• PC World
• » Networking & Wireless

SAN FRANCISCO -- Every technology conference has its call to action, and the JavaOne Developer Conference taking place this week did not fall short in this regard. Vendors here have rallied around the concept of building a new class of Java applications that can be delivered wirelessly to cell phones and handheld computing devices.

Though developers attending JavaOne have heard the call, many said they're putting on hold any plans to answer it.

"Hype always rules first," said Shawn McKenna, a software engineer with Modesto, California, software maker Synovation, which makes software for county criminal justice systems. "There's been a lot of talk about wireless here. Wireless may be the future, but right now it's just hype."

Major telecommunication carriers, including Sprint PCS Group and Nextel Communications, have generated their share of hype. Sprint delivered a new set of tools for Java developers to use in building applications that would be delivered to cell phones over the Sprint PCS 3G network, which is set to launch in the United States around June of this year, executives from the company said.

Enterprises Wary of Wireless

Despite the push from carriers, with an initial focus on developing consumer applications such as video games, enterprise developers attending JavaOne seemed cautious about enabling their corporate applications to be accessed over wireless networks.

Martin Hanf, managing director of Finance Online GmbH, a banking software consulting firm based in Zurich, said a number of concerns about the state of Java-based wireless technology hold him back from recommending such technology to his customers, which include banks and insurance companies.

"Some of our customers have an interest in wireless, but I can't say the level of security is ready," Hanf said. "How do you prevent your data from getting into the wrong hands?"

Ashish Ahuja, a senior application architect for Kemper Insurance, based in Long Grove, Illinois, expressed a similar uneasiness over the level of security available in the current wave of development tools.

"Security, I guess, is the biggest concern right now," said Ahuja, who has been looking at wireless application development for about three months.

The Java specifications that enable developers to build applications delivered over wireless networks to Java-enabled devices are lacking in security, some developers said. One sign that additional security support is needed is clear in the announcement from Sprint PCS regarding the new version of its wireless toolkit released here. The company has included its own set of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) in its tools to add security protocols for building wireless applications, according to John Yuzdepski, vice president and general manager of SprintPCS.com.

Economy Hinders Wireless Development

Aside from security concerns, the cost of developing new corporate applications poses a risk to quick adoption. The ongoing slump in the IT industry has not helped, Ahuja said.

"Because of budget issues, we're not doing any wireless development," he said, reflecting on customer trends in the insurance industry. "If we can convince our customers that it will help in the field--for instance, allow claim adjusters to access data on a handheld--then we'll do it."

Simmule Turner, director of product development with Dallas-based finance software maker BancTec, has been intrigued by the extent of wireless talk in the developer community, but he has yet to see it trickle down to the BancTec customers who would be the technology's end users.

"We're looking to see how we can use wireless in the enterprise," Turner said.

Among the ideas that BancTec has tossed around are the possibility of allowing engineers who monitor large banking systems or manage data to receive information on wireless devices rather than having to sit behind a console all day, Turner said.

"The problem is we have to first show a bank that it's going to get some kind of benefit from its investment," he said.

Return on investment is a battle cry from Research In Motion (RIM), which announced new support for Java on its BlackBerry device at JavaOne. During a keynote address Wednesday, RIM CEO Jim Balsillie, detailed how providing support for Java in its products will allow RIM's corporate customers to extend their applications easily to be accessed on the BlackBerry.

Since nearly 13,000 corporate customers use BlackBerry devices inside the corporate firewall to access e-mail and send text messages, Balsillie said, the promise of Java on small devices will only make it more enticing for the enterprise.

"We're drinking water from a firehose of opportunity," Balsillie said.

• See more like this:
• Java,
• cell,
• phones,
• PDAs,
• applications,
• JavaOne,
• Sprint