Open source mobile Java.
Back in August Sun announced they would open source Java ME, the software platform that runs on more than a billion handsets. This is expected to mean that developers, networks and handset manufacturers will be able to view the code and make improvements that will benefit all the players. However, Sun have not yet made a decision on which license the code will be released under.
Motorola have stepped up, according to Cellular News, by announcing "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" (see also, the Motorola press release). The Apache license is one of the more relaxed of the open source licenses, allowing for redistribution, contributions and modifications which can be open or closed source. It will be interesting to see how that license sits with Sun's requirement for compatibility between implementations, which is one of the corner-stones of the Java platform.
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