Now we know why Sun Microsystems Inc boss Scott McNealy has been going around urging telecommunications executives to build Java into telephones (CI No 2,885). Today Sun will announce it’s snagged Northern Telecom (Nortel) to build new versions of its PowerTouch screen-based telephone with Java-powered chips in them. Nortel is Sun Microelectronics’ first public licensee. Nortel will begin building the Javaphones in the summer for residential, enterprise and wireless applications. Customer trials of the phone with Nortel’s PCS wireless services will begin next year. Nortel says consumers will be able to access the Internet using the client/server telephones and the two companies plan to promote their platform to ISVs and service developers, claiming they’ll be able to provide customized services and Web applications for end users and differentiation for services providers. The example they give is of a realtor using a Java- driven wireless or deskphone to call into an Internet database and retrieve a description, price and photo of a property. They will also target travel reservations, directory services, e-mail, fax, and voice access. It wasn’t clear at press time whether Nortel will be using Sun’s picoJava core in a processor of its own choosing or Sun’s own microJava implementation. The picoJava core implement’s the Java Virtual Machine; Sun says the core will enable sub-$25 Java-optimized processors to be created to go into cellular phones, printers and other consumer and peripheral products. PicoJava should be ready for licensing in June. Sun will embed PicoJava into its own first two chip implementations: microJava and UltraJava. MicroJava adds input-output, memory, communications and control functions, creating processors costing $25 to $100, and Sun is targeting the likes of games and network controllers. The first microJava samples are expected early next year. UltraJava is aimed squarely at the top-of-the-line multimedia and three-dimensional graphics-type applications.
