New Java Platform 8 (JP-8) phones supporting MSA: K850 Cyber-shot and W910 Walkman

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June 15, 2007

New Java™ Platform 8 (JP-8) phones supporting MSA: K850 Cyber-shot™ and W910 Walkman®

On June 14, 2007, Sony Ericsson announced two new mobile phones based on Sony Ericsson's Java Platform 8 (JP-8) which supports Mobile Services Architecture (MSA), the next-generation Java umbrella standard (JSR 248).

The K850 is mobile Cyber-shot phone featuring a 5 megapixel camera with a new camera UI and media browser. The W910 is a Walkman mobile phone designed for entertainment, be it music, 3D games, video or web access. Both phones have 3G and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network support, delivering data at speeds comparable to or better than fixed-line broadband access systems. And both phones include an accelerometer accessible through the Mobile Sensor API (JSR 256) – below you'll find screenshots from THQ Wireless' preloaded Marble Madness game which makes use of JSR 256 in game play.

K850 Cyber-shot phone.

Java Platform 8 (JP-8) supports a range of new Java programming features including instant messaging/chat and presence based functionality, handling banking, payment transactions, user identification and authentication through secure encryption technology, mapping and other location-aware applications.

K850 Cyber-shot phone
The K850 Cyber-shot mobile phone delivers the picture quality and user experience that you would expect in a stand-alone digital camera. In support of its 5 megapixel camera, the K850 includes an innovative photo auto-rotate feature that displays pictures in the correct aspect (portrait or landscape) irrespective of the orientation it was taken in. The new media browser collects all stored media (photos, videos, music or podcasts) in one location accessible from one menu icon.

This HSDPA/UMTS phone includes a 320x240 pixel 262K TFT display, 38MB internal memory with extendable external storage using Memory Stick Micro, picture & video blogging, full HTML browser benefiting from HSDPA broadband speed, and impressive music and video players.

The K850 will be available during Q4 2007. The K858 is a GSM variant specifically for the Chinese market where 3G services are not established. More information and specifications here>>

W910 Walkman phone
In a slimline,"slider" form factor, the stylish W910 Walkman phone takes games and music playing to the next level – the Shake control uses the accelerometer for game play or music track selection and the SensMe feature allows end-users to browse music files using tempo and style. The W910 includes the latest version of Sony Ericsson's PlayNow mobile download service (PlayNow 4.0) which gives other-the-air access to an extensive catalog of games, mastertones and music tracks from Sony BMG.

In addition to the latest version of the Walkman player (Walkman 3.0), the W910 has a 320x240 pixel 262K TFT QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, 40MB internal memory, Memory Stick Micro removable storage, picture & video blogging, new Media Manager PC software and A/B buttons for landscape mode gaming.

The W910 will be available during Q4 2007. The W918 is a GSM variant specifically for the Chinese market where 3G services are not established. More information and specifications here>>

Mobile Services Architecture (MSA)
Both the K850 and W910 are based on JP-8 which supports the MSA umbrella standard (JSR 248). MSA aims to reduce fragmentation for the Java community in two ways:

MSA defines a clear set of component JSRs that must be supported (mandatory JSRs) on next-generation mobile phones.
MSA gives less room for interpretation in the implementation of the JSRs by clarifying the conditions for interaction between them and for optional JSRs.

W910 Walkman phone.

The mandatory APIs supported through MSA include 3D graphics, personal information management, Bluetooth™, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), web services, location services and payment services for Java ME (Micro Edition). Sony Ericsson has supported several of these APIs in its earlier Java Platform versions but with MSA there is finally industry alignment and a clear set of expectations on the implementation of these JSRs. With MSA, the mass-market mobile phone becomes an increasingly capable platform for enterprise development and it will be possible to ensure secure data storage and communication and create new innovative applications.

MSA reduces variations in the platform environment and creates a predictable environment for application developers, reducing porting issues when creating new applications and games for mass-market feature-rich phones.

A full listing of all JSRs supported by JP-8 can be found here>>

Gaming using JSR 256, Mobile Sensor API for accelerometer applications
Both the K850 and W910 support the Mobile Sensor API (JSR 256), a non-mandated MSA JSR, and come preloaded with THQ Wireless' Marble Madness game. This Mascot Capsule v3 game uses JSR 256 to detect movement in the orientation of the phone and translates this input to controlling the rolling marble in the game.

"THQ Wireless is very excited to be one of the first developers to make use of the accelerometer functionality available on the Sony Ericsson K850 and W910," said Therese Cedercreutz, Director Business Development and Sales for THQ Wireless North and Central Europe.

"It's as if these phones were invented just to play Marble Madness! The accelerometer allows you to tilt your phone to control a marble on the screen as if it were in the phone itself. The game originates from the handheld boxes which were tilted to move a marble throughout a maze. The K850 and W910 phones provide the same responsive feedback and suspense of the original game, but with much bigger and much more interesting 3D mazes, and of course without the handheld box!"