At PayPal X Innovate 2009, Sun Microsystems announced an alliance with PayPal to support application payment in the Java Store Beta and enhancements to the beta user experience.

A consumer-facing storefront enabling the discovery and purchase of Java and JavaFX applications, the Java Store, now in its beta release, offers distribution for reaching more than 800 million desktop Java users worldwide and driving potential revenue opportunities through the sale of innovative content.

“Java is one of the world’s most ubiquitous technology platforms, providing developers access to over 800 million global desktops. Through this exciting alliance with PayPal, the Java Store Beta now provides a powerful channel for Java developers to not only connect with, but also to help monetize their innovative desktop products to these consumers,” said Eric Klein, vice president of Java marketing at Sun. “Sun continues to enhance the Java Store Beta shopping experience by providing one of the easiest, most secure ways to discover, try and then acquire Java software and compelling desktop content.”

Sun now supports for-fee applications submitted by developers for distribution in the Java Store Beta. Developers can price their offering anywhere from $1.99 to $200.00 (USD) and select the license rights they wish to apply to their application. Developers will receive 70 percent of any for-fee application sold through the Java Store Beta. Utilizing the new Adaptive Payment API from PayPal, consumers can authorize the Java Store Beta to bill against their PayPal account so they can click the “Buy” button and never have to leave the store. In addition, when a customer makes a payment in the Java Store Beta, the application owner also gets paid at the time of the purchase. This way, the developer immediately receives the revenue and knows exactly how many people have purchased their application.

“PayPal and Sun are unlocking huge potential for developers around the world to make money for building Java applications,” said Osama Bedier, vice president of Platform and Emerging Technology at PayPal. “Sun is leveraging our Adaptive Payments APIs in the Java Store beta to provide real-time payments to developers when their applications are purchased, and a streamlined single-click purchase experience for consumers.”

The latest version of the Java Store Beta delivers an improved look and feel, simplifying navigation throughout the store and enhancing the consumer’s ability to find applications of interest. The Java Store Beta continues to provide consumers with the unique ability to easily preview (or try) applications before deciding whether or not to purchase or install the application. The Java Store Beta also makes it extremely easy for consumers to acquire new applications by simply dragging them directly onto their computer.

The Java Store is currently available at no cost for U.S. residents as part of the Java Store Beta program. Developers can submit Java Platform Standard Edition (Java SE) and JavaFX-based applications to the Java Warehouse for distribution in the Java Store Beta.

The Java Store, created in JavaFX, will allow more than 800 million worldwide desktop Java users to discover and purchase compelling Java applications and content. It contains personal productivity, business, social graph and entertainment software organized in a simple and intuitive user interface. Innovative features of the Java Store include the ability for consumers to first preview applications inside the Java Store, prior to installing them, and then to safely install applications by simply dragging them from the Java Store directly onto their computer desktop.