Mobile Rules--A panel of experts discusses the challenges and approaches
in providing Java on small, mobile devices.

MOBILE RULES Panelists Discuss Techniques and Challenges in Providing
JavaTM Technology on Wireless Devices

by Ed Ort

March 26, 2002 -- The universe of JavaTM technology on mobile devices
is expanding dramatically. New announcements related to Java technology
on cell phones, PDAs, and other "embedded'' devices are made almost
every day. While this creates tremendous new growth areas for device
providers and enticing opportunities for Java application developers,
it also presents some unique obstacles. Small footprints, low price
points, and reduced screen sizes all make the task of providing Java
technology on mobile devices challenging.

The challenges and solutions in this exciting area of Java technology
was the focus of a panel discussion titled "Hardware/SoftwareTechniques
for Providing Java in Embedded Devices" (BUS-2937). Markus Levy, senior
analyst for the Microprocessor Report (http://www.mdronline.com/), and
the publication's resident Java processor/Java acceleration expert
moderated the discussion.

The panelists represented a diverse group of companies, some providing
Java software solutions focusing on the Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition
(J2METM), others providing hardware (some of these also providing
software) on which Java technology runs in embedded devices. On the
software side of the panel were representatives from JAMDAT Mobile and
Research In Motion. On the hardware side of the panel were speakers
from ARM, Intel, and Zucotto Wireless.

Although the panelists essentially agreed on what constituted the
challenges they faced in providing Java technology in embedded devices,
they differed -- sometimes dramatically -- in how to meet those
challenges.

Special Challenges

Levy kicked off the discussion with his take on the major challenges.
These included:

- Higher quality graphics. "This is pretty much a no-brainer. A lot of
people are putting a lot of creative resources into how you make things
look good when you put an application on a real screen for a cell
phone."

- More dynamic applications and richer content. "This is a very
difficult challenge in the mobile, wireless arena."

- Cost. "This is probably the single most overwhelming factor.
Associated with that is the memory footprint -- on these tiny devices,
you are limited in the amount of resources you have available."

- Performance and battery life. "You want to use techniques that employ
good applications, but you also want to make sure that the battery life
in your cell phone, PDA, or whatever is extended."

As might be expected from a diverse group like this, panelists
presented various, and sometimes quite different, solutions to meet
these special challenges.

Hardware Side Speaks

Here's some of what the hardware side of the panel had to say.

Rod Crawford, director of Third Party Software for ARM, cited his
company's objective in hitting "the sweet spot between performance,
cost, and power consumption." ARM is a vendor of reduced instruction
set computer (RISC) microprocessors, and so Crawford focused on
hardware solutions. For example, he cited the recent extension to the
ARM architecture that allows approximately 130 Java bytecodes to be
executed natively in the ARM core without the need for a coprocessor
(and thus without the need for the power that a coprocessor would
consume).

Paul McAlinden, strategic marketing manager for Intel's Handheld
Computing Division, also focused on the hardware end of the solutions
spectrum by highlighting Intel's XScale micro architecture as an
excellent choice for the Java platform, especially for multimedia and
graphics applications on small devices.  But he also added a software
solution perspective by contending that while bytecode translation is a
valid method of Java acceleration for some classes of devices, emerging
Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler technologies and adaptive compiler
technologies offer the best balance of power and performance.

Guillaume Comeau, chief integration architect for Zucotto Wireless,
took what appeared to be the middle ground by noting that it's very
difficult to make system design decisions if you only look at the
hardware piece of the system or only the software piece of the system.
You have to look at both.

Software Side Counters

The panelists on the software side then added their insights.

Eric Wilson, vice president of infrastructure for JAMDAT Mobile, cited
portability as his special challenge. A major part of JAMDAT Mobile's
business is providing entertainment products such as games on handheld
devices. "We have a special challenge in building applications for the
multitude of handsets that are out there. There are lots and lots of
issues, such as differences in screen sizes, resolutions, pixel depth,
color resolutions, and processor speed." However, Wilson did underscore
the fact that Java technology on the J2ME platform makes things easier
and that J2ME is highly portable across devices for which JAMDAT builds
applications.

Levy asked if the companies that provide software solutions take
advantage of the specific characteristics of a device.

Jay Steele, the director of graphics architecture for Research In
Motion, mentioned that his group provides very generalized applications
that are meant to solve a general graphics problem. The applications
are client-server in nature so that whenever there's an issue of
customizing or tailoring content for devices, it's handled on the
server side. The client sends a message to the server, identifying the
type and characteristics of the specific device.

Eric Wilson's viewpoint is that because the memory on a cell phone is
precious, efficient use of those resources is at a premium. He went on
to say that "What we found is that if we had the overhead of detecting
device capabilities, it squeezes out a lot of the space we'd like to
use for other things like graphics. So what we wound up doing is really
tailoring each application for each device. As you can tell, that's a
lot of work."

Difference Is Good

Clearly, there is no one way to solve the problems posed by embedding
Java applications in small, mobile devices.  And that's good. Different
perspectives make for more creative approaches, inevitably leading to
better products and applications for consumers. So "vive la
difference."