Fremont, CA — (press release excerpt) — Insignia Solutions announced today the introduction of Jeode PDA Edition, an implementation of the company's industry-leading Java virtual machine environment that is tailored for the limited memory resources and browsing requirements of Pocket PCs, PDAs, and related handheld devices. Jeode PDA Edition is the first in a series of planned announcements to support Insignia's mobile wireless initiative. Insignia is also aggressively pursuing two other major initiatives for the interactive television and automotive markets.

According to market research firm Venture Development Corporation (VDC), the installed base of PDAs and Pocket PCs is expected to grow from about 16 million this year to almost 70 million by 2005. VDC expects more than 45 percent of all PDAs and Pocket PCs to be Java technology-enabled by that time. Leading companies offering PDAs running on non-Microsoft operating environments include Handspring, Palm, Psion, Research in Motion, Sharp, and Sony. Leading companies offering PDAs running on Microsoft Pocket PC or Windows CE include Casio, Compaq, Group Sagem, Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC, Symbol, and Toshiba.

Jeode PDA Edition incorporates the Jeode EVM runtime engine, a “Sun Authorized Virtual Machine” that is fully compatible with the PersonalJava specification, and supports all PersonalJava 1.2 class libraries, including optional classes. To further support the needs of the PDA community, Insignia has made significant improvements to the start-up time of the Jeode EVM runtime engine by implementing OnAlready technology, which includes pre-loaded PersonalJava core class libraries.

Unlike other JVM providers that have implemented proprietary graphics software layers, the Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) in Jeode PDA Edition has been implemented to leverage each platform's (e.g., Windows CE) native windowing system. This architectural approach preserves the familiar look-and-feel of that environment; enables the use of platform-specific fonts and language support (such as Input Method Editor technology for Japanese, Korean, etc.), and ensures integration with virtual keyboards, such as the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC's touchscreen. Insignia has also implemented a complete implementation of the Java Native Interface (JNI) protocol to allow developers to support platform-specific functionality (e.g., bar code readers, power management, USB port access) through Java classes.

Jeode PDA Edition offers the first JVM environment on the market that provides plug-in support for running Java applets within the Pocket Internet Explorer browser. Jeode PDA Edition also supports other popular browsers for PDAs including Espial Escape, Netclue Clue, Opera 5 for Linux, and Tenik WorldTALK.

Jeode PDA Edition leverages the Insignia's dynamic adaptive compilation (DAC) and precise, concurrent garbage collection technologies to deliver superior performance, and responsive and robust Java application behavior. Insignia also provides developers with the tools they need to configure and tune the Jeode EVM runtime engine and DAC to meet the requirements of each specific device and application.

 
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