In an effort to further reinforce its commitment to the open source community and to reduce Java fragmentation, Motorola today announced an invitation to the broader Java ME ecosystem to establish a complete Java Micro Edition (Java ME) software stack for the mobile industry, under the Apache License Version 2.0. Motorola will work to align its future Java ME-based developments with Apache's model of licensing and open governance in order to help promote a unified mobile Java platform. This unified platform leads to lower overall development and testing costs, a reduction in time-to-market, and the creation of a larger market opportunity for developers, by helping drive the promise of 'Write Once, Run Everywhere' applications.

"We're very excited Motorola has decided to adopt the Apache model as part of the company's ongoing efforts to open the Java ME platform," said Geir Magnusson Jr, vice president, JCP for the Apache Software Foundation. "Motorola is looking to build an open source community, and the commitment of this mobile leader in Java to the Apache model validates the integral role open source development will continue to play in the mobile device industry."

"We see industry fragmentation and proprietary software models as an obstacle to unharnessing the full power of innovation in the mobile Java ecosystem. We believe developers, customers, partners and the industry at large will benefit from a new open source model," said Mark VandenBrink, senior director and chief platform architect, Motorola Mobile Devices business. "Aided by Apache's established success with production ready software such as Apache Tomcat Server and new projects such as Apache Harmony, we hope to help developers create and quickly deliver innovative applications to market."

One of the world's leading wireless manufacturers and an innovator of Java ME (formerly J2ME) technology, Motorola is dedicated to driving the creation of Java specifications and standards through leadership in organizations like JCP, Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and the Open Source community. As the first manufacturer to bring Java technology-enabled handsets to the North American market in 2001, Motorola's portfolio roadmap has an established track record of continually delivering innovative Java enabled products. In 2003, Motorola was also the first manufacturer to combine the flexibility and scalability of Linux+Java technologies in a single handset through the A760, the world's first Linux+Java handset.