"In the next five years the number of smart wireless devices out there is going to increase exponentially, and we're going to find ourselves in one of the most interesting periods in communication history since the invention of the telephone," Sun Microsystems president, chairman, and CEO Scott McNealy said today, during a keynote address to open the Cellular Telephone and Internet Association's (CTIA) annual conference in Atlanta.

"Smart phones, wireless devices with computer operating systems, will increase from 11.6 million handsets this year to nearly 325 million worldwide by 2008. They'll become advanced communications devices and mobile theaters, capable of managing 3-D desktop systems, running high-density video, and delivering TiVo-like functionality, " he said. "And, by 2010, the number of PCs on desktops will be eclipsed by the number of PCs in landfills. The proliferation of 'smart' devices has only just begun."

Sun Microsystems and its partners are launching key initiatives and innovative solutions for enabling enterprises and service providers to bring their mobile data services to profitability - securely and efficiently, McNealy said. He also showcased various partner solutions and discussed industry trends, business models and IT strategies for driving mobile data service adoption.

McNealy also used the opportunity to illustrate how Sun is reducing cost and complexity, accelerating mobile network service deployment, and enabling mobility with security, a key issue at this year's conference. He also said Sun is helping to drive simplification in wireless operations, integration, and infrastructure here and abroad.

"With our Java Mobility Advantage Program, we're also announcing a key initiative that will lay the foundation for continuing our Java-based momentum throughout the wireless industry," McNealy said. The new technologies being developed by Sun and other technology companies today around mobility, security and the enterprise is promising and will provide new opportunities to industry.

For example, McNealy demonstrated new Sun technologies that are helping to drive RFID (radio frequency identification), VoIP (voice over IP), Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), and other products and services to market. Importantly, he added, they are being "developed with security in mind, versus security being an afterthought."

"As we move deeper into high-density TV and satellite communications, you can imagine the type of innovation and new markets that will spring forth, especially if it is all connected to the consumer's mobile device," McNealy said.

McNealy also urged wireless manufacturers, service providers and others to join the Liberty Alliance, which Sun helped found, to further establish secure mobile business policies and protocols to "help change the market with identity-centric services."

He also cited a number of Sun developments in the security arena, including the use of Java smart cards to authenticate users of wireless Sun Ray thin client computers, biometrics, federated identity services, multi-factor authentication, and the Java Architecture, which provides a virus-free environment end-to- end for developing safe, exciting applications for both consumers and businesses.

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