A mobile phone software vendor will ally with a commercial Linux provider to produce a Java/Linux software stack for mobile phones. Esmertec has chosen MontaVista Linux as the reference operating system for its Jbed Advanced multitasking J2ME platform, and will market the combined solution to phone manufacturers.

MontaVista Linux has previously been used in several mobile phones and mobile phone designs, including Motorola's E680, A768, and A780, as well as a NEC's N900iL and Panasonic's P901i. Motorola's smartphone strategy revolves around Java, with Linux chosen as the best OS to pair with Java, the company has said repeatedly. More than a quarter of Motorola's new phones for 2005 are expected to run Linux.

Esmertec sells software for mobile phones and telecom equipment, including J2ME-based wireless Java products and an “object-oriented software platform” (OSVM). Esmertec was listed among small but emerging companies in the high-growth market for Java in consumer electronics devices in a late-2003 report. Esmertec's Jbed J2ME (Java 2 micro edition) has supported MontaVista Linux since June of 2001.

Esmertec describes its Jbed J2ME platform as an open, reliable, and interoperable multitasking Java environment optimized for mobile handsets and wireless products.

Esmertec's senior VP of strategic marketing, Christophe Francois, said, “This will enable device manufacturers, operators and application providers to further accelerate market growth for consumer multimedia services.”

MontaVista's VP of marketing, Peder Ulander, said, “Together, we will provide a fully open, standards-based mobile software platform for the wireless industry.”

 
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