Written by: Angana Ghosh, Magnus Olsson and Patrik Persson

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Advances in hardware in mobile handsets are rapidly overcoming computational constraints. Similarly, handset interfaces are improving in terms of quality and usability. At the same time, wireless operators are offering increasingly faster transmission rates for data communication. The table is thus being set, as it were, to provide a feast of innovative and interesting end-user services.

Not all these services are installed in end-user handsets at the time of purchase, but thanks to the adoption of open application environments, more and more handsets can download and upgrade services. Handsets with Java application environments, for example, can download games and other applications over the air.

The authors provide an overview of available open application environments. In particular, they focus on the Java for Micro Edition (JME) standard, a highly popular environment being developed through the Java Community Process (JCP). They also introduce Ericsson Mobile Platform's (EMP) middleware architecture and Open Platform API (OPA), putting emphasis on how OPA and JME provide a complete product offering to Ericsson's customers, including a compelling open application environment that meets wireless operator requirements.

Introduction
The mobile communications industry is becoming increasingly aware of the importance and benefits of open application environments for mobile handsets. In this article, the term open application environment is used to depict environments that allow end users to download third-party applications to their handsets; the underlying operating system (OS) may be proprietary or open (for example, Linux).

Wireless operators want to make use of open application environments because they facilitate the development of a consistent suite of applications that can be customized for a diverse community of end users. The integration of an open application environment on top of a consistent architecture further minimizes the efforts required to port applications between classes of devices. Indeed, to realize a platform for seamless end-user experience that spans across devices from different vendors in a global market, it must be possible to combine a plethora of connectivity features with a network-agnostic application program interface (API). Doing so allows end users to download even more applications and content, resulting in a fully personalized experience that can be extended with new features over time and generations of handsets.