Qualcomm announce Java-powered ‘Internet of Everything’ platform

Hardware manufacturer Qualcomm, producers of the ‘Snapdragon’ smartphone chip, have become an overnight internet sensation thanks to their beautifully insane CES keynote.

What you may have missed between the on-stage appearances of Steve Ballmer, Guillermo Del Toro and, er, Big Bird, is the release of an intriguing new Java-powered M2M platform.

The ‘Internet of Everything’ platform (an already-mocked spin on the existing ‘internet of things’ buzzword) utilises a QSC6270-Turbo chipset running Java ME Embedded 3.2. The platform reportedly includes “several” sensors, including an accelerometer, light sensor and temperature sensor, but aside from the inclusion of a 3G modem, GPS and wi-fi, other hardware details are thin on the ground.

A partnership with AT&T, meanwhile, will allow US-based developers to test their 3G-connected devices on a live network. Qualcomm says it expects the platform to be available in the second quarter of this year.

The inclusion of Java should come as little surprise – in October last year, Qualcomm and Oracle announced that they were collaborating on the then-unnamed platform. This news was accompanied by two Oracle-sponsored papers predicting that M2M devices would be driven by Java – indicating at least that Oracle were taking M2M technology seriously.

Despite its awful name, it may well be worth keeping an eye on the Internet of Everything platform – especially considering Qualcomm’s deep links with Android handset manufacturers.

Photo by Zane Aveton.