Securing the Future of Wireless Java
by Nicki Hayes, June 21, 2002
Java has long been touted as the platform of choice for wireless developers yet there has been little
evidence to date of any compelling wireless applications being developed in J2ME. WDN asks why
and reveals some breaking news that should put a smile on the face of those millions of developers
who would, allegedly, prefer Java.
Cahners In-Stat/MDR predicts that the wireless Java market will grow at a rate of over eighty percent a
year through to 2005. Anyone who, like me, has been doing the rounds of the Java trade shows would
find this statistic hard to believe given the current state of affairs - ie little evidence of any interesting
applications in development other than a selection of simplistic games that can be stored and run
locally.
That’s not to say the developers are to blame, if you look at Sun’s statistics re users of J2ME then “the
will” is definitely there, and given the promise of improved user experience and the “write once run
anywhere” mantra it promotes there’s little wonder. No, the problem has been “the way,” or, to put in
bluntly, the lack of “way”. For, until Java becomes standard for mass-market phones and such phones
can provide the type of security that will enable the development of applications other than games in a
way that makes the user experience more compelling than would currently be so, then the mass appeal
of Java will remain tied to the wired world.
From Monday (24 June) all this could start to change (cue fanfare) with the launch of a new public key
toolkit designed specifically for wireless devices running Java applications. Known as NTRU Neo for
Java, this toolkit from NTRU Cryptosystems (http://www.ntru.com) encrypts data on transfer and
provides user authentication. Because its footprint is less than 5KB it can easily run in constrained
devices such as mobile phones and PDAs without much memory overhead for applications. Add to this
that it performs at speeds up to 100times faster than traditional systems and you can see why it would
help make the delivery of wireless Java applications on low end, mass-market devices a reality.
The Tao Group (http://www.tao-group.com)is one organization that has been quick to realise the
importance of this new technology. Tao has developed intent®, a Universal Multimedia Platform now
used by many of the leading electronics manufacturers in their client products for home and mobile
networks. Intent® is Java based and has been specified as the platform of choice by the Open Contents
Platform Association (OCPA) launched successfully in Japan last year by Kyocera, JVC and Sharp.
The OCPA now has more than sixty member companies, all using Tao’s intent ® platform.
“Tao Group’s intent is to achieve the world’s fastest Java-compliant implementations,” said Francis
Charig, executive chairman of the Tao Group. “NTRU Neo Java is the ideal complement, bringing
strong, fast and small security to our platform. The combination brings a complete range of
functionality to embedded Java application developers.”
“The old technologies that are competing with Neo Java are simply too heavyweight to be practical.
We believe the speed and lightweight nature of the NTRU technology is fundamental,” she added.
Warren Wilson, Wireless Practice director at Boston-based Summit Strategies agrees. "With its new
Neo Java offering, NTRU addresses two of the most important requirements for mass adoption of
wireless applications and services --strong security and platform portability," he said.
"Java - specifically J2ME -- is rapidly becoming the de facto platform for mobile and wireless devices
from smart phones to PDAs, and NTRU's high-performance, small-footprint encryption technology is
well-suited to protect even the most sensitive information on these resource-constrained devices.
Wireless carriers, device makers and application developers will all appreciate this combination of
capabilities."
So, does this mean that I can attend the next round of Java shows without running the risk of returning
bored and story less?
“NeoJava brings powerful security for the first time to wireless devices and applications. It will enable
the development of secure, Java-based business and financial wireless applications such as wireless
banking, payment and media distribution. So, hopefully you’ll be safe to attend future Java shows and
may even come home inspired and with a few good stories!” advised Guy Singh, NTRU’s director of
wireless.
I hope he’s right!
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About the author:
Nicki Hayes is The Wireless Developer Network's (www.wirelessdevnet.com) European correspondent and the part-time judge part-time jester of its new online debate -
Holding Court. Nicki also takes on freelance writing and corporate communication projects relating to business to business internet and wireless issues and has
contributed editorial to a number of publications including Unstrung.com, Wireless Business & Technology, Guardian Online, Financial Times, Banking &
Financial Training, eAI Journal and Secure Computing.
About the WirelessDevNet (www.wirelessdevnet.com):
The Wireless Developer Network is an on-line community for information technology
professionals interested in mobile computing and communications. Our mission is to assist
developers, strategists, and managers in bridging the gap between today's desktop and
enterprise applications and tomorrow's mobile users communicating via wireless networks.
We are interested in supporting the deployment of these evolving technologies through
high-quality technical information, news, industry coverage, and commentary. This
information is provided within a true on-line community that supports developer/vendor
dialogue through message boards and user-submitted tips, articles, links, and software
downloads.
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