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BREW News - Volume 5, Number 3

> Qualcomm Acquires Mobile Content Delivery Leader elata
> Come Join Us at CTIA Wireless I.T & Entertainment 2005
> The Tipping Point: The convergence of wireless and console/PC game design
> Global Expansion of BREW Continues into Russia, Norway and Sweden
> The Blogging Revolution Marches Into the Mobile Space
> Electronic Arts gets in the game with BREW
> BREW SDK 3.1.4, OpenGL ES Extension

Qualcomm Acquires Mobile Content Delivery Leader elata

It's a global leader in mobile content delivery software, and now it's part of Qualcomm's growing portfolio of BREW® products and services. On August 17, Qualcomm announced that it acquired UK-based mobile content delivery leader elata for $57 million in cash. With operators across Europe continuing to launch 3G services, Qualcomm's acquisition of elata represents a strategic and geographic importance. The agreement allows Qualcomm to expand its European reach of the BREW mobile download platform. "Qualcomm's acquisition of elata is a further demonstration of the Company's commitment to offering operators in Europe and around the world an innovative and flexible set of solutions for managing and delivering wireless content," said Peggy Johnson, president of Qualcomm Internet Services. "The benefits of this acquisition are threefold - supporting the overall delivery of content while maintaining backwards compatibility with operators' current devices through open standards; strengthening our commitment to meeting the needs of operators worldwide; and quickly bringing new value-added services to market without additional hardware requirements."

The elata system will integrate into BREW, creating a unified, platform-agnostic system that will support BREW and non-BREW devices (e.g. OS-or Java®-based phones). Operators will gain access to a vast array of wireless data solutions and services through this agreement. In addition, operators with existing wireless data solutions can leverage elata's open standards interface and maintain backwards compatibility with their current devices, allowing them to seamlessly improve and expand their management, delivery and marketing of wireless content.

With this acquisition, a broad array of content can be unified and managed, including ringtones, wallpapers and BREW, Java, streaming and OMA-compliant content - for the full range of feature phones and smartphones on operators' WCDMA (UMTS®), GSM and CDMA2000® networks. The unified system will allow delivery of all content to be streamlined, creating a more seamless, standardized user experience and also reduce operators' costs. This ultimately brings operators an increased ability to quickly offer subscribers new content and services.

The acquisition of elata demonstrates Qualcomm's commitment to meeting the needs of operators on a global level, allowing them to quickly supplement their value-added services without investing in additional backend hardware. Most importantly, subscribers across the globe will benefit from a richer array of service offerings, as the wireless data market expands and becomes more innovative and exciting.

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Come Join Us at CTIA Wireless I.T & Entertainment 2005

Qualcomm Internet Services will be showcasing some of the latest BREW features and technologies, including uiOne, BREW Zone, BREW 3D Games, Enterprise Applications and tools, and Location Based Services (LBS) at CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2005, September 27-29th in the West Hall, Booth #439 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment brings together two personalities of wireless data: Enterprise and Entertainment with an expected 10,000 delegates and 65 exhibitors.

Here is a glimpse of the demos you will be able to see at CTIA Wireless I.T & Entertainment 2005:

• uiOne™: This demo area will show how uiOne provides an open and flexible combination of products and services to create and deploy customized UIs (user interfaces) for mobile phones. uiOne enables the logical expansion of features and customization for wireless devices that have been popular so far, to an even deeper and richer experience - for example going from selecting individual ringtones and wallpapers to choosing themes, menus, fonts, sounds and more that can truly personalize a wireless device.
• BREW Zone: See how operators and their designated partners have the ability to sell applications and content from outside of the existing device shopping environment including websites, retail cards, print ads and more.

  One of the applications we will be demonstrating is a BREW application developed by Nextcode Corporation that enables BREW camera phones to read 2D barcodes. By simply scanning barcodes, consumers can easily access mobile content, commerce or services. Nextcode's 2D barcodes are specifically designed for mobile applications and can be printed in advertising, catalogs, publications, even on the computer screen. Consumers can go directly to what they want regardless of where it is on the deck, making shopping for content fast, easy and fun. In addition, the solution helps content providers to greatly expand the range of products that can be accessed by customers, driving increased revenues.

• BREW 3D Games: Check out the latest BREW 3D games including real time multiplayer titles. The BREW solution supports the highest quality mobile 3D games for mass-market wireless handsets. Advancements in wireless handset design, such as faster processors, better screen resolutions and overall quality of chipsets allow BREW to offer a truly enticing mobile gaming environment.
• BREW for Business: This demo will feature flexible solutions to extend mobile devices for daily business IT needs. The Enterprise Portal allows you to quickly launch and manage ready-to-use productivity applications, including LBS (location-based services) workforce applications, as well as custom enterprise applications.

In addition to the demos, the Qualcomm booth will also include a BREW Pavilion, featuring six BREW publishers and developers, all demonstrating their latest BREW applications. Come check out compelling examples of the innovative applications BREW is enabling.

For a complete listing of all the BREW announcements, BREW Pavilion participants and activities, including speakerships during the event,
click here.

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The Tipping Point: The convergence of wireless and console/PC game design

Game Developers Magazine
By Mike Yuen
September 2005

MOBILE PHONES HAVE COME A LONG WAY
Gone but not forgotten are the early handsets that were heavy, cumbersome, and shaped like a brick. While the external form factor and industrial design of phones have certainly improved rapidly, the underlying mobile phone functionality has increased with an exponential progression in performance capabilities.

The worldwide prospects for mobile games are just as impressive. Emerging markets such as China and India are just beginning to explore opportunities in wireless gaming, both as enormous markets of potential mobile gamers and as hotbeds of game development.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL
With the potential to reach so many subscribers worldwide, industry players within the mobile gaming value chain are faced with a multitude of opportunities. This is especially true for wireless game publishers and developers. It's clear that the mobile game industry is set to explode, but what many in the traditional game industry currently fail to realize is the massive untapped potential for integrated crossover game designs that can drive the expansion of traditional gaming experiences to new levels of innovation.

Current wireless game designs are isolated islands of content and design that offer low levels of interaction with other traditional gaming platforms. This has led to limited exploitation of cross marketing and promotional opportunities and a failure to explore innovative designs that extend the gaming worlds of the traditional PC and console experience. As the wireless gaming industry continues to grow and the underlying platform capabilities rapidly increase, the opportunity to leverage the unique features of the mobile phone to create a new gaming experience will provide the industry with a rich palette of innovative design possibilities as well as new recurring digital revenue streams.

THE TIPPING POINT IN WIRELESS GAMING
Although less than 30 years old, the game industry has exploded as an entertainment medium and vehicle for reaching an ever-expanding audience. Throughout its brief history, the gaming industry has witnessed several key moments in software design that have propelled it to a higher level of success and exposure. Seen as quintessential "tipping points," the creation of four major games (PAC-MAN, SUPER MARIO BROS., TETRIS, and DOOM) serve as gaming industry milestones that not only fueled the creativity of millions of game developers worldwide, but led to the success of their respective hardware platforms.

With the confluence of the increase in hardware capabilities, high-speed data network access, and the growth of the wireless user base, it's clear that the mobile phone may very well represent the next platform to enable a tipping point in game design. As a game platform that has built-in wireless voice and data connectivity, inherent mobility, location based services, and an always-on presence, the mobile phone is poised to drive design innovation within the gaming industry on an unforeseen level (see Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, page 28, for an example).

Cross platform design represents a new way of innovating, driving the simultaneous development of mutually supported features across different platforms (game console, PC, and wireless). As a glue that could potentially bind game platforms and gaming worlds, the wireless phone could enable the next tipping point in game design, resulting in new, recurring revenue streams and expanding the reach of gaming as a form of entertainment. The tipping point in wireless gaming would usher in a whole new approach to game design that unifies multiple platforms by leveraging the business and creative opportunities that convergence brings.

Tomorrow's wireless game designs will bridge various platforms with wireless capabilities. Today's high speed connectivity combined with the distinctive aspects of mobility provides players with a unique extension of platform game worlds, integrating content and gameplay across platforms rather than merely branding wireless games.

DESIGN EFFECTS
A successful cross platform game design will likely utilize one or more of the following design effects.

Mobile DNA effect. If a game design has a mobile DNA effect, it means that the design makes use of the fact that each mobile phone has a unique phone number.

Trailer effect. A trailer effect means that a mobile game generates future excitement and incentive about a console or PC version of the same game. Using the mobile game as a teaser and constant reminder or the primary game, players are excited for daily, weekly, and monthly play at home. The concept is similar to how a movie trailer entices people to see a new movie or how a television commercial tries to get people to watch upcoming weekly programs or special shows. Persistent worlds that exist in massively multiplayer online environment are perfect for this type of effect.

Season premiere effect. A game design that serializes monthly content culminating with the annual launch of the next major console/PC release of a franchise could be said to have a season premiere effect. A mobile version can be used to help build momentum for the launch of the next major release of a traditional title.

Frequent flyer effect. A game design that has a supporting and contextually relevant affinity/loyalty points program, can serve to lock in user commitment and increase switching costs. This affinity program would also integrate across a publisher's traditional titles, web site, and marketing and merchandising programs. Users would be allowed to redeem points for discounted or complete purchases of additional games and content.

Amazon associates effect. A game design that increases viral word of mouth and sales via super distribution might be said to display the Amazon associates effect. An example of this might be the ability for users to sell mobile games and content while getting a revenue share or other attending benefits of actual sales generated due to their individual efforts.

Reciprocation effect. A game design that uses two-way integration to strengthen brand and game loyalty. A user can win benefits in a wireless game that can be used in the console/PC version. For example, a user can unlock unique weapons, special characters, moves, modes, levels, rooms, or currency only by purchasing, playing, and advancing within the wireless version. Similarly, a player can win benefits in the console/PC game that can be used on the phone. For example, the players can win wallpapers, screensavers, ring tones, UI skins/themes, and so forth, only by purchasing, playing, and advancing within the console/PC version.

Games that utilize any of the above design effects will certainly have to have strong balanced designs in all of the various platform versions so that gameplay is balanced and fair.

With the global wireless market expected to add an average of 186 million new subscribers each year, resulting in a total population of more than 2 billion by 2007 (according to InStat/MDR), the gaming industry is poised for continued explosive growth if it can find a way to successfully tap into and leverage this installed base. Cross platform design with the mobile phone acting as the centerpiece is an answer.

PURPOSEFUL TIPPING
The next tipping point in gaming will not happen by accident. It will stem from the creativity of a handful of pioneering game publishers and developers eager to embrace and usher in the next generation of game design and innovation.

With a potential wireless installed base 20 times the size of the user base of the original PlayStation, who knows how far cross platform design in gaming would drive the industry forward. Furthermore, success with a true cross-platform design would be measured by not only a pure revenue generation standpoint, but also by an advancement in game design. Achieving this tipping point can drive creativity and innovation within the industry, resulting in a whole new generation of games for consumers to experience and enjoy.

Mike Yuen is director of Qualcomm's Gaming Group, which oversees the BREW platform.

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Global Expansion of BREW® Continues into Russia, Norway and Sweden

Qualcomm's BREW solution is becoming increasingly pervasive across the globe with the addition of two new operators: SKYLINK in Russia and Nordisk Mobiltelefon AS in Norway and Sweden. These are welcome additions for Qualcomm, which has an eye on expanding the European reach of its BREW solution. Publishers and developers worldwide now have two new local operators that they can sell their BREW content to, enabling SKYLINK and Nordisk to offer a vast array of exciting wireless applications and services to their subscribers in the region.

The agreement with Nordisk Mobiltelefon AS will bring BREW-enabled voice and data services to rural areas in Norway and Sweden. Nordisk company spokesperson Johan Lodenius said, "Our CDMA450 network combined with the BREW solution provides an excellent platform for the development and distribution of new services to our professional and consumer users."

SKYLINK in Russia will offer its subscribers the benefits of BREW over its CDMA2000 network. As the country's largest CDMA operator, SKYLINK has already enhanced its wireless network, and is now further deploying its wireless vision with a strong suite of application capabilities - case in point, the BREW platform. SKYLINK Deputy General Director Nikolav Likhachev commented, "By offering the latest in mobile content based on the BREW solution, SKYLINK's mobile subscribers will be able to access the most compelling wireless content available in the Russian market and reinforce our vision of the wireless future."

The momentum that Qualcomm's BREW solution is experiencing in Europe marks a significant step for the region. Qualcomm's two new European operators are expanding the BREW platform to new locations, expanding its global reach and offering new and exciting opportunities to the global wireless value chain.

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The Blogging Revolution Marches Into the Mobile Space

It wasn't too long ago when all you expected your mobile phone to do was complete a voice call. Today, if your phone doesn't know where you are, have robust messaging, play games, take pictures, play music, surf the Internet and record video, it just isn't up to snuff. Given this advanced functionality, you don't have a mobile phone in your hand anymore. You have a mobile connected media hub that we now call a PMD, or Personal Media Device.

If you believe the hype, mobile TV is the "next big thing" in wireless. After all, there's little reason not to believe that a TV - the best-selling consumer electronic device in history - when in the palm of your hand, will get watched. Given the vast number of wireless subscribers around the world, it seems like there is a big opportunity in there somewhere.

Let's remember, however, that those same devices that consumers are using to watch short video clips of popular television shows also have cameras on them. This means they are not just downstream media consumption devices, but upstream media production devices too. We already know there is no shortage of self-expression in the mobile space - research firm Ovum predicts worldwide SMS traffic at 1.38 trillion for 2005. So, how is the definition of mobile multimedia going to change when there are millions of people walking around with the ability to send and share it?

The phenomenon known as blogging might play a role. Blogging is an evolved form of communication that is transforming media, society, politics and business at a rapid clip. The recent Pew Internet & American Life Project found that more than 53 million American adults or 44% of adult Internet users used the Internet to publish their thoughts, respond to others, post pictures, share files and otherwise contribute to the explosion of content available online. Now blogging is coming to the mobile space.

Mobile blogging applications that can categorize and distribute dynamic user-generated content quickly and easily could be just as popular as their Internet-based counterparts. Recognizing this, Intercasting Corp., which provides applications for personal media devices that connect people through user-generated, location specific content and experiences, debuted Rabble. Available as a BREW application, Rabble empowers users to create and consume media from their mobile phone and then share it to connect with others who have similar interests, experiences or proximity. The mobile phone thus turns into a location-enabled media publication and networking power tool, connecting people through shared sights and experiences.

The "next big thing" may be consuming media on your mobile device, but if consumer behavior and success on the Internet are any indications, the "next bigger thing" might be mobile blogging. With an eager audience and an inexhaustible supply of content and applications hitting the market right now the time is right for mobile users to create and share their media and start a mobile blogging revolution.

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Electronic Arts gets in the game with BREW

It's one of the best-known names in games. Electronic Arts is responsible for some of the most popular titles on the planet including Madden NFL 2006, The Sims™ 2 and Need for Speed™ Underground 2. At BREW 2005, EA announced it will publish and develop titles for the BREW solution.

John Batter, vice president for Electronic Arts and general manager of EA Mobile, sat down with QIS to talk about the mobile gaming market and getting on-board with BREW:

Qualcomm Internet Services (QIS): Electronic Arts is arguably the biggest name in gaming when it comes to PCs and consoles. What is so attractive about moving into mobile gaming?
John Batter (JB): EA sees the mobile platform as a natural extension of our hit game franchises, and we are excited to extend these familiar brands into the hands of consumers across the world. EA is entering the mobile marketplace with something that is fun for everyone.

QIS: Why has EA chosen to publish its titles for the BREW solution?
JB: EA is platform agnostic - so we will support all of the most widely used platforms available. The BREW platform represents a significant portion of the worldwide market, so naturally EA has an interest in developing for BREW. Beyond this, the BREW solution gives us all the tools we need to develop the types of game experiences we believe consumers want, such as high-quality 3D games.

QIS: OK, now we know why EA is moving into mobile gaming. But what's in it for your loyal fans? What will be the draw for them to play games on a wireless device?
JB: Anywhere game fans go, they can take their EA games along with them. The quality of the mobile gaming experience EA is delivering is suited to every kind of gamer - from young to old; casual gamers to even the hard core gamers. Also, the hit franchises we are bringing to the mobile platform all have a 10-30 minute game play component that makes them ideal for on-the-fly gaming.

QIS: Can you give us a sneak peek at any titles or genres mobile gamers can expect from EA?
JB: You can expect to see our most popular franchises on the mobile platform, including Need for Speed Underground 2, The Sims 2, Madden NFL 2006, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR®, FIFA Soccer, Poppit!™, Turbo 21™ and Tri Peaks Solitaire. We will release 20 mobile games by the end of this fiscal year, so stay tuned for more on our extensive line-up.

QIS: What are the advances in wireless technology that will lead to even better quality games?
JB: As game developers, the combination of Qualcomm's BREW solution - offering advancements in audio technology and 3D graphics, including support for OpenGL ES, higher speed wireless networks, more CPU power and a content friendly platform - are helping to provide us with the technology we need to create an interactive entertainment experience for mobile game players worldwide.

QIS: EA is working with a wide range of 3rd party developers for its initial set of BREW titles. What type of capabilities are you looking for from developers interested in working with EA?
JB: Having high expectations for our games, EA extends those expectations to our developers. We look for proven excellence in the mobile and handheld space. We also look to work with those developers who have a deep understanding of great game play, 3D graphics, networked games and online connectivity.

For more information about Electronic Arts, please visit their website at www.ea.com.

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BREW SDK 3.1.4, OpenGL ES Extension

With enhanced SMS and advanced camera features, new support for Bluetooth stereo headsets and support for cutting edge form factors, BREW 3.1.4 is worth checking out! Download the BREW SDK 3.1.4 to familiarize yourself with this latest version of BREW. Additionally you'll find enhanced simulation features including better simulation of hardware joysticks. https://brewx.qualcomm.com/brew/sdk/download.jsp?page=dx/3.1

Are you a BREW 3D Game Developer?
If so you may want to check out the latest version of the OpenGL ES Extension. It's been updated to support the newly released BREW SDK 3.1.4! https://brewx.qualcomm.com/brew/sdk/download.jsp?page=dx/devmisc

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