If the concept of Mobile Java has you scratching your head and pondering cups of coffee on the run, read our guide to what's what in the world of mobile programming environments.
At the International Consumer Electronics Show in January, Microsoft founder Bill Gates discussed Moore's Law, which postulates that computing processors were doubling in power every two years.
Another way of looking at it, he said in his keynote, was that the chip required for a "particular level of richness" would drop by half every two years.
"And so this means that we can take microprocessors and put them everywhere. Now, for US$4 to US$8 the kind of intelligence we get in the microprocessor is far beyond the original PC," he said.
He concluded that smart devices would be common, and that this was a "real mindset change for the hardware industry" as software will be required in all kinds of devices. Gates' observation is echoed in Microsoft's move into smart phones and mobile devices.
Indeed, as phones become more and more powerful, it is possible today for a user to download an application that translates a foreign language or tells the weather. Alternatively, he might choose to download a high-quality, colorful game from the Web.
Java allows users to do just that.
| Intro | History of Java | Handsets | BREW | Developers | Conclusion |
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