Alatto develops new mobile phone Java
(Sunday Business Post, 29 July 2001, by Linda Flood)

Dublin wireless technology company Alatto Technologies has developed the Java software for the new Siemens SL45i mobile phone which will be launched next month. This will be the first mobile available to the mass market in Europe to contain Java, a programming language which provides good quality graphics and a higher level of security than rivals.

Alatto was set up in 2000 to focus on the design and implementation of applications for 2.5G and third generation (3G) telecommunications. The company develops applications relevant to gambling, sports, music and entertainment, telematics and financial services. Alatto, which is self-funded, was founded by John Whelan, Neil Flanagan, David Lehrer and David Cotter, and currently employs 14 staff.

The Nokia Communicator, currently on the market, already supports Java but it is targeted at corporate users in the high end of the market. It is also much larger than the SL45i, which supports Sun Microsystems' MIDP/CLDC (mobile information device protocol) Java standard and allows the user to download software programs over the internet.

"The key advantage of the SL45i is that the Java application only needs to be downloaded once and can then run as many times as required. The application requires far less bandwidth than a Wap application, for instance."

"In fact, many applications we are developing -- for example single-player games -- may never require access to the network after the initial download," said Whelan.

He admits the development of SL45i is about a year behind Japanese Java-based mobile applications, which support colour images. "Its monochrome screen and low-resolution graphics pale in comparison to the Java handsets that are available in Japan -- however, it's a start."

More than five million Java-capable phones have been sold in Japan since the start of the year. These devices support hi-fi quality sound and high-resolution colour animated images. The main advantages of mobile Java include dynamic delivery of applications and services, cross-platform compatibility, enhanced user experience, disconnected access and security.

Alatto exploits the lead that Japanese companies have in mobile phone technology through Whelan's Japanese experience and contacts. Whelan spent two years in Japan and speaks Japanese, allowing him to overcome a huge language barrier in translating information freely available on Japanese technologies into English.

The company has developed close links with NTT DoCoMo, one of Japan's main mobile phone operators, and is working with the company's European subsidiaries developing Java-based mobile applications for the European market. Alatto recently developed a lottery Java game for a British online casino using NEC's Java-enabled handset. With this game a lottery runs every minute for 24 hours a day. The application only needs to transfer the player's number selection and receive result of the draw, but the user experiences a full multimedia experience of the draw, incorporating sound and animation.

Whelan believes that mobile handsets will be the Gameboy of the future, and that the new technology will allow the mobile internet to come of age.