BREW
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Operators - MOU's with Verizon, Leap, KT, Pegaso -- Working with KDDI
Vendors - Samsung, Kyocera
Similarities to NTT's I-Mode development consortium (though NTT purchased their's with equity interest). Of course no European player - perhaps Vodafone in time?? But, unlike the I-Mode experience, BREW offers an individually tailored (and branded) interface, applications and experience for individual Operators - increasing prospects that additional CDMA Operators will join. There should be no problem with multiple BREW Operators in the same market.
<<<"QUALCOMM has developed server software, the QIS Middleware(TM) product, that will authenticate applications that have passed compatibility testing, distribute these applications to carrier networks, handle end-user application downloads, and manage billing transactions for developers and carriers. The Company expects to sign agreements with carriers under which QUALCOMM will charge a BREW enablement fee and receive a portion of the fees paid by end users for BREW-enabled applications.">>>
Again, similarities to NTT and I-Mode.
<<<"It provides access to the Wireless Internet Launchpad suite of system software extensions, which includes multimedia, connectivity, positioning, user interface and storage functionality....The BREW platform allows third-party software developers to create these new applications for the growing wireless market...Native applications will be written in the familiar C/C++, but browsers, Java applications or applications written in other languages will be supported as well.">>>
How does BREW impact WAP for CDMA? It appears that BREW may perform all of the functions of, and is certainly a far more flexible alternative to WAP (or for that matter I-Mode) --- and it also suggests that WAP (or for that matter I-Mode) may exist within a larger BREW structural framework....
<<<"For data applications, the wireless industry is currently in the situation the PC industry faced in the early 1980s. Device manufacturers are developing applications for their own hardware or must pay a few select developers to work with them on the arduous task of creating and integrating just a few applications on just a few handset models...
The BREW platform allows third-party software developers to create these new applications for the growing wireless market...The BREW platform allows developers to write applications without having to learn how to work with complex chip system software... QUALCOMM will release the BREW software development kit (SDK) to developers in May free of charge. The BREW SDK includes a number of Windows-based tools that will allow developers to create and test their applications in a standard development environment for specific phones...>>>
Again, similarities to NTT and I-Mode (cHTML is easy to use in developing simple interfaces and applications - which has led to large # of unofficial third-party sites). Except that that C/C++ is a far richer and more elegant environment for developing applications than cHTML. And C/C++ is the most widely used - bar none. The availability of standard Windows-based tools is of significance as well - developers will be designing in a very familiar environment. Note as well that Java, which is in itself is a C derivation - is specifically noted. (NTT is presently integrating Java with I-Mode.)
ben |
