Sony Ericsson Releases 'Capuchin' SDK

Sony Ericsson released an SDK Wednesday that enables mobile developers to utilize elements of Sun Microsystems' Java and Adobe's Flash technologies.

The company announced Project Capuchin in April, and it was billed as a bridging tool between Java ME and Flash Lite. With Capuchin, a developer could use Flash Lite to create a clean user interface while using Java ME's strong backend capabilities.

Additionally, Sony Ericsson's bridging tool lets mobile applications with some Flash Lite content to be encapsulated in a Java ME application. This is an important aspect because Java ME is widely adopted, and this approach means Flash Lite content will be able the use the same distribution infrastructure and system capabilities as Java Me content.

Sony Ericsson is also hoping this tool will energize its own developer community. The company said it has already received "overwhelming support" and interest for Project Capuchin because it offers the ability to develop rich applications that weren't technically possible in the past.

"As it stands today, the world of mobile development is highly-fragmented," said Kirk Knoernschild, application platform strategies analyst at Burton Group, in a statement. "Any efforts that reduce this fragmentation should be warmly received by the mobile development community."

Sony Ericsson's C905 Cyber-shot handset will be the first phone to support Capuchin's API. The C905 is expected to be a multimedia-enhanced smartphone that packs an 8-megapixel camera, integrated assisted-GPS, Bluetooth, and 3G network capabilities.

The Capuchin SDK, application programming interface, and packaging tool can be downloaded for free from Sony Ericsson Developer World's Web site.