Oracle has said Java was its biggest reason for buying Sun, but the move may have had more to do with enterprise uses of Java than the mobile arena, according to some people close to the mobile business. Java Mobile Edition (formerly J2ME) has been widely used as an application platform for "feature phones," or handsets that can support applications and some Internet use but are less full-featured than smartphones. Mobile Java is also the basis of most third-party applications for Research In Motion's BlackBerry smartphone, and Google's Android platform uses Java at the application level.

Java's role in handsets may decline as smartphones decline in price and start to replace feature phones, though that change is likely to take several years. In addition, mobile Java may get a second wind from the upcoming Java FX platform, designed for smartphones, PCs and other clients.