The cell phone market has been a bright spot for Java, a Sun-inspired initiative aimed at fostering alternatives to Microsoft by creating interoperable software standards for the PC and beyond.

Why create a Java-based phone OS, when the mid- and high-tier mobile phone market appears to be locked in a three-way battle among Symbian, Windows Mobile, and Linux?

Compatibility is the supreme priority. You have to be able to write to one (Java-based) phone, or server, or desktop and have (your code) run on all of them,” he said.

Two of Europe's largest mobile phone operators have quietly invested in a U.S. software startup developing a new operating system based on Java technology. The investments highlight the growing ...

Firefox users can disable Java in the browser via the “Plugins” tab of the Add-ons menu. Mac OS X machines ship with their own versions of Java, which Apple updates from time to time.

Sun allies complete a second version of Java software for cell phones that they hope will fill gaps left by the first, but many see challenges in moving to the new technology.