PalmOne Treo Gets Java Support

The move comes after palmOne added Java support for its Tungsten handhelds earlier this year.

"This is a native ARM version of the application of the runtime environment of Java, so it's very fast," said David Williams, product line manager for wireless and enterprise software at Milpitas, Calif.-based palmOne. "It has been expanded so that developers writing wireless applications can now write them for the Treo 600."

IBM last week released a beta of the new version of its WebSphere Micro Environment Toolkit for Palm OS developers through the palmOne PluggedIn developer Web site.

Jermone Liss, a developer at Digital Dispatcher, a wireless solution provider, said the new release expands the number of devices that his company's location-based services for fleet fueling and oil delivery can support.

Digital Dispatcher, Philadelphia, currently offers its software on Java-enabled telephones, but those phones' network availability remains limited primarily to Nextel.

"Being able to use a Palm-type platform, in general, gives us more flexibility in what services we can provide," Liss said. "Moving to the Treo gives us an all-in-one unit with performance that's really not compromised."

Developers can download the free WebSphere Micro Environment Toolkit,including the beta of the MIDP 2.0 toolkit and the existing MIDP 1.0 toolkit,from palmOne's Web site. The MIDP 2.0 runtime is scheduled to become available for the Treo 600 Smartphones and the Tungsten handhelds next spring and is slated to cost $5.99 for Treo 600 users.