December 12, 2007- What can you do with a Sun SPOT? Build an autonomous robot, experiment with wireless routing protocols, monitor natural hazards or changes in fragile ecosystems, or create just about any radio-controlled sensor device you can imagine! Developed in Sun Microsystems Laboratories, this Java-based platform greatly simplifies development and experimentation with small wireless devices, and it's open to the development community.

Available through the Sun Store, the Sun SPOT Java Developer Kit includes a complete hardware platform and the Squawk Java Virtual Machine — a small JVM developed at Sun Labs that runs directly on the processor without an intervening OS. The Sun SPOT JDK also includes a unique set of programming tools, including the NetBeans IDE, so even high-level programmers can quickly write custom embedded applications. With this versatile technology, the embedded development community has a tremendous opportunity to apply and expand this technology in new and exciting ways.

If you want third-party corroboration, take a look at this season's InfoWorld "Must-have gadgets for the discerning geek"!

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/23/47FE-must-have-gadgets_1.html
http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/11/23/47FE-must-have-gadgets_2.html

Sun SPOT JDK Highlights:

Program entirely in Java
Easy connectivity to sensors & effectors
Standard NetBeans Java IDE
SPOTWorld Management tool
Over the Air Deployment and Debugging
Mesh Networking

For more information about Sun SPOTs, including technical specifications, where to buy, user forums, Sun SPOT news and what Sun SPOT users have built so far, visit:

http://sunspotworld.com/