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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Biddle who wrote (31587)	1/23/2003 2:15:47 AM
From: John Biddle	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 197069

Competition for BREW Java Jumpstart Promises Fast Money for Wireless Carriers Wed Jan 22, 1:21 PM ET Jay Wrolstad , Wireless.NewsFactor.com story.news.yahoo.com Working on the premise that the faster wireless carriers can deliver entertaining and useful applications to their subscribers, the faster they can reap profits, two mobile software publishing firms have introduced a new deployment program based on the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) platform. Dubbed Java Jumpstart, the program is backed by Handango and Tira Wireless and promises to get a complete J2ME-based application system up and running in about a month. That is in contrast to a year or more for carriers opting to tackle such a task on their own, according to Handango CEO Laura Rippy. Simple and Secure "We are offering rapid deployment and eliminating the need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to launch Java applications with premier, certified content," Rippy told NewsFactor. With Java Jumpstart, she explained, operators receive hundreds of applications from the two companies, ranging from games to personal productivity and business software, as well as Tira's Mobile Assure certification program and Handango's application management and provisioning platform (AMPP). Although a number of carriers want to roll out the J2ME platform, Rippy said, setting up the infrastructure is a complex, time-consuming process. "We have simplified that, enabling the operators to focus on other revenue-generating services," she said. The certification program virtually guarantees that the applications making the grade after being subjected to some 250 tests are bulletproof, said Rippy. Therefore, she added, end users can trust that the game, for example, will work as advertised on their phone or PDA. Support Network Tira Wireless will integrate its best-selling games and applications into Handango's catalog of 600-plus Java titles, which Rippy said is the industry's largest. Handango applications run on both GSM (global system for mobile communications) and CDMA (news - web sites) (code division multiple access) networks, as well as the Pocket PC, Palm (Nasdaq: PALM - news) and RIM (Research In Motion) operating systems for PDAs. With Java Jumpstart, applications are delivered, licensed and billed through Handango AMPP. That platform, which includes branded user interfaces, customer support and marketing programs, reduces the work required by service providers, Rippy said. Java Jumpstart is available through Handango or Tira, with the cost depending on the agreement with the specific carrier. "Our goal is to sell digital media, and the operators will recoup their costs through revenue sharing," she said. Battling BREW Because it minimizes the hassles of deploying the J2ME platform and providing certified applications, Java Jumpstart may well prove popular among carriers, said IDC analyst Keith Waryas. "Instead of dealing with the developers, the operators can deal directly with Handango, which has a ton of applications available," he said. With quality control a concern among carriers, the fact that this platform offers application certification, as well as billing and customer support, is a plus, said Waryas. He noted that J2ME is going head-to-head with Qualcomm's (Nasdaq: QCOM - news) BREW (binary runtime environment for wireless) platform, which has drawn a following among CDMA carriers as a one-stop shop for wireless applications. "BREW is a strong platform, but Java has generated more interest among carriers on the international level because many of them are focused on GSM and have an aversion to CDMA," Waryas said. The Java Jumpstart business model is a step in the right direction because all operators have to offer application downloads as they roll out new networks. "They need a broad range of titles to attract a broad range of users," said Waryas.

To: John Biddle who wrote (31587)	1/23/2003 8:32:56 AM
From: rkral	Respond to of 197069

John, "What do you mean for (2) "GSM phones using the 1x air-interface"?" I should have written -- a phone with GSM software using a 1x air-interface. "If a phone is dual mode CDMA/GSM or GSM/CDMA don't each of the modes use software appropriate for that mode?" Absolutely! If the appropriate mode were not used, the phone would be non-operational. If, by "GSM/CDMA" mode, you mean GSM software on a CDMA air-interface .. congratulations for making that mental leap. But I wouldn't recommend writing the concept that way, as very few will know what you mean. If, by "CDMA/GSM, you mean CDMA software with a GSM air-interface .. don't worry about it .. it will never happen. "Would there really be a phone with a 1x air-interface and a GSM software protocol stack?" Yes .. I think that is what would be called a GSM1x phone .. or GSM1x mode .. at least to technical people in the industry. Now the consumer may never hear about a GSM1x phone, as the air-interface should be transparent to them. To the more educated consumer, it might be just be a GSM phone. To the less educated consumer, it would just be an Orange phone, or a Vodafone phone, or a Unicom phone, or a ..... "How about an alternate dual mode phone, perhaps from a different vendor, with a GSM air-interface and a CDMA software protocol stack? How would such phones be different from each other, and how would a user know which they were buying?" GSM air-interface and a CDMA software comination will happen, so I won't waste your time with an explanation. re "the GSM1x user" We both are speculating on what the definition and common usage of the GSM1x term will be. The cellular industry will determine both. I'm just recommending we keep the concept of "GSM1x user" and "GSM1x phone" for now. Why? I contend the three different combinations of middle software and air interfaces will be in the same phone .. a triple mode phone .. which would be a GSM/GSM1x/CDMA phone, for example. But I hope it would be commonly called just a GSM1x phone, with the other two modes understood. Communications engineers will probably cringe when they read this. I have used communications concepts and terms loosely. For example, the "air-interface" is not separate from the communications "protocol stack", it is part of it. Aside: The "air-interface" is not the air between the cellphone and base-station antennas. <gg> Sorry, the devil made me say that. Regards, Ron