The netbook bandwagon is starting to get mighty crowded. The latest onboard: Oracle. Boss Larry Ellison says he could use recent acquisition Sun to build a netbook, and Sun’s Java software to run it.

After noting the rise and rise of tiny, low-cost netbooks, smartphones and hybrid devices, Mr Ellison told the JavaOne conference now on in San Francisco that: “I don't see why some of those devices shouldn't come from Sun. Here will be computers that are based on Java and JavaFX and devices based on Java and JavaFX, not only from Google but also from Sun."

Today’s netbooks run on a variety of operating systems, from Microsoft Windows XP to Linux distributions such as Ubuntu.

Google, which already makes a version of its Android operating system for cellphones, has already released a test version for netbooks. Acer has already demo’d an Android netbook, which will ship before the end of October. HP, Dell and others are triallng Android models.

Android is a Java-based interface than runs on top of Linux.

The Java programming language was developed by Sun, which was recently bought by Oracle.

Mr Ellison’s announcement has a strong sense of déjà vu for long-time commentators.

Since 1995, the Oracle boss has promoted the concept of a thin-client of “network computer” which has little hardware grunt and accesses software and services living on a network. With increased bandwidth and the rise of cloud computing, the world has caught up with the concept.

But with scores of netbooks already on the market, does the world need another, built by Oracle?

Maybe not.

But even if Oracle doesn’t physically construct a netbook, it will be active in the space, promised Mr Ellison: “I think you'll see us get very aggressive with Java and developing Java apps for things like telephones and netbooks."