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Appliances brew Java with Kona (JavaOS)

Consumer electronic devices based on Java are on their way

By George Lawton, JavaWorld.com, 07/09/96

If Sun has its way, your coffeemaker will not be the only thing brewing java in the near future. Sun is spearheading a number of initiatives that will put Java into just about everything.

On the hardware side, Sun has designed a line of Java microprocessors, called picoJava, microJava, and UltraJava. It has already started licensing picoJava to a number of other vendors for inclusion in their own products.

Companies that are satisfied with their existing chips, or that want to improve their time to market, are porting the Java Virtual Machine to their own operating system so that it can support Java. If they are willing to use a SPARC or x86 chip for their device or network computer, they can use the JavaOS from Sun. In addition, a large number of vendors are planning on porting JavaOS to just about every platform imaginable.

Java chips get real

One of the key factors driving Sun into the Java chip business is the utility of Java, and the expected growth of this market. A study by In-Stat Inc., conducted in February 1995, indicated that the embedded processor market is slated to grow from 3.5 billion in 1996 to 4.5 billion by the year 2000.

To take advantage of this growing market, Sun announced it is designing a line of Java microprocessors. At the low end, a sub-5 picoJava chip has been designed for cellular phones, printers, and other consumer electronics. At the beginning of next year, Sun will release the first microJava prototypes, with better graphics and performance than picoJava, and with a price range of 5 to 0. By the end of next year, Sun will start testing UltraJava for advanced 3-D and multimedia applications.

"There is not a pervasive standard or base in the microcontroller world," said Chet Silvestri, president of Sun Microelectronics. "We think Java will change that. In the microcontroller world, OS portability, power consumption, and size are the dominant factors for the processors incorporated into products. There is more than just computers on the network. Everything is getting wired -- printers, copiers, fax machines. PicoJava is a small core that can be licensed for many applications. We want to open the floodgates and work with some partners that can create vast markets."

At the JavaOne conference, Sun Microelectronics announced it has started licensing the picoJava core to others. Representatives from LG Semiconductor, Mitsubishi, Northern Telecom (Nortel), Rockwell International, Samsung, and Xerox announced plans to incorporate Java into a variety of products for end users and OEMs.

"We agree completely ... that there will be a significant amount of silicon cast in Java, and it really could not have come at a better time considering the current state of the DRAM industry," said John Zucker, senior vice president of Mitsubishi Electronics of America. "We are looking to ship a lot of silicon with Java over the next couple of years. This also gives us the ability to extend Java across our entire product line. The silicon supplier not only has to be aware of process technology and packaging, we also have to be familiar with the system aspects, so it is quite a responsibility. We look at Java as the tool that will allow us to move into that area."

 

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