At the recent JavaOne conference in San Francisco, Sun President and CEO Jonathan Schwartz repeated one message over and over: “Java is everywhere.” And with billions of electronic devices running Java platforms, you have to admit he has got a point.

The Java suite of software has been around for a mere 14 years, but in that time it has managed to get itself onto 2.6 billion mobile devices, 1 billion desktops, millions of set-top boxes and countless other new devices, such as BluRay DVD players, voice-over-IP phones and navigation equipment.

There were some major announcements at this year’s JavaOne, including the launch of the Java Store, an applications marketplace targeting the 6.5 million application developers using Java around the world. On the mobile side of the business, Sun announced a major release of JavaFX, a compliment to the existing JavaME platform, which is running on an increasingly large percentage of mobile devices.

But Java’s ubiquity was probably the most dominating message from both Sun and its partners.

Alan Brenner, senior vice president of Research in Motion, a leading smartphone manufacturer, was a special guest at this year’s JavaOne. He pointed out that every one of the 25 million Blackberry devices in the market today is running Java.

Lowell McAdam, president and CEO of Verizon Wireless, announced at the conference that, starting in July 2009, his company would open up its network elements to the Java developer community. With 86 million subscribers Verizon Wireless is the largest mobile operator in the US. McAdam said that giving developers access to network information such as presence and location would let them create compelling new applications.

During the opening keynote sessions, Sun also presented its vision for expanding upon the nearly 3 billion mobile devices that are already running Java. Eric Klein, vice president of Java software marketing at Sun, said that the rise of “connected devices” – netbooks, gaming stations and new types of set top boxes – would be the next major frontier for Java and its developers.

David Francisco
 
Ericsson JavaOne event page
JavaOne Conference homepage
JavaOne Mobility Session
Sun Java Store press release