J2Android converts Java apps to run on Google Android phones

Mobile software company Myriad Group announced J2Android, which will make it possible for Java-based mobile applications to run on Android-based phones, the company said.

The J2Android tool converts existing Java applications, including games, to run on Dalvik, which is the virtual machine used on all Android devices. Besides converting the application, J2Android will let the application be rescaled to fit the screen of the Android device, according to Simon Wilkinson, CEO at Myriad. It can also add softkeys, if the original application was developed for phones with a numerical keypad, Wilkinson said.

Anyone with a large library of Java-based applications can use J2Android to make those applications available for Android-based smartphones. Currently, J2Android is being tested by "one of the biggest European operators and a number of major content vendors," according to Wilkinson, who can't say which ones.

The boon for Android users will be more applications to choose from. An increased number of Android applications can also help fuel the platform's popularity. Apple has proven that the number of available applications can affect the popularity of a device, according to Wilkinson.

Myriad would like to see the converted applications run on Dalvik Turbo, which Myriad has developed and hopes smartphone vendors will use as a replacement for the standard Dalvik virtual machine. The allure is faster application-execution speed and a longer battery life, according to Myriad.

Myriad expects to see the first Android-based smartphones with Dalvik Turbo appear by the end of the second quarter or early in the third quarter, according to Wilkinson. J2Android will also start being used by the end of the second quarter, he said. Pricing was not announced.