Sun is again trumpeting Java from the top of its lungs -- and we're not talking about speweing coffee here here -- showing off what appeared to be flashy new cellphone software at the JavaOne conference this week. Not big news there, except that the Sun software apparently looked eerily like the Apple iPhone's software; in fact, the platform Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz showed off is already being dubbed "jPhone" based on the striking resemblance to Apple's goods. The actual product name is Java Mobile FX and it's based on code from SavaJe, a Java-centric mobile OS company Sun just completed acquiring last week. The required specs to run Java Mobile FX aren't too slouchy: 32 megabytes of RAM and a 200 megahertz ARM processor are in the spec, so forget those entry-level Nokia and Sammy handsets. Even Sun Chairman Scott McNealy alluded to the copying of Apple's modus operandi by wearing a black t-shirt (ala black turtleneck territory from Steve Jobs) and saying "we have our own shirtsleeve version of Steve Jobs announcing a phone." Har har.

An announcement made this week states that Sun Microsystems will be purchasing SavaJe Technologies' intellectual property assets. While we haven't really been witness to much action on the SavaJe front, we can see why Sun would like to acquire the company's Java-heavy technology. Of course, SavaJe intended to provide a more complete experience than Sun's own J2ME ever intended to, even going as far as a physical handset release to demo the platform's capabilities. Alas, the company struggled mightily and this acquisition by Sun makes sense to all parties, we suspect. Details of the transaction -- and what it means for both organizations' efforts -- will be released at the JavaOne Conference in May.

[Via Phone Scoop]

It seems that one of the prerequisites to the survival of a mobile software platform is... well, hardware to match. Imagine that? Apart from an LG special and a self-branded testbed that was never meant for the general public's consumption, SavaJe has blown through an alleged $71 million in venture capital with very little success to show for it. Its Java-based operating system has won the hearts and minds of the developer community, but thanks perhaps to a glut of platforms infecting the featurephone and smartphone markets these days, SavaJe simply hasn't caught on en masse. The lack of success appears to be taking a toll on the Massachusetts-based company, which is said to be desperately seeking a cash infusion while asking its developers to take a little unpaid time off. Call us morbid, but we reckon we're going to go ahead and write up that obit now.

[Via MobHappy]