General Session: Being Unique With Sony Ericsson

Wednesday is mobility day at the 2009 JavaOne conference, and Sony Ericsson, one of the pioneers in Java ME technology-based product deployment, was the focus of the morning general session.

Speakers Christopher David, head of developer and partner engagement; Rikko Sakaguchi, head of creation and development; and Patrik Olsson, head of software at Sony Ericsson brought their message to the Java developer community.

Left to right: Christopher David, Rikko Sakaguchi, and Patrik Olsson

Sony Ericsson was founded only seven years ago as a joint venture between Sony of Japan and Ericsson of Sweden. This reflects a global perspective for the mobile handset marketplace. The firm has a presence in 65 countries and employs several thousand people worldwide who focus on creative content and application infrastructure development.

The presentation slides showed the wide variety of Sony Ericsson mobile devices, the many different ways in which they support user input, and the many screens that fit the demands of worldwide markets.

Early in the presentation, Patrik Olsson detailed the history of the company's commitment to Java Platform, Mobile Edition (Java ME) on its handsets, starting with the model T610 in 2003. But early on, Sony Ericsson realized the limitations of that first implementation: It could run only about 25 percent of the mobile Java applications that existed at the time. There was a great push to improve the performance of the handset VMs from that point forward.

The company made steady improvements in handset capabilities to support mobile Java technology and a larger infrastructure to support application developers. Sony Ericsson was among the first manufacturers to deploy a multitasking VM in a handset and was the first to produce a mobile phone that was fully compliant with Mobile Service Architecture (MSA). MSA is defined in JSR 248: a set of advanced APIs that should be available on a richly capable CLDC-based handset.

Sony Ericsson also was among the first to include motion-sensing hardware in handsets. Sony is the developer of the ever-popular PlayStation 3 (PS3) gaming console, which also includes high-definition TV support with the included Blu-ray player. Now Sony Ericsson is exploring the paradigm shift in mobile applications that comes from the interaction between the mobile handset and the PS3. In a live demonstration, the speakers showed Blu-ray audio and video content being streamed by WiFi from a PS3 to a handset. This connection could also be accomplished with a 3G cellular data stream.

This new paradigm allows the developer to think about connecting the user entertainment experience across home and mobile devices. Admittedly, no one yet has been able to fully exploit this connection. The Sony Ericsson vision is a seamless service experience that will require the cooperation of service providers and content developers.

Rikko Sakaguchi, head of creation and development, presented the evolution of the firm's understanding of the end user and what end users want and need in mobile applications. They have learned to think of the device in terms of fashion, color, and texture -- elements that have a subliminal appeal to the consumer -- so end users encourage the developer to think that way too.

This year, the focus of the developer should be "It's all about me." That is what the consumer cares about. The session was filled with creative ideas and inspirational messages that flow from this consumer focus.

As part of its outreach to developers, Sony Ericsson not only provides great target handsets and developer tools support, it also has programs to help developers monetize their efforts. Developers can submit an application to the company, and if it is approved, it will be offered for sale in the company's Application Shop. For years, the company has had a formal developer's program and content submission process. The typical developer's program in the mobile industry is a mixture of free developer's tools and premium tiered memberships that often have subscription fees for preferred or certified developers.

The speakers made a dramatic announcement near the end of the session: Sony Ericsson is changing its developer's program and content submission process and offering everything for free. Just sign up to submit your application, and it will be quickly reviewed for how it fits in with the Sony Ericsson quality guidelines. If it is approved, it can be in front of customers in as little as 30 days. This program is designed to attract great content by streamlining monetization. The revenue will be split on a 70-30 basis between the developer and Sony Ericsson.

Watch the Video Replay
» Sony Ericsson
» Sony Ericsson Application Shop
» General Session Schedule

Do you have comments about this article? We welcome your participation in our community. Please keep your comments civil and on point. You may optionally provide your email address to be notified of replies - your information is not used for any other purpose. By submitting a comment, you agree to these Terms of Use.