Writing cellphone applications with BREW

BREW stands for Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless application and device development. Qualcomm is a huge player in the global market for CDMA chipsets, and through its platform provides developers the ability to develop applications for cellphones. Since BREW is

located between the chip system software and the actual applications, the developer can work without worrying about the underlying architecture of the cellphone and, thus, not need to re-code the application for different handsets. Language support is limited to C/C++, but can be extended to Java if the phone supports a Java Virtual Machine.

As things stand today, there are two operators in India that support BREW-Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom. And there are only a couple of handsets that can run BREW applications, mainly by LG and Kyocera. If you do decide to develop applications in BREW, you cannot test them on your phones without getting them 'test enabled', which is something that can be done through the Qualcomm office in India. For actual applications that you might want to sell, Qualcomm has a whole process through which you need to go through, explained later in this article.

Creating a BREW application



To create an application, you need the BREW SDK (Software Development Kit) that is available free of cost from Qualcomm's website, a Windows development environment like Visual Studio, Eclipse etc, and an ARM compiler. ARM has specifically created a compiler for BREW developers, but it is available at a cost of $1500. Alternatively, you can use a free ARM compiler, like the GNUDE (GNU Development Environment). You will also need to plan for TRUE BREW compatibility testing for your applications, which makes sure that it satisfies the minimum quality standards of Qualcomm. Several wireless operators require BREW applications to pass TRUE BREW testing before making them available to their subscribers. Applications that pass this testing get a digital signature from Qualcomm, which is used by handsets for authentication purposes, before permitting an application to be downloaded or run.

Selling applications

After passing TRUE BREW testing (if required by the operator), the application is posted on the BREW operator extranet with your terms and conditions. Once you strike an agreement with an operator, he will make your application available for download to his subscribers through his own servers. Developers get paid

according to the adoption of their application by the subscribers, and Qualcomm has a complete middleware in place that links

operator networks to manage application distribution and payment. Though Qualcomm makes all TRUE BREW tested applications available to their partner operators,

it is highly recommended that developers themselves also form direct relationships for selling their applications.

Click here to read: Writing applications in BREW.