[1] Through the use of the Swing model, Echo was able to employ concepts such as components and event-driven programming that removed much of the pain of web application development.

This framework built on the concepts of Echo (well known API, total web abstraction) but delivered the additional benefit of being an Ajax environment.

NextApp believed that this approach brought the framework extremely close to the capabilities of rich clients.

NextApp also claimed that this reincarnation of the Echo framework provided dramatic performance, capability, and user-experience enhancements made possible by its new Ajax-based rendering engine.

Comparable frameworks include Vaadin, RAP, ZK, OpenLaszlo, ICEfaces, ThinWire, Apache Wicket, and jSeamless.