BREW 2008

SEGA's Sonic rings up 8 million mobile downloads

Fri, 30 May 2008 17:24:41 -0400

Gaming firm SEGA Mobile announced its flagship title Sonic the Hedgehog has scored more than 8 million mobile downloads since debuting in the North American and European markets in early 2006. Sonic made its initial mobile bow on the Verizon Wireless deck, and SEGA Mobile’s
Vice President of Mobile Business Linda Chaplin said the operator’s sales remain strong more than two years later.

“Sonic is the second most popular videogame character of all time after Mario,” Chaplin said. “His appeal spans across all ages.”

SEGA Mobile also announced that Tammy Robinson, formerly the manager of content programming for games, wallpaper and applications at Verizon Wireless, has joined as its senior director of sales. Robinson has been in the wireless industry for a decade--during her time at Verizon, she grew the operator’s games content revenue by 38 percent and increased the carrier’s market share to more than 40 percent. She was also instrumental in the company’s multiplatform content strategy for its game business and helped merchandize games on the V CAST network.

At SEGA, Robinson will be responsible for expanding the firm’s current channel partnerships and establishing new relationships with carriers, portals and OEMs.

"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

Video Takes a Social Turn on Mobiles

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 17:21:57 -0400

Already hot on the PC Internet, sharing video on wireless devices seems a logical next step

By Susan Murray

Wireless data is skyrocketing, networks are getting speedier and community is gaining traction on mobile handsets. All of these factors are helping video become more of a social experience on the wireless phone, especially from the perspective of mobile video provider Transpera, which is looking to help monetize web videos on mobile phones by working with publishers and carriers.

Frank Barbieri, CEO of Transpera, believes adding the social aspect to the mobile video content offerings is important because, "people don't want to just be entertained, they want to share [content] with their friends." This plays to Transpera's philosophy that mobile video is more than being able to view broadcast TV programs on a handset, it is about interaction and community. Early video experiences on mobile phones simply replicated the cable model where users pay a monthly fee, but Barbieri said Transpera has found that users are more interested in video experiences that are shared or user generated.

Transpera is helping to propel the video movement forward on the BREW platform. Alltel used Transpera technology to bring its Alltel Social Video service to its customer base. The application goes beyond just video playback, by enabling users to create share groups and make use of address book integration capabilities. Users also have the option to rate and review videos. "The Transpera platform that Alltel Wireless chose to use for its social video application will provide its customers with seamless video and advertising delivery, while connecting them to the entertaining and social world of online video," Barbieri said.

While the emergence of the iPhone has helped propel video usage on handsets and Barbieri has seen an explosion of growth on WAP, he said BREW can offer users a new level of sophistication. "There is a willingness to drive capabilities for video on the BREW deck," he said. Wireless industry analyst Jeff Kagan agreed, saying BREW is a compelling offer. "It is a great middleware that links technologies," he said.

Adding video or a social aspect to mobile content makes sense to Kagan. "It has only been a few years since [social video] started exploding [on the PC]...and it has become very successful with users. The next step is always to the mobile device," said Kagan, who notes that the success on mobile however depends on how well it is marketed and on the experience of the people running the companies pushing the technology.

The Carrier Perspective

Carriers should wrap their arms around social video for mobiles because it offers them a way to capture young consumers. The 16 to 24-year old set of consumers, which Barbieri called "Mobile Primaries," are highly invested in their mobile phone and are looking to new phones to satisfy them -- it doesn't matter to them where the content originates. To prove his point, Barbieri referred to an ABI Research study showing how mobile consumers are willing to get their content from various sources. The "Mobile Content Survey Results" report found that of the 14 percent of survey participants that watch video content on their mobile device, were divided about even as to where they acquired video content: 35 percent from YouTube; 31 percent directly from the carrier's content suite; and 28 percent from side-loading content. Carriers, according to this study, can benefit by opening up their networks and pushing farther into ad-supported content delivery.

Video Keeps Rolling

Barbieri believes we are just at the tipping point when it comes to video on mobile phones, noting that there will be a strong correlation between 3G penetration and video usage uptake. "If you look at the penetration of 3G-capable handsets, we are at about 30 percent in North America; broadband households was at 30 percent in 2005, which was a tipping point for [broadband]," he said. "We are at a tipping point for mobile."

Musing about the possibility of success for adding a social aspect to video offered on mobile devices, Kagan asserted, "Obviously it is going to be hot ... it is part of the wireless experience that is brand new, but it will be limited to a segment of the marketplace who like the Internet."

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.

Most wireless apps miss the mark

Fri, 30 May 2008 17:18:42 -0400

Even the best mobile applications today don't take full advantage of the wireless network.

By Iain Gillott

Many companies and individuals have described a future for mobile content as it relates to the desktop-based Internet. Coupled with the development of mobile devices (i.e. bigger brighter screens, faster processors, increased memory and infinite battery life) the Web-centric protagonists simply extend the best applications and content to the mobile device.

An example can be seen in the recent concepts that have emerged for games based on Apple's iPhone. The games make use of the iPhone's Mac OS and its processor to simply extend Mac games to the mobile device - the user interface and movement sensor are incorporated into the game's controls.

Other example is music. Music is commonly available on mobile phones and a range of OEMs allow for both side-loading and downloading of music to the device. Some operators offer streaming music and, obviously, video.

This is easy to do but really misses the value of mobility. The Web-centists are just taking Internet content and applications and shrinking them to fit a smaller mobile device. In essence, the content is just moving from one platform to another, without taking advantage of the mobile aspects of the wireless network.

Wireless networks today offer more than simple connectivity. Aside from the location services (based around GPS or cell site triangulation), the network also detects presence for both device and application (for example, a network server knows when you start an IM application on your handset). Through a contact or buddy list, the network knows when your friends are ‘on' network.

Payment and purchase history also are easy to find, as well as communication behavior. For example, the network knows when a subscriber usually makes calls or sends text messages. I make the majority of my calls when I'm in Austin between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. But when traveling, I tend to call later into the evening and earlier in the morning. My kids never call or text (OK, they rarely call but always seem to need to text) during school hours.

The network also knows all about the device I am using including the screen size, the type of keyboard, the processor, memory, speed of the data connection, and battery life. For those people who will argue that open network access will remove this level of knowledge from the network, remember that each device will be certified for the network and will carry an IMEI or its equivalent.

Since the network, and therefore the application and content provider, know a greater level of detail about the subscriber and their device, this information can be layered into the content itself. For example:

A college kid may be introduced through social networking to other students in the same vicinity with a similar taste in music or games. Imagine all of the Britney Spears fans at a university student union ‘meeting.' OK, bad example - Brit's remaining fans could probably meet in a phone booth.

Advertising inserted into mobile games can change to match the user's location. For example, if the subscriber is playing a game on their mobile in the airport, the ads embedded in the game would be for the food court, book shop or maybe a competing airline.

Multi-player gaming could also make far better use of location, presence and social networking to enable more interaction between players. For example, the equivalent of Paint Ball could be played on mobile devices in a building - the phones are the guns and the building's layout would show on the screen together with the location of the other players. Obviously, this would require accurate location determination through a building and a way to introduce everyone but it could be a fun way to pass the inevitable airport delays. Imagine playing Virtual Paint Ball at Terminal D in Dallas Fort Worth Airport with a group of complete strangers you met through LinkedIn.

User-generated content can easily be uploaded from a mobile device to the Web. But what if you could shoot a video and then publish to group of like-minded users through the operator? Compensation based on viewers could be in the form of micropayments or credits to your mobile account. Web cams are limited to a single location - mobile cams would allow people to publish their entire mobile lives.

Maybe some of these ideas are a little far out but you get the idea. Creatively mixing the best attributes of mobile with the computing power of a mobile device will, in the next few years, result in a whole new generation of mobile content.

Iain Gillott is the founder of iGR Research, a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry.

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."

Bitstream BREWs better browsing

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:48:41 -0400

By Dan O'Shea

Mobile browser company Bitstream, a first-time BREW conference exhibitor, announced at BREW 2008 that it is making the client/server version of its ThunderHawk browser and font-rendering solutions available in BREW to service providers, developers and handset makers.

Bitstream President and CEO Anna Chagnon said the company is currently in talks with several carriers and device makers about supporting the BREW version. The company is leveraging a history in font-rendering and text-rendering solutions to a desktop-quality browser experience to mobile devices.

Sampo Kaasila, Bitstream vice president of research and development, said, "We believe that the majority of users are interested in the desktop version of a site."

Chagnon added that the idea of developing mobile-optimized Web sites could be a passing fad. "Why do it at this point with the advancements that are available for the device? A lot of the companies that create mobile sites end up not keeping up with updating them," she said.

Operators support AmberWatch Mobile

Mike Dolan — Fri, 30 May 2008 10:36:45 -0400

By Jason Ankeny

Proving the old adage that "There's safety in numbers," the five major U.S. mobile operators--AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA and Alltel Wireless--jointly committed to the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative, a charitable effort that generates funds for the national child welfare non-profit AmberWatch Foundation. Paul Jacobs, CEO of fellow AmberWatch partner Qualcomm, officially announced the operators' participation during his keynote appearance Thursday at BREW 2008.

Powered by location-based solutions provider WaveMarket, the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative will raise funding and awareness for the foundation, which is dedicated to keeping children safe from molestation and abduction by establishing partnerships with local law enforcement and other officials. AmberWatch's "Be Safe!" Education Program offers children and their parents tips on staying safe from predators, delivering presentations at no cost to the school, municipality or local community group that hosts the event.

Although the carrier members are scheduled to take part in a series of fundraising efforts to support the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative, details were scarce. "The wireless industry will roll out this program, which is great for kids," Jacobs said. "We'll give you updates as it progresses."

Presumably some funding will derive from WaveMarket's premium LBS services. The company will develop AmberWatch Mobile, a cross-carrier, GPS-based safety application enabling youngsters to reach out for assistance via mobile device. Alerts automatically include the child's location, viewable on a map from the web or a mobile phone. Family members can also track a child's whereabouts on-demand or using "scheduled checks.

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.

JuiceCaster adds geotagging

Thu, 29 May 2008 14:07:57 -0400

Mobile social networking service provider Juice Wireless announced the addition of location-based geotagging to its flagship JuiceCaster service, enabling users to upload location-specific photos and videos to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and related sites.

The geotagging feature enables users to employ a video's location information as a friend-finding tool--JuiceCaster also immediately notifies users when someone updates their status in a nearby area, and facilitates content searches based on specific location criteria. Location is only viewable by authorized contacts, and the feature may be disabled.

Nick Desai, CEO and co-founder of Juice Wireless, says that on the BREW platform, the geotagging feature uses GPS to tag the content. "The BREW API makes it easy for us to access core functions of the phone at the firmware and operating system level," Desai said. "We can integrate with your address book on your phone and with the camera. All those things BREW makes easier with robust APIs."

The JuiceCaster application is a paid application that typically costs $2.99 per month.