http://java.sun.com/javame/reference/docs/msa_datasheet.pdf.

"Java technology provides the ubiquitous platform that enables mobile applications to be created and deployed across multiple devices. Building on the more than 1.5 billion Java technology-enabled phones in the market today, MSA will move the mobile industry forward by exposing advanced capabilities for developers to create cool, new applications and services for the next-generation of mobile phones," said Laurie Tolson, vice president of Client Software Group at Sun. "In addition, MSA helps to drive consistency in implementations of the specification, which will reduce industry fragmentation. Sun is pleased to support this new specification throughout our mobile product offerings."

Sun products supporting MSA include:

Sun Java Wireless Client -- a best in class, optimized implementation of the mobile Java platform with multitasking support to enable multiple concurrent applications. This implementation is available in both source and binary solutions.

Sun Java Device Test Suite 2.0 -- a testing suite to help evaluate the quality and functionality of Java ME implementations for mobile handsets.

NetBeans Mobility Pack 5.5 -- built on the award-winning, open source NetBeans Integrated Development Environment (IDE), the Java ME development plug-in delivers a whole new level of sophistication with easy drag-and-drop design, plus support for animation and web services-powered mobile applications and platform and device emulation environments, like the Sun Java Wireless Toolkit for Connected Limited Device Configuration.

Sun Java Wireless Toolkit 2.5 for Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC) -- an award-winning software development kit containing build tools, utilities, and a wireless platform emulation environment providing the means for developers to build and test their applications.

In addition to these commercial products, Sun also makes available in the phoneME project in the Mobile & Embedded community on Java.net (http://community.java.net/mobileandembedded/) the source code for Sun's advanced phone and feature phone Java ME implementations, which support MSA. Sun has released these technologies under an open source license in order to accelerate the development and evolution of the platform, reduce fragmentation and drive down development costs throughout the Java ME ecosystem. In addition, this move provides easy access to the latest versions of Java ME platform technologies and, for the first time, enables the whole Java ME community to follow the activities of and participate in the development of these technologies.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer"(TM) -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at sun.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jacki DeCoster Sun Microsystems (415) 294-4482 jacki.decoster@sun.comallpress@sun.com (650) 786-7737

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, NetBeans, Java Community Process and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

CONTACT: Jacki DeCoster, +1-415-294-4482, jacki.decoster@sun.com, or
allpress@sun.com, +1-650-786-7737, both of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Web site: http://sun.com/
http://community.java.net/mobileandembedded