BREW News

BREW News is written to give developers program information, market insights, BREW features and technical briefs.

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BREW News Archives

BREW News - Volume 3, Number 4

> BREW® 2003 Showcases Worldwide Success of the BREW Solution and the Promising Future for BREW Developers
> GNU Compiler Now Available for BREW Developers
> BREW SDK® Version 2.1 Released
> New BREW White Paper Available on BREW Web Site
> Revamped Developer Section of BREW Web Site Launched
> Operator Overviews - Get the Latest Information on BREW

BREW 2003 Showcases Worldwide Success of the BREW Solution and the Promising Future for BREW Developers

This years sold-out BREW 2003 Developers Conference was an astounding success. Wireless industry luminaries representing Verizon Wireless, KDDI, China Unicom, VIVO and ALLTEL delivered presentations highlighting their growing success with BREW-enabled services. Jim Straight, vice president, Data and Wireless Internet Services, Verizon Wireless, told developers, "We have made great strides in the last year and we are extremely enthusiastic about the future and what Verizon Wireless, Qualcomm and you, the developer can do together moving forward."

In his keynote presentation, ALLTELs executive vice president of marketing, Philip Junker told developers, "Weve been delighted with our decision to go with BREW. Developers, its time to run with ALLTEL, were bigger than you thought, were financially stable, we love wireless data and we love BREW."

Many operators and developers made announcements regarding their latest BREW applications, services and successes, including:

Verizon Wireless announced that in just six months consumers have downloaded 8.5 million Get It Now^sm games, ring tones and entertainment applications; sold more than 3.2 million handsets to date; and expects to sell more than eight million BREW-enabled handsets by the end of 2003.
U.S. Cellular launched BREW-based services in Knoxville, Tenn., in May 2003, and will roll out across its other CDMA 1XRTT (CDMA2000) markets this year.
Midwest Wireless announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Qualcomm to deliver BREW-enabled services to its subscribers beginning in the third quarter of 2003.
esmertec, JAMDAT Mobile, Rocket Mobile, Sorrent and Walt Disney Internet Group participated in press conferences to reveal their new applications and innovations for the BREW platform.

Six BREW developers were recognized for their excellence, innovation and imagination during the BREW Developers Awards ceremony. The winning companies included:

Xpherix for Best Productivity Application - iPhonebook™
Anyka (Guangzhou) Software Co., Ltd for Best Entertainment Application - MobileFlash™
Gameloft for Best Game Application - Prince of Persia
NAVITIME JAPAN CO., LTD for Best Location-Based Service Application - NAVITIME
MEDIA SOCKET Inc. for Best Communications Application - Heart Mail
NeoMtel for Best Extension/Technology Application - NeoMtel VOD Player

Peggy Johnson, president, Qualcomm Internet Services, presented Stuart Platt, executive producer, THQ Wireless, with a giant ceremonial check that represented the first payment to THQ as a result of the company's development efforts for the BREW platform. "BREW is real and there is good money to be made," said Platt.

Did you hear the News?

Operators made a number of important announcements at the BREW 2003 Developers Conference. Read the post conference press coverage in the BREW in the News section to learn more about what Verizon Wireless and other BREW operators shared with developers during their presentations.

GNU Compiler Now Available for BREW Developers

BREW developers have a new, no-cost alternative to compile code for BREW-enabled devices. Qualcomm is now providing support for the GNU compiler. BREW support for the GNU compiler is available as a FREE download on the BREW Developer Extranet at the following link (the zip file is titled "BREW Support for GCC"): https://brewx.qualcomm.com/brew/sdk/download.jsp

BREW SDK Version 2.1 Released

The BREW SDK version 2.1 is now available for download. This release provides developers with the tools they need to write applications for upcoming BREW 2.1 handsets. Some BREW 2.1 features include:

3D Vector Graphics Rendering
Camera Interface
MPEG4 Decoding
MPEG4 Encoding
ADPCM and AAC Audio Playback
Audio Postcard Creation
TCP Accepting & Listening
Call History Support
Diagnostic logging

The BREW SDK version 2.1 provides support for these features through APIs and documentation. Additionally the SDK provides simulation of call history support, 3D graphics rendering, TCP accepting and listening and diagnostic logging.

Download BREW SDK version 2.1

New BREW White Paper Available on BREW Web Site

A new white paper, available now, takes an in-depth look at the features and capabilities of the BREW solution.

BREW Distribution System (BDS) Overview examines how the BDS enables network operators to distribute and bill for applications, helping make BREW a truly end-to-end solution. This white paper summarizes the capabilities, components and business aspects of the BDS, and provides insights on the benefits to the BREW value chain.

Revamped Developer Section of BREW Web Site Launched

The developer section of the BREW web site has been reorganized into a new format that makes navigation and access to commonly used tools and documentation quick and easy. New features include a Getting Started section for those developers new to BREW, the addition of a Quick Links tool bar for access to commonly used pages and a portal-like home page that outlines the complete BREW development process from downloading the SDK to negotiating price plans with commercial operators.

In addition, pages on the Extranet, which require developer authentication, are now identified with a lock icon and users are able to seamlessly go back and forth between the Developer Extranet and the BREW web site as long as their cookies are enabled.

Operator Overviews - Get the Latest Information on BREW

Want to know which handsets have been launched by a particular operator? Did you know that there are now more than eight million BREW-enabled handsets in the market and as of March 2003, there were more than 28 million BREW application downloads to date?

All of this information and more is readily available on the BREW web site. To read more about the commercial operators and how they are leveraging BREW to their advantage, check out the Operator Showcase or the BREW Press Kit. Both are updated on a regular basis and bring you the latest information.