Sun jumps into the Silverlight vs. Flash battle with JavaFX

There have been an incredible amount of internet discussion in the last few weeks about the potential of Microsoft Silverlight taking on Adobe's Flash for being the basis of building rich interactive applications running on the internet. Sun must have been feeling left out. Hence, review this announcement by Sun:

At the JavaOne conference in San Francisco, Sun will roll out a Java-based product family called JavaFX, which covers Java development from the desktop to the Web to mobile devices. It features a new scripting variant of the Java, called JavaFX Script. JavaFX is a line of products focused on opportunities in the consumer communications market, including desktops, mobile clients, and TVs. The first product release is JavaFX Mobile, a software system for mobile devices.
JavaFX will be open sourced. "We plan to open-source all of JavaFX as we work through the program," said Green. Plans call for eventually offering a line of developer tools to work with JavaFX with a basic, introductory tool to be offered on Tuesday, Green said.
Sun officials acknowledged that JavaFX bears a similarity to enhanced graphics capabilities offered in the new Microsoft Silverlight platform. But Gosling added that Silverlight differs in that it is mostly focused on video-streaming.

Suddenly, in the space of a few weeks, the battle for the tools of choice to build the next generation internet applications is wide open. Adobe is the entrenched player with the Flash and Flex combination, Microsoft has thrown a spirited challenge through Silverlight (tightly integrated with .Net), and now this announcement by Sun.
This is a last gasp by Sun. Java was the development with immense promise, but it has never fully lived upto its promise. Microsoft has used all its tricks to promote its development tools. Now, this release can bring back all the non-Microsoft types, especially with the promise of open-source and similarity to AJAX.
However, one major item to note is the emphasis on the cell phone as one of the key players in this market. The cell phone is already ascendant as a mini-computer, and as the power and capabilities of this device grow (foldable typing pad and foldable big screen, anyone?), being able to develop quickly and efficiently on this platform will be a major requirement.