Motorola General Session Explores Java Technology and Mobile: The Next Big Thing

By Steven Meloan

As wireless broadband, personalized entertainment, and peer-to-peer communication continue to merge, mobile devices are experiencing an explosive period of growth and evolution -- and appear to be the next likely landing spot for such technologies. Ten times as many people bought cell phones in 2004 as bought personal computers. And there are now well over 500 million Java technology-enabled phones in the world -- with over 70 percent of wireless applications under construction using the Java technology runtime environment.

As a Fortune 100 company, with sales of over USD $36.8 billion in 2005, Motorola sees Java technology as an important key to enabling the next big things in mobile, including its own Seamless Mobility initiative -- easy, uninterrupted access to the communication, information, and entertainment you want anywhere, anytime, on any device or technology. In Thursday's General Session (May 18, 5:15 to 6:00 p.m.), Rob Shaddock, corporate vice president and chief technology officer, Mobile Devices Business, Motorola, Inc., and Christy Wyatt, vice president, Ecosystem and Market Development, Mobile Devices Business, Motorola, Inc., will discuss "Java and Mobile: The Next Big Thing" -- examining not only the technology but the business ecosystem needed to support and monetize change.

Shaddock and Wyatt will explore Java technology as a deployment platform for powerful new mobile applications and ways to best enable the Java technology development community to drive innovations for the next generation of must-have devices. They will also introduce Motorola's new MOTODEV developer program, chartered with establishing a broad business and developer ecosystem that will speed the pace of innovation while creating new business channels and revenue streams.

Most innovations, Shaddock believes, will come from "enabling technology." For example, advances in radio technology are on the brink of changing the way a mobile device connects with the Internet. Many devices are becoming multimodal and beginning to incorporate WiFi. Speed is also a factor. New high-speed data technologies -- such as High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and 1x Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO) Rev A -- are bringing DSL-like speeds to the mobile device, causing carriers to optimize their networks for efficient low-latency delivery of data. Next-generation services such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) take that one step further in performance and cost reduction. With a fast, direct connection to the Internet, these services will challenge the existing operator data services and create new opportunities for developers.

There are many more opportunities -- along with the associated challenges they create. Shaddock states: "One of the core challenges mobile developers face today is the ever-increasing pace of development in the mobile device business. Manufacturers leverage new technology to make the cell phone not only the de facto voice communication device but the de facto mobile device to manage and share your content and interact with the digital environment."

Standardization is sometimes slow to keep pace with the rate of introduction of new technologies. Additionally, manufacturers continue to believe that enabling some features not available in a competitive product will create substantial differentiation. In practice, this has slowed innovation on a broad scale across the mobile device universe and has effectively discouraged the kind of entrepreneurship associated with the wired Internet. This all boils down to increased complexity for the developer.

This is where Wyatt and her team step in. To create must-have products and applications that are both innovative and easy to use, developer initiatives and communities play a vital role. With this goal in mind, Motorola recently announced the launch of MOTODEV, an integrated developer resource that combines Motorola-wide tools and technical support with the establishment of a broad business ecosystem -- including developers, service providers, and business and channel allies. The MOTODEV community will speed the pace of innovation while growing and managing new business opportunities.

MOTODEV combines Motorola's existing developer initiatives -- MOTOCODER, iDEN, and Horizon -- into a seamless web site, giving developers access to all things MOTO, from mobile devices to digital set-top boxes. Registration on the MOTODEV online portal provides the following:

• Motorola's development tools, sample code, and software development kits (SDKs)
• A full online library of documentation, device specifications, developer guides, media guides, and white papers
• A searchable online technical knowledge base
• Technical support engineering experts to answer development questions
• Invitations to workshops and special events
• Mobile-device loaner program
• Monthly MOTODEV newsletter to keep you up-to-date

Upcoming phases of the MOTODEV initiative will introduce new business services to help developers build and market their applications, provide richer technical services, and establish a robust open developer community.

As an example of supporting innovation among the Java technology developer community, Motorola is bringing its premier coding competition, 2006://CODE:MOTO, to the 2006 JavaOne(SM) conference. Don't miss your chance to develop an application that might become the world's next big thing on mobile devices. The contest has two categories:

• Best Java technology gaming/multimedia application
• Best Java technology productivity application (consumer and/or enterprise)

Submissions must run on one or more of the following devices: RAZR, SLVR, PEBL, or iDEN.

Developers can either code their entries ahead of time or create their masterpieces while at the Conference. Motorola is providing an on-site lab, high-end workstations, Motorola technical support engineers, and plenty of food and drink to keep you coding!

You can submit contest entries May 16 and 17, and the winners will be announced at the Motorola General Session, May 18, at 5:15 p.m. Each contest category will boast a grand prize and runner-up winner.

The grand prize package will include marketing exposure from Motorola and promotion on the MOTODEV site; one-on-one meetings with each judge to discuss channel opportunities; onstage recognition during the Motorola General Session; RAZR, PEBL, SLVR, and i870 mobile devices; a $500 prize; and a commemorative plaque.

The runner-up package will include marketing exposure from Motorola and promotion on the MOTODEV site, one-on-one meetings with each judge to discuss channel opportunities, onstage recognition during the Motorola General Session, one of the mobile devices featured in the competition, and a commemorative plaque.

To experience the new MOTODEV developer network firsthand and learn more about the 2006://CODE:MOTO contest, visit www.motorola.com/developer.