14 DAY TRIAL // Sun Microsystems announced that its JavaFX Mobile platform has been released. The new JavaFX Mobile is built around the previous Java ME platform and is meant to offer developers a means of creating immersive mobile content while also allowing them to enhance their existing investment in Java.
The new platform delivers a unified development and deployment model for a wide range of rich applications for desktops, browsers or mobile devices. According to Sun developer Joshua Marinacci, “When you write JavaFX desktop apps with the common profile you are also writing for mobile devices. Desktop and mobile aren’t different platforms.”
He continued by saying “It struck me this morning how much of a big deal this is. I don’t know anything about Java ME, but I know JavaFX. Even though I’m not a mobile developer I can write mobile apps with JavaFX. I couldn’t do that before. One SDK, one set of tools, one language, one set of APIs. There is no JavaFX Mobile. There is only JavaFX.”
According to him, JavaFX brings a fundamental change in what the development of user interfaces for Java applications is concerned. He compares JavaFX with Swing 2.0, the company's preferred API for the development of user interfaces for Desktop applications, although it is not supported on Java ME. On the other hand, JavaFX is supported on all systems.
Sun managed to partner with a wide range of companies for the development of JavaFX-enabled devices, including Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, Orange, Sprint, Cynergy, and MobiTV. Some of them also expressed their feelings regarding today's announcement.
“Sony Ericsson expects that JavaFX will have a great impact on the mobile content ecosystem and plan to bring JavaFX to a significant part of our product portfolio,” stated Rikko Sakaguchi, corporate vice president and head of creation and development at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
“We look forward to being the first company to deliver a JavaFX enabled handset so we can build new and exciting features that benefit our customers,” sayd Woo-Young Kwak, executive vice president, head of LG Mobile Handset R&D Center at LG Electronics, Inc.
“Sprint, in its continued support of an open framework and ecosystem, views JavaFX as an additional strategic platform in its open toolkit,” noted Mathew Oommen, vice president, device and technology development, Sprint. According to Cedric Fernandes, vice president, Technology at MobiTV, “JavaFX really allows us to leverage our Java ME investment, and reinforce our core mobile video streaming value proposition.”
More information can be found on the JavaFX Mobile website.