Javaground announced a new component of its Xpress Suite allowing developers to automatically generate a native iPhone program from a Java source code.

Traditionally, developers target the iPhone by re-writing their Java source code in Objective C. Now, their existing Java code can be reused and automatically converted to create high-performance iPhone games and applications.

Using the Javaground Xpress Suite, a developer can quickly create a high quality mobile application with a single unique Java source code that works on over 2000 devices, including all devices supporting J2ME, Brew, Android and now iPhone.

Javaground introduced the cross-platform J2ME to the Brew converter in 2006. The company has since added other cross-platform converters to translate J2ME programs to the Android and iPhone platforms, enabling developers to continue using Java while still targeting most of the main platforms.

Javaground reports that the Xpress Suite has created tens of thousands of SKUs published on operators' decks.

Key features of the Xpress Suite are as follows:

Universal Emulator - streamlining the development and debugging of games.

Porting Engine - automatically generates builds for J2ME, Brew, Android and iPhone OS devices from a single source code. Builds generated by this application are customized for the constraints and bugs found on each device.

Database - the Javaground Database is said to characterize the attributes of thousands of mobile devices.

Resource Manager - used to create, optimize and manage assets, configure game graphics, animation sequences, palettes, fonts, and multi-lingual translations. The Resource Manager offers 2D animation capabilities, as well as graphical optimization tools used for the creation of compact content files.

Level Editor - enables advanced features like parallax scrolling and allows for the creation of scrolling platformers, overhead RPGs, isometric games and more.

Avancys - Javaground's provisioning server, used extensively for QA operations and direct-to-consumer distribution.

A one-month free trial is available upon request.