Location Based Services

"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

Mapping Technology

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:39:02 -0400

By Lynnette Luna

When the Federal Communications Commission mandated enhanced-911 capabilities 2001, the mobile industry had its eye on monetizing the requirement by offering mass-market navigation services. Seven years later, 2008 is becoming what Yankee Group calls the turning point for location-based services in North America as the majority of handsets now have integrated GPS capabilities and all major mobile operators plan to offer at least one GPS-based navigation application this year.

"We have taken as an industry people driving and walking around with paper maps to where customers expect a great mapping experience on their mobile devices," said Dave Singer, vice president and general manager of the Americas with mapping and navigation solution provider Telmap.

Indeed, mobile operators have now discovered a financial incentive to leverage their E911 investments and bring consumer navigation services to market, notes Jill Aldort, senior analyst with Yankee Group, in a recent report. "With the first indications that consumers would pony up $10 per month for driving directions, operators (namely Verizon and Sprint) painted their marketing campaigns with LBS."

Mapping and navigation applications aren't just about reading a map on a mobile screen anymore. It's now about premium services such as turn-by-turn directions, 3D maps, traffic overlays, inserting landmarks and points of interest to ultimately location-based advertising, social networking and mobile gaming, Singer said.

Verizon Wireless, partnering with Networks in Motion, is already encompassing several advanced features through its BREW-based VZ Navigator, which allows subscribers to use audible turn-by-turn directions to find their way to any address. VZ Navigator can also direct users to some 14 million points of interest, landmarks, restaurants and ATMs. The core of VZ Navigator is its GPS positioning features, which tells users where they are and which points of interest are nearby. It's estimated that VZ Navigator supports more than 1 million subscribers.

Telmap is working with a host of BREW operators, most recently partnering with Mexico's Grupo Iusacell to deliver a white-labeled mobile navigation application. The service includes Telmap-powered location-based turn-by-turn driving and walking directions with voice, graphic and text-based guidance to subscribers' mobile phones. It also offers maps , free-text local search capabilities along with advanced address search capabilities with auto-complete and fuzzy matching to enable users to find what they are looking for even with partial information or misspelled words.

TeleCommunications Systems (TCS), which offers a host of location solutions to carriers, government and public safety, works with developers by offering up a mapping server similar to Google's and allowing them to create applications using the server across various platforms, including BREW, Java and Windows Mobile.

TCS recently expanded its relationship with regional CDMA operator nTelos to enable the operator to offer a BREW-based turn-by-turn navigation application called Rand McNally Navigator, which was developed by TCS. This version of Navigator enables users to access real-time, voice-based turn-by-turn directions from their mobile devices as well as find points-of-interest and navigate to that location. But a key element of the deployment is location roaming, said Sean Murphy, director of mobile products with TCS.

"One of the things we've been driving from an industry perspective is LBS roaming and cross-network LBS support," Murphy said. "Regardless of what network an end-user is on, they can leverage the same LBS services they are accustomed to on a daily basis."

LBS roaming is especially critical for operators like nTelos, which don't have a national presence and rely on big operators such as Sprint and Verizon for service outside of their operating areas. "The worst thing that can happen is having your navigation or directions applications stop in a strange city," Murphy said.

TCS is also focusing on mapping capability that goes beyond the automobile-whether an end user needs to find his or her way while walking, hiking, bicycling or riding various forms of public transportation.

"The states have been so focused on driving directions in the car, while Japan and others have been focusing on alternative modes other than driving," Murphy noted. "WE are seeing a lot of requests in the U.S. now for a travel guide. If someone is in New York they might not have a vehicle but will still need help to navigate from point A to point B ... I may walk and then take the metro. I need all of that information to help me navigate."

And going forward, expect to see much more integration of navigation services, starting with a search for the nearest sushi restaurant along with turn-by-turn directions on how to get there. This integration trend should eventually turn into more sophisticated applications such as LBS-based mobile advertising.

Telmap is current in trials with a CDMA operator outside of the U.S. for a mobile advertising application. "That advertising model is the next step in maps and directions , and from our standpoint, part of an overall location-based solution," Singer said.

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?"

Change is BREWing

Thu, 22 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Change is BREWing

I've been writing about BREW since 2002 when Verizon Wireless announced that it was using Qualcomm Internet Services technology to power its "Get It Now" content download service. Back then, we still referred to BREW by its full name "binary runtime environment for wireless." Yes, it was a mouthful.

Today BREW is part of the wireless nomenclature. We don't have to spell out the acronym because everyone knows what it is. But BREW is about more than just its early incarnation, which primarily focused on downloads. It is about both off portal and on deck content. It's about personalization and merchandizing. It incorporates new technologies such as speech recognition and location-based services.

Verizon, of course, is one of BREW's biggest carrier customers and at BREW 2007, John Harrobin, Verizon's senior vice president of marketing and digital media, took the stage and challenged BREW developers to help the operator overcome some of the challenges with mobile content by working on better merchandizing and retailing solutions such as barcode ticketing and mobile coupons.

Will Harrobin get his wish at BREW 2008? It certainly appears as if Qualcomm listened to Harrobin's requests. The company acquired content targeting solutions developer Xiam Technologies in March and is incorporating Xiam into its next generation of BREW. 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.

But Xiam isn't the only thing that Qualcomm will be talking about at BREW. I also expect to hear Qualcomm talk about opening up BREW's ecosystem. With operators such as Verizon Wireless touting its "Any Device, Any Platform" agenda, many are wondering how BREW will fit into that vision. Thursday's keynote address by Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs will probably hint at that.

We'll be bringing you all the news from the BREW 2008 conference next week. FierceMarkets is producing the BREW Times show daily at the BREW conference and we'll be posting all our coverage live at the FierceDeveloper site--www.fiercedeveloper.com. -Sue

Analyzing the Android apps

Tue, 20 May 2008 06:59:59 -0400

Analyzing the Android apps

By now you've no doubt read over the list of winners for Google's Android Developer Challenge. The contest received 1,788 submissions in all, with the 50 best applications earning their developers a $25,000 prize. While much remains unknown about the Android OS, perhaps the winning entries offer some insight into Google's overall vision for the platform--with the Phandroid blog's app-by-app breakdown as a guide, let's see what we can parse out.

Location-based services are going to be huge. Applications including BreadCrumbz (a navigation tool), City Slikkers (a location-based game), PedNav (a daily activities planner tied to the urban environment), Locale (a location- and time-based user profiling app) and LifeAware (a family and friends tracking service) all underline location's vital role in Android's makeup. Which really shouldn't surprise anyone given Google's dominance in search and advertising.

Social networking is going to be big, too. Applications like Beetaun (a social networking service based on geographical content), Sustain (tagline: "Keeping Your Social Network Alive") and Pocket Journey (which promises connections to a global community of artists, historians, architects, musicians and comedians) all earned finalist prizes.

The forecast calls for weather apps. Em-Radar delivers emergency and severe weather alerts. HandWx offers seven-day weather forecasts. And The Weather Channel for Android is self-explanatory. It should be interesting to compare and contrast these apps once they launch to determine whether they offer sufficiently unique experiences to justify their inclusion among the finalists.

The enterprise is on the outside looking in. Where are the enterprise apps? While the details of some of the ADC winners remain under wraps, those that have been disclosed focus almost exclusively on the consumer market--only BioWallet, a biometric authentication system featuring iris recognition, would seem to offer something new and exciting as a corporate security safeguard. Especially given Android's emphasis on social networking, it's surprising that not even collaboration and unified communication tools made the cut.

We don't know everything…yet. Four of the 50 winning applications remain unnamed at their creators' request, which may also explain the absence of mobile games and other lingering question marks. So no rush to judgment--just a slow crawl. -Jason

RIM to launch BlackBerry Developer Conference in fall

Tue, 20 May 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Not to be outdone, rival device giant Research In Motion announced it will launch its own annual developer conference, scheduled to take place in Santa Clara, Calif. the week of October 20, 2008. The BlackBerry Developer Conference will provide commercial and corporate developers assistance and insight in building applications for RIM's BlackBerry platform alongside keynotes from mobile bigwigs, general sessions, roundtable discussions, hands-on workshops, networking opportunities and exhibits. Scheduled topics include "Building Powerful Enterprise Applications on the BlackBerry Platform," "Creating Captivating Applications and Services for Consumers," "Latest Development Tools," "Rich Internet Application Development" and "Integrating Location-Based Services." Click here for updates and registration information and check out the new BlackBerry Developer Video Library for related instructional videos.

For more on the BlackBerry Developer Conference:
-read this release

Related articles:
Survey: BlackBerry tops smartphone user survey
Facebook sells stake to Microsoft, partners with RIM
Motorola Q, BlackBerry Pearl top Handango Yardstick

Android Developer event yields almost 1800 entries

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Google announced that its Android Developer Challenge generated 1,788 entries from over 70 countries, chief among them the U.S., Germany, Japan, China, India, Canada, France and the U.K. The contest--first announced in November--will dole out $10 million in awards for innovative mobile applications created for the Android mobile OS, with suggested application subjects including social networking, media consumption and management, productivity solutions, gaming and location-based services. According to Google, the number of entries spiked in the final hours leading up to the Android Developer Challenge's April 14 deadline, reaching as high as more than 170 submissions per hour. Winners will be announced July 21.

For more on the Android Developer Challenge:
-read this Android Developers Blog entry
- Also check out this video on building Android applications

Related articles:
HTC's Android device a "Dream"?
Startup a la Mobile unveils first Android apps

Nokia adds GyPSii's LBS app to Symbian handsets

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Geo-location service provider GyPSii announced that handset giant Nokia will add the Symbian version of the GyPSii application to its N95 and 6110 Navigator mobile devices. According to GyPSii, the web-based application--which combines social networking, location-based news, search services and user-generated content creation and sharing--is already optimized for Windows Mobile-based devices. "Consumer demand for mobile location based services is rising dramatically, and widespread handset compatibility is key to any company wishing to launch new and exciting services such as GyPSii into that market," said GyPSii CEO Dan Harple in a prepared statement. "Symbian is the dominant handset operating system, and Nokia the dominant handset manufacturer."

For more on the GyPSii/Symbian announcement:
-read this release

Related articles:
Just how new is the new Nokia?
Nokia buys LBS software provider gate5
Navigation apps drive LBS success

Tira Wireless secures $5 million in Series D

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Mobile technology and services provider Tira Wireless announced the completion of a Series D financing round totaling $5 million and led by existing investors Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, Brightspark Ventures, Flagship Ventures and Export Development Canada. According to Tira Wireless, the funding is earmarked to expand the firm's horizons beyond its core traditional mobile entertainment sensibilities, delivering products designed to appeal to a broader audience of large and small developers seeking to explore the mobile platform but requiring additional domain expertise and tools to address fragmentation complexities.

Among the technologies Tira Wireless plans to target are messaging and GPS-enabled location based services as well as Web 2.0 and interactive applications for social networking, blogging and related rich media experiences. "We have been very successful in executing our strategic plan for market growth, and are now well positioned to embrace the latest phase of our product roll out," said Tira Wireless CEO Doug Barre in a prepared statement. "The first rounds of funding enabled us to establish a solid foothold in the mobile ecosystem by supporting the needs of those in the entertainment and mobile games sector. The market is now ready to embrace a new genre of mobile content, and with this latest round of funding, we have the resources needed to captivate an audience of developers that are looking to get their existing applications to a mobile device and mobile market."

For more on the Tira Wireless funding:
- read this release

Related article:
- Tira Wireless announces Jump 2007

Navigating LBS

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:03:43 -0400

Mobile location-based services (LBS) are starting to gain traction with consumers and operators. BREW offers its Locate Solution to operators that want to offer location-based applications to the customers. According to Johnson, the BREW Locate solution leverages the skills of developers by allowing them to develop an LBS application and then offer it to multiple operators around the world.

One example of a popular LBS application is Verizon Wireless' BREW-based VZ Navigator, which allows subscribers to use audible turn-by-turn directions to find their way to any address. VZ Navigator can also direct users to some 14 million points of interest, landmarks, restaurants and ATMs. The core of VZ Navigator is its GPS positioning features, which tells users where they are and which points of interest are nearby.

Some of the issues surrounding LBS Navigation applications will be addressed during the "Business Models for Successful LBS Applications" panel at the BREW conference on Thursday at 2:45 p.m.