Comment: Handhelds converge on Java

PDAs have never made great inroads into firms. An early reason for this was incompatibility between the different operating-system platforms. Once you had committed to Palm OS, Pocket PC, Symbian, or one of the more niche operating systems, it was all or nothing. Equip your entire workforce with the same type of device, or be prepared to support multiple versions of mobile applications and synchronisation tools.

To add to the confusion, the PDA market has become less clear-cut over the last couple of years. After its early innovations, Palm struggled to keep pace with rival Pocket PC, making the one-time market leader less of an obvious choice. With Palm OS 5.0, the newly independent PalmSource has raised functionality back to a level where Palm devices can compete with Pocket PC 2002 in terms of capabilities. However, the platform now also faces a small but significant threat from Linux-powered devices such as the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500.

But the Zaurus SL-5500 has its own problems. Unusually for the Linux world, Sharp decided not to release the source code for its customised version of the Embedix Plus PDA operating system it runs on the device. One of the main strengths of the Linux open-source community has always been collaborative problem-solving, so by keeping the source code off-limits, Sharp reduced the effectiveness of one of Linux's best support channels. Recent security holes found in the Zaurus platform will also do nothing to improve its prospects.

Despite the current minority status of Linux in the handheld world, the Zaurus could be an attractive option because of its native support for Java applications. By using a programming language familiar to many developers, and one that offers good compatibility with back-end systems, the Zaurus should have had wide appeal at the time of its release. PalmSource has now caught up by introducing Java capabilities in Palm OS 5.0; and licensees of Microsoft's Pocket PC 2002 bundle third-party Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) with their devices.

Broader Java support may be the saving grace for PDAs. Java could solve one of the main problems for enterprise PDAs, by allowing cross-platform interoperability. In the past, building conduits or applications that enabled PDAs to function as part of a network meant developing two, or more, separate code bases for Palm OS and Pocket PC devices. The only other alternative was to standardise on one platform, and gamble that it would continue to provide the best solution.

Microsoft will argue that support for mobile developers in its Visual Studio.Net toolkit simplifies integration with back-end systems both for Palm and Pocket PC 2002. But it still doesn't offer the write-once, run-anywhere simplicity of Java - and Visual Studio.Net support is a relatively new innovation.

Wider support for Java could help firms to use PDAs, by offering a common language shared across devices, regardless of whether they run Linux, Pocket PC 2002 or Palm OS. With more Java support, companies could choose the best PDA for each user, rather than being tied by operating system and application compatibility.

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