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SAN FRANCISCO—Sun Microsystems Inc. executives Tuesday at the opening session of JavaOne here outlined what they feel is an exciting new chapter in Java.
Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of software for the Santa Clara., Calif., company, showed off a new Java logo and “Java Powered” branding campaign, which if it catches on the way Intel Corp.s “Intel Inside” campaign did, Scott McNealy & Co. will be very happy.
The new brand and logo and “Java everywhere” campaign are not just designed to appeal to the masses who want Java games streamed over their handhelds. Rather, the campaign will attempt to unify all Java platforms, from the enterprise J2EE to the standard J2SE to mobile J2ME to JavaCards. Schwartz said the company is working to create a single Java System that can leverage each part of the Java platform to create new market opportunities for developers.
“The opportunity for Java growing the market is everywhere, to create the best sites, devices, games, stores, Web games, smart cards and security,” Schwartz said. “The net effect is the stunning fact that Java has 85 percent brand awareness among users around the world who use the Internet.
Schwartz asked the thousands in attendance at the Moscone Center here to do Java a favor, now that Microsoft has been required to pull Java from Windows distributions. He asked all developers to stick the new “Get Java” button on every page, which will lead users to the newly redesigned Sun site, Java.com, for the latest Java runtimes and applications.
“Get the word out,” Schwartz said. “If you are a games developer or a content site, or in financial services, the Get Java button can proliferate the logo and the opportunity that the folks want to live in.”
Earlier in the keynote session, Sun chief scientist John Gage pointed out how pervasive Java has become, such as its in use in all Fortune 500 companies, though most of us dont see it in our daily lives. Schwartz pointed out that 17.6 million visitors to the Electronic Arts site played 8.2 billion minutes of Java games.
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No longer is Java just about the enterprise, or niche markets of handhelds, Schwartz said. Java is and can be everywhere. Guy Lawrence, CEO of global content services for Vodafone, has seen an explosion of Java-enabled handhelds and said it has already sold 1 million Java phones in Japan.
Sun CTO John Fowler said each piece of the Java platform is getting improved as the company strives to build the single Java System. The goals are to improve it, make it faster, and get it into the hands of 10 million developers. “We want to evolve the power and richness and tools, and simplify the complexity of the Java System,” he said.
For a company that has struggled with its Java branding campaigns as much as it has struggled with standards bodies and Microsoft, the new campaign has to be good news to users.
“Java means a new way of interacting with consumers, giving them new experiences,” Schwartz said. “We are building one butt-kicking platform, with collaboration, a new electrified brand, more market opportunities, more fun, more money.”