Qualcomm

Qualcomm confirms work on Android platform

Jason Ankeny — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:28:10 -0400

Wireless solutions provider Qualcomm confirmed it is at work developing a mobile platform in support of Google's fledgling Android OS. Qualcomm COO Sanjay Jha, speaking last week at an analysts presentation (just days before his exit to take over Motorola's devices unit), said the firm expects a large number of Android devices will operate on Qualcomm platforms. The first commercial Android devices are expected to hit stores this autumn. Qualcomm is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, the mobile technology industry coalition spearheaded by Google to support Android development.

For more on Qualcomm's Android plans:
- read this Cellular-News article

Related articles:
Android gets closed-minded
Android is not delayed. But who cares if it is?

QUICKLINKS: Intel to re-enter mobile phone market; Qualcomm builds a Plaza full of widgets;

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:59:55 -0400

> Intel to re-enter mobile phone market.

> Qualcomm builds a Plaza full of widgets.

> Guitar Hero Mobile III strikes it big at BREW Developer Awards.

> Skyfire Labs scores $13 million in Series B.

"True BREW Testing": Advice and Tips for Creating a Successful App

Fri, 30 May 2008 17:24:01 -0400

The application testing and review process that is used to approve BREW applications for distribution to customers is well known for its rigorous requirements.

Operators know that an application that successfully makes its way through the certification process will perform well and will download over-the-air to the device as it should. It will not interfere with a handset's voice services, disrupt the handset's hardware or firmware, or cause problems to the network. And the application will be digitally signed by an approved developer, which ensures that it is an authentic BREW product.

The process, called "True BREW Certification," has been in place since the inception of BREW in 2001, when it was used to evaluate the applications that ran on the first BREW-enabled handset. Since those initial implementations, thousands of applications have been introduced by more than 80 developers, whose products are offered on devices from 45 manufacturers for use on 60 operator networks. Today, True BREW testing must meet those volumes and it must consider, as well, how applications use newer technologies and features now popular on mobile phones, such as Bluetooth, streaming media and GPS-enabled location-based services, and how the software interacts with the network or a content provider's server.

Despite the market growth and some increasingly sophisticated tests, the True BREW testing process itself and the basic testing criteria haven't changed much over the years, says Kathy Braegger, head of developer relations at Qualcomm Internet Services.

"But obviously, the more complex and rich the applications are becoming, the more we have to test for," she said. "Always the goal is making sure that the end user has a good, quality experience with that application. That's huge for BREW."

All applications are tested on actual handsets in San Diego by a Intertek NSTL, which has been the sole vendor providing True BREW testing services since the 2001 BREW launch. Several testing levels are offered, depending on the intended use of an application. The levels include a "full test" of all True BREW test procedures that is used for every application; approaches to extend a full test of a single application to multiple handset platforms to eliminate redundant tests (which can eliminate up to one-third of the tests needed after the first full test); and self-testing, in which qualified developers evaluate their own applications according to True BREW test criteria, prior to submission, to streamline the certification process. Self-tested applications are subject to spot-testing process to ensure they comply with True BREW performance and quality standards.

"Self-certification is much more prevalent today than it has been ever before, because as the test plan gets known and developers get their own processes down for quality assurance testing, they're able to satisfy the requirements," said Brent Melson, vice president of technology for Intertek NSTL (National Software Testing Labs).

Wherever possible, QIS has also built efficiencies into the certification process to help meet increasing certification demands, Braegger said. For example, it has created a way to identification device families, such as the Motorola RAZR, which have similar screen sizes, keypads, or other features that can benefit from a multiple platform testing strategy. It has also eliminated the need for re-testing of specific software components, such as the proprietary BREW module information file (MIF) that every BREW application must have, when a particular application is tested for multiple devices.

Aaron Rosenzweig, an Intertek NSTL project manager who oversees True BREW testing at the company's San Diego labs, said that the vast majority of the tests, around 80-85%, are conducted to evaluate the interactions between the application, the handset and the software that is installed on the device by the manufacturer.

According to Rosenzweig, some of the most severe problems are those that affect the handset power cycle, for example when a key press shuts off the phone off or causes it to freeze up. Other failures might stem from faulty functionality of the application, as when a ring tone, once purchased, won't run on the handset, or when the use of an application prevents the use of voice calls or text messages.

The certification is not intended to make sure a BREW application is likeable or even useful. Nor is it a guarantee that operators will adopt an application. Ideally, a developer would have a distribution agreement and pricing plan negotiated with an operator before submitting an application for True BREW testing, which must be paid for by the developer.

The testing process is also more extensive and lengthier than the testing regimens used by the Symbian Signed, Windows Mobile Mobile2Market, and Java Verified certification programs, according to Intertek NSTL, which provides testing services for all of these. Braegger, of QIS, said that an application that passes through True BREW testing without any failures can be certified in a day if it is prioritized for an operator. Otherwise, a developer should expect it to take about 4-6 days.

Ultimately, an application's potential to attract the interest and commitment from an operator will depend on the product's basic market potential. GlobalLogic, a software engineering company that creates applications and conducts QA testing for BREW developers, also offers usability testing to make sure its customers' applications will be liked and used by consumers.

"It's one thing for an application to pass certain tests that are driven by True BREW certification [and other] testing requirements," said Chet Kolley, an area vice president at GlobalLogic. "It's another thing for the application to work well and look good for the consumer," he said.

The most important test case to keep in mind, in other words, is how a customer will use the application on their phone.

True BREW Testing Goals, Priorities, and Responsibilities
Tests	Severity Level	Responsibility
Application does not disrupt network, shared resources, or other subscribers	1	True BREW Testing and Developer
Application does not disrupt handset hardware and firmware	2	True BREW Testing and Developer
Application does not interfere with OEM phone functioning	3	True BREW Testing and Developer
Application is stable and basic functions are present	4	True BREW Testing and Developer
Phone meets functional requirements, including displays, data entry, and control	5	True BREW Testing and Developer
Application is useful, appealing, popular, meets business goals	6	Developer

Source: Qualcomm Internet Services

Qualcomm turns on, tunes in and zooms out

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:19:36 -0400

CEO Jacobs emphasizes the increasingly open nature of BREW

By Jason Ankeny

Qualcomm grabbed the spotlight at its 8^th annual BREW development conference to champion a vision for the wireless industry that expands beyond voice services into new business models, service offerings and markets. According to Qualcomm Internet Services Senior Vice President and General Manager of BREW Bob Briggs, the theme of BREW 2008--the ubiquitous "Zoom Out"--heralds the company's belief that widening its reach to embrace a more open and flexible approach promises to optimize growth throughout the mobile value chain. This point was reiterated time and again in subsequent appearances by CEO Paul Jacobs and Executive Vice President and Group President Len Lauer.

Jacobs' keynote touted the concept of convergence, outlining a future in which Qualcomm's core technologies enable connected services in all kinds of consumer electronics and personal devices, not just mobile handsets. "It's no longer good enough to have a browser on the phone--we need to take advantage of things inherent in the wireless network," Jacobs said. "The Kindle [Amazon's e-book reader product] is a great example of a focused device and service that uses mobile to change the way people behave. It doesn't look like a phone, and users don't sign up for a mobile service." Jacobs cited televisions and DVD players as everyday household products that could benefit enormously from the addition of connectivity, and said Qualcomm plans to begin preloading some BREW applications on electronic devices at the point of retail release.

Another takeaway from Jacobs' keynote is Qualcomm's increasing emphasis on opening its platform to enable developers greater control over the commercial fate of their applications. He said the continuing evolution of the BREW Client will allow developers to reduce their time to market with distribution across multiple networks and devices. "The further we open BREW, the more we give developers more direct control over merchandizing their content through as many channels as possible," Jacobs said. "As we continue to open BREW, we will enable improved purchase and discovery of applications, more control over retail pricing, and enable developers to offer their applications direct to consumers. It sounds like off-portal, but we're talking about delivering the application through the operator's BREW platform. It should bring a lot of interesting opportunities to the ecosystem."

Lauer meanwhile addressed Qualcomm's horizontal capabilities and their role in expanding the scope of application development. He pointed to tent-pole services including mobile commerce, content delivery, broadcast media, location and presence, and advertising and presence as increasingly vital components of the mobile user experience. Lauer outlined a hypothetical scenario whereby he could be shopping in a Nordstrom's department store: Thanks to presence and geotagging features, his phone could receive coupons or discounts based on past Nordstrom's purchases, get recommendations according to his consumer profile and make payments via credit cards or retailer loyalty card programs.

Lauer also spotlighted Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile broadcast technology. In recent weeks, the firm introduced a new in-vehicle mobile TV service, and Lauer said Qualcomm will continue to explore similar opportunities, including consumer electronics. "Why not mobile TV as an additional feature or differentiator?" he asked. The conventional MediaFLO mobile TV platform is also poised for growth: Lauer said new channels will roll out later this year, and Qualcomm is also exploring original content production from both professional and user-generated sources.

Qualcomm builds a Plaza full of widgets

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:31:25 -0400

By Dan O'Shea

During a press conference yesterday, Qualcomm gave greater detail about how it is further feeding the open mobile Internet frenzy with Plaza, a new framework featuring collected, certified catalogs of mobile widgets-the increasingly-popular thin Internet clients that reside on mobile devices.

BREW and non-BREW carriers alike will be able to present "widget walls" giving users "quicker and easier personalized access to the Internet," while allowing carriers to take the lead in presenting it to them, said Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president and president of QIS/MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe. "There are other widget platforms out there, but what makes Plaza different is that Plaza is very purposely focused on the traditional wireless value chain. We're keeping the application evolution in the hands of the companies that know customers the best. Our technology platform aggregates a number of developed widgets so that phones can be pre-loaded with them-the understanding being that the operator has pre-selected the widgets based on user demographics and customer information."

Gilbert said Qualcomm is working with several carriers to determine how those widget walls will be presented. Yet, end users still will have a high degree of choice in the matter as well. "The individual subscriber can add or remove widgets, pulling them from the operator catalog," Gilbert said.

He acknowledged that users could still go off-deck and download other widgets not included in those carrier catalogs. But, they will not have passed Qualcomm's certification muster. "The opportunity here is really to give the operator a trusted widget platform to offer their customers," Gilbert said. "They can take control of their own applications destiny. For the end user, as long as you have a Web browser, you're good to go. This is not tied to a particular SDK."

Also at the press conference, Steve Sprigg, senior vice president of engineering for Qualcomm, offered more details about the new BREW Mobile Platform. Sprigg said BMP helps Qualcomm fulfill its goals of expanding the BREW developer community and pushing advanced capabilities traditionally available only to high-end phones out to mass-market mobile devices. "We've added more APIs and have made BREW more modular and scalable," Sprigg said "We've simplified license agreements for developers and we're providing them with more source code."

Sprigg also said the previously announced teaming of Qualcomm and Adobe will see more BREW resources passed to Adobe developers. "We're bringing two developer communities together, uniting the Web community and the mobile community, bringing millions of developers to hundreds of millions of handsets."

Keep your hands on the merchandise

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 11:03:20 -0400

by Jason Ankeny

Ask anyone with a working knowledge of the wireless industry to isolate the major challenges hampering mobile content adoption, and they'll inevitably point to discovery and access complexities as the prime suspects. But even as the user experience continues to improve, mobile data remains a tough sell, if only because digital content poses such a difficult merchandising proposition--after all, many hallmarks of traditional merchandising such as packaging design and retail display don't translate to digital content, which offers no physical product to promote.

But mobile's unique challenges are offset by its innovative opportunities. What separates mobile subscribers from other consumer demographics is the level of personalization operators and their content partners can offer--instead of the broad-brush merchandising approach common across conventional media platforms, mobile can pinpoint the behaviors and interests of each user based on previous shopping patterns.

The obstacles posed by mobile content merchandising resulted in Qualcomm acquiring content targeting solutions developer Xiam Technologies in March 2008. Xiam's My Personal Offers System targeting and personalization technology promises to individualize the user experience via relevant content offers and advertisements geared specifically to the consumer in question. "We offer the ability for an operator to understand who the subscriber is and make them offers on an individual basis based on their likes and dislikes, the content they've purchased before and what they're looking at on-portal," said Xiam Marketing Manager Martin Clancy. "Qualcomm realized this area is important for operators looking to build a content business."

According to Clancy, Xiam's MPOS solution builds a behavioral profile of each individual user based on browsing logs and related data,. It then matches the profile with the operator's content catalog to supply tailored recommendations. "We're playing matchmaker," he said. "We're offering each consumer a one-to-one offer."

Xiam employs five different algorithms to determine the recommendations and guarantees the content associations make logical sense--needless to say, you don't want to offer a Chris Rock comedy clip to a subscriber who's just downloaded a Christian rock ringtone. Sometimes the recommendations span product types: For example, offering the full-track download incarnation of a popular ringtone. Other merchandising efforts embrace the related-content recommendation model pioneered by Amazon.com. Clancy added that all of Xiam's recommendations are made in real time, an innovation necessitated by the rapid-fire changes affecting content availability.

Advertising affords another growing opportunity to promote mobile content, especially as it relates to personalized recommendations. "Taking a user profile and targeting the user with specific ads is a very powerful and exciting possibility for the operator to generate new revenue streams," Clancy said.

Content providers also are exploring new merchandising channels. At BREW 2007, Warner Music Group announced a series of over-the-air, downloadable, artist-branded mobile themes based on Qualcomm's uiOne data services solution, promising in one file download a bundled suite of mobile products including ringtones, wallpapers, full-track songs and games from popular WMG artists. Warner Music Group Senior Vice President of Technology Strategy George White said the bundled merchandising approach was inspired in part by the success of operator KDDI's Chaka Uta Full service, which offers full-track downloads complete with a series of preset edit points enabling consumers to create their own ringtones.

For all that's unique about mobile merchandising, some Marketing 101 principles remain consistent regardless of the product or service in the spotlight. Product placement is critical, and in mobile, the prime real estate is on the carrier deck: A recent report issued by market analysis firm MultiMedia Intelligence states that off-deck revenues accounted for just $3.4 billion of $18.5 billion in total premium mobile content revenues reported during 2007.

Pricing and discounting also retain their power regardless of the merchandise in question. "Pricing is still a challenge, and something we're working hard to solve for operators," Clancy said, citing promotional tools such as bundling as key elements to foster content sales growth. "Promotions drive usage by providing value to the user--‘Buy one, get one free offers,' that sort of thing. But that requires integration with the operator to bring billing and provisioning systems closer in line with their portal."

Whatever merchandising avenues operators and content providers choose to explore, Clancy said relevance is paramount. "Operators must bring users closer to them, understand them better and offer the opportunity to consume content that's relevant to them," he said. "This is not the Internet. It's not the same proposition. It's a case of getting serious about this channel and enabling users to interact with us in a meaningful way."

Universal selects BrandXtend for D2C content

Mike Dolan — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:11:20 -0400

By Sue Marek

Qualcomm Internet Services just added another feather to its BrandXtend cap. The company announced today that Universal Music Group will expand its lineup of direct-to-consumer mobile content by leveraging Qualcomm's BrandXtend solution. UMG's mobile offering will be available directly to consumers through its artist web and WAP sites, CD packaging and its GetMusic.com portal.

By leveraging BrandXtend, UMG will be able to offer an array of direct-to-consumer mobile products, including ringtones, video ringtones, wallpapers, artist updates from thousands of the UMG artists. BrandXtend will allow UMG to manage their D2C content through content delivery mechanisms, campaign management and merchandising tools that include recommendations, bundles, text campaigns and more.

This is the second major brand that has selected Qualcomm's BrandXtend platform. Major League Baseball is also a BrandXtend customer. Qualcomm currently works with MLB to deliver any content across any network to any device.

Qualcomm goes with Plaza

Thu, 29 May 2008 11:23:19 -0400

By Sue Marek

Building on the growing personalization phenomenon, Qualcomm Internet Services is announcing a platform-agnostic service, called Plaza, that provides a framework for widget development that will enable operators to provide users with personalized access to the mobile Internet. Plaza will let operators and developers produce and deliver Internet-based content across devices. "We are leveraging our service delivery ecosystem with BREW and bringing it to the Widget delivery platform," said Andrew Gilbert, executive vice president and president of Qualcomm Internet Services, MediaFLO Technologies and Qualcomm Europe. Plaza is intended to let operators personalize their subscribers' mobile Internet experiences and drive additional revenue.

According to Gilbert, Plaza lets subscribers build a widget catalog easily and seamlessly. "It's a great way to deliver and consume content in a mobile environment. It's easy to get access to the Web. We will help the operator ensure these widgets are trusted, certified and part of the good experience for customer," Gilbert said. "We also will strengthen the brand value of the operator and deliver it as part of an overall package to the operator. It ties with recommendation and profiling. They come together as part of this rich and open BREW experience."

Plaza is not device dependent but operators can personalize and certify them. Qualcomm is also working with developers to develop widgets for Plaza.

U.S. Cellular's strategic BREW plan: improving discoverability

Thu, 29 May 2008 09:20:11 -0400

A commitment to quality and customer service may sound cliché, but regional operator U.S. Cellular has crafted its entire mobile business around these concepts, from the significant networks investments it makes to paying careful attention to the customer-oriented people it hires to the BREW data applications it serves up to its customers.

Considered a super-regional operator, Chicago-based U.S. Cellular supports more than 6 million customers in 26 states primarily in the Midwest, New England and Pacific Northwest. In a market characterized by rapid innovation and delivery in the wireless data application realm, U.S. Cellular is surprisingly slow to the punch, and that's okay with its executives.

"Our focus is not on speed, but experience," said Joe Settimi, director of product strategy and development with U.S. Cellular, a company that took some 15 months to evaluate BREW back in 2002. "We are much more selective about the content applications we put on our deck. It may frustrate developers, but our customers love it. There is a level of trust built up, and we don't want to destroy that."

According to Settimi, this slower approach has resulted is some BREW-based services and applications that have had a significant impact on uptake of the operator's easyedge data services. Last year, U.S. Cellular worked with Napster, Qualcomm and Motorola to implement Napster to Go service, putting significant emphasis on application usability. That meant that users needed to have an out-of-box user experience with mobile music.

"Historically in wireless, music is an afterthought," Settimi said. "You get home and realize you have to buy all of these extra things. We made sure to package them all together. That drove the customer experience, and Napster raved about how many of our customers used the applications."

U.S. Cellular also worked with developer Asurion to tailor a popular application called My Contacts Backup, which is offered to customers for free. The application automatically protects contact information stored in a user's mobile phone and enables them to transfer the information to a new handset or remotely erase them if the phone is lost or stolen. The tool combines a downloadable handset application with a Web-based contact management portal to provide automatic or manual contact backup options. When customers replace their devices, they need only login to the application and it automatically restores the contact list to the new phone.

When it comes to ringtones, U.S. Cellular consolidated all of its ringtone application providers onto one Web site called Tone Room. From there, customers can preview and send ringtones directly to their handsets using BREW-directed SMS to wake up the application on the phone and deliver the ringtone. Users can also purchase ringtones directly from their phones.

For sure, BREW services have seen tremendous growth on U.S. Cellular's network, although the company declines to give any statistics regarding BREW-related growth and ARPU due to competitive reasons. In 2007 alone, data revenues increased 69.1 percent, to $367.6 million.

"BREW services have seen fantastic growth as more customers become aware and see the value these applications provide," Settimi said. "We have also seen tremendous growth across all data products, including text, pics and SMS."

While ringtones, games and wall paper represent the largest growth areas in BREW for U.S. Cellular, the popularity of Web browsing has increased significantly within the last eight months, despite the fact that the operator has offered a Web browser since 2003. Settimi attributes the phenomenon to the introduction of Apple's iPhone.

"A lot of carriers in the past have not advertised around a product, and the iPhone was advertised around a product. People got to see a close-up of the screen and the browser working. Those things have helped drive awareness," Settimi said.

Now that every U.S. Cellular device has BREW included on it and the operator has tapped deeper into its subscriber base with easyedge services, the next goal is to improve discoverability of content to increase usage even more.

"We have certainly been trying to make some concerted efforts around discoverability during the last six months," Settimi said. "Carriers have had limited the adoption by launching services with poor usability. We know he or she may never try applications again if they have a bad experience."

The operator is improving discoverability multiple ways. One method includes preloading applications on devices. When a customer opens the box and activates the phone, an application is readily available on the home screen, helping to drive awareness of BREW applications.

Enabling mobile search across devices is another significant way to drive data usage, Settimi said. No matter how well organized an application catalogue is, end users still find it difficult to find the application they desire. Mobile search only requires a customer to click on a search application and type in the type of content or application they are looking for, whether it's typing in the word "email" or "Cold Play" to obtain music from that band.

U.S. Cellular is also tying applications to the Web interface where applicable. That means if a customer enters the operator's mShop on-device shopping portal, for instance, and clicks on "games" then appropriate advertising banners would display more popular games that would take the customer directly to the advertised game without having to wade through the deck.

U.S. Cellular executives will be presenting many of these ideas at this week's BREW 2008 conference during a session titled: "Leveraging the BREW Platform: Examples from U.S. Cellular" on Thursday, May 29, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Is it excitement or hype for mobile LBS?

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:36:21 -0400

By Brian Dolan

In five short years mobile location-based services are expected to generate $13.3 billion in annual worldwide revenue, according to a recent report from ABI Research. Last year the services generated $515 million, but the momentum in the mobile LBS sector is apparent in the aggressive marketing carriers' have put behind navigation services and family locator applications as well as massive mergers and acquisitions like Nokia's acquisition of Navteq. So are these red letter days for mobile LBS? That depends on who you ask.

"Last year was more of a banner year than ever before for LBS services," Leslie Presutti, director of product management for Qualcomm's gpsOne group. "Nokia did an awful lot of groundwork to get LBS services established last year and they were going to push LBS with or without carrier partners. Carriers got the sense last year that they need to get on the [LBS] bandwagon."

Presutti notes that Nokia isn't the only one putting pressure on the carriers: Other change agents like Google are entering the market and pushing the incumbent to take action sooner than later. While Presutti acknowledges that the Nokia-Navteq is probably just the beginning of consolidation in the mobile LBS space, she hopes there won't be too much consolidation that innovation is sacrificed.

Right now mobile LBS applications like family and friend finders are gaining widespread support and navigation is close to becoming a given on advanced handsets, Presutti said. "We're almost to a point that navigation services that allow users to get from point A to point B will be commoditized. It will be a given in 12 to 18 months I bet. Consumers will just expect navigations applications to be present on their phones." Presutti said.

Once navigation services do become commoditized, however, application developers and carriers will need to look to the market innovators more than ever to keep users happy enough to be paying their $10 a month for LBS services.

"What will keep folks interested in mobile LBS?" Presutti asks. "When the market reaches that point in the next year or two, mobile advertising will come into play in a big way. LBS will help carriers and brands get more ingrained into a user's personal life and determine what that user likes to do and what kind of information they like to receive when they are doing certain things. In these cases, location based services are no longer serving as differentiators, but as the foundation [of the mobile experience]," Presutti said.

A recent report from Jupiter Research encouraged brands to enter the budding mobile advertising market, citing Nokia's acquisition of Navteq as an indication of an imminent rise in geo-targeted advertising.

Some companies in the location-based services market, however, contend that the hype around some of the newer applications is overblown. WaveMarket's founder and CEO Tasso Roumeliotis doesn't share Presutti's view that 2007 was a banner year for mobile location-based services.

"It was and it wasn't," Roumeliotis said. "On the one hand, we saw a lot of coverage and excitement over LBS, but there are only two applications that have generated big revenue: navigation and family locator services. These services generally cost consumers between $5 and $10 a month and they have been extremely well-marketed by carriers. The rest of the applications in LBS have received very high profile press coverage but achieved very little traction."

Roumeliotis chalks up the weak uptake of other services to expensive pricing, a dearth of interested users and a lack of carrier interoperability for LBS services.

WaveMarket is positioning its platform, VeriPlace to become the defacto platform for mobile LBS services by opening up its APIs and encouraging developers to create future applications. The company has already launched family locator services on a half dozen carriers, including Alltel, but Roumeliotis does not believe the market is yet ripe for applications beyond family locators and navigation.

"Who wants to be on a friend locator service if only two of your friends are on it?" Roumeliotis asked. "Once one subscriber leaves because it's not worth the $10-a-month to keep tabs on two friends, do you think those other two friends are going to stick around for long?"