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Sun aims for ultracheap cell phonesAn alternative to a $100 laptop: Sun hopes selling JavaFX Mobile to phone makers will bring cheap Net access to the masses.

Photos: JavaFX Mobile
By Stephen ShanklandStaff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: May 8, 2007, 5:35 PM PDT

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SAN FRANCISCO--Call it Sun Microsystems' answer to One Laptop Per Child.

The server and software company hopes to sell a version of Java to phone companies that will bring network access to the world's computers, executives said here at the JavaOne trade show.

"Java will play a central role in bringing the Internet to the planet," Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz said during a news conference. "It will be the software to build the devices to bridge the digital divide." In a brief speech at the show, Schwartz indicated he believed the Java-powered mobile phones could be sold for $30 to $50 apiece.