iPhone CPU Java Support

The ARM processor found inside the iPhone includes special features for accelerating Java code, a study of the chip reveals. The chip is likely to be the Samsung-made S3C6400 and therefore supports the Jazelle engine, which reduces memory use to a fraction of what would be needed for software and uses a virtual engine that juggles multiple Java programs at once without a major drop in performance. Phones can use this to easily load chat and games without requiring more expensive hardware, the ARM group says.

The discovery appears to contradict Apple chief executive Steve Jobs' claims that a full Java engine is a "heavyweight ball and chain" for devices such as the iPhone, calling it an obsolete technology. The company has previously asked developers to focus instead on web code alone for third-party applications, writing programs using Javascript (which is largely unrelated to Java) and other technologies connected to the AJAX web platform. Some, though not all, mainstream phones and smartphones regularly use Java to extend their features without requiring hardware-specific code.

By Electronista Staff

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