Sun Microsystems and the Java Card Forum (JCF) announced the availability of version 3.0 of the Java Card (TM) platform specification.

“With more than 3.5 billion smart cards shipped to date, Java Card technology is one of the most pervasive computing platforms on Earth,” said Eric Klein, vice president of marketing for Java(TM) technology at Sun. “This release makes the Java Card platform a web execution engine, capable of serving up applications and content securely from within nearly any device.  It's hard to imagine a mobile solution that couldn't be made better, easier to use, or more secure by Java Card technology.”

The new Java Card 3.0 platform specification is available in two separate editions: Java Card Platform v.3.0, Classic Edition and Java Card Platform v.3.0, Connected Edition. Both editions are compatible with applications written for previous versions and can leverage the same security features within the platform specification.

The Java Card Platform v.3.0, Classic Edition is based on an evolution of the existing Java Card Platform, Version 2.2.2 and targets the most resource-constrained devices, such as credit/debit cards and basic SIMs for mobile handsets. The Java Card Platform v.3.0, Connected Edition includes an enhanced execution environment, along with new network-oriented features such as support for web applications. Critical to the Java Card Platform v.3.0, Connected Edition functionality is a new version of the Java Card Virtual Machine - the engine that executes Java Card technology applications. The new Java Card Virtual Machine offers developers the ability to use standard tools and techniques, such as the Java Servlet API to create Java Card 3.0 technology-based applications.

“The next-generation Java Card technology marks a move from smart cards to smart devices, offering the potential of using one personal and secure device for multiple smart services, while reducing infrastructure costs,” says Christian Goire, president of the Java Card Forum. “These smart devices add convenience to every day life and could play a role in everything from reserving a ticket to entering a train station. We’re moving from a series of e-applications working on independent devices to a more holistic process enabling ‘eDays’ to become a reality.”

Java Card technology adoption is expanding with an estimated 1.2 billion units deployed in sectors as diverse as telecommunications, corporate ID and financial services, in 2007 alone. Java Card technology providers in those sectors and others, such as  service providers, payment associations and government IT agencies, can now leverage the enhanced security and programmability of Java Card Platform 3.0 to build extraordinary applications such as secure, high-speed web services on smart cards and other embedded consumer formats.

For more information on Sun Microsystems contact, Jessica Cheney Jessica.Cheney@bitepr.com at Bite Communications.