Mobile Internet technology a toss-up

The success of the mobile Internet is not likely to be tethered to one type of browser or one flavor of technology. Perhaps lessons learned from hyping Wireless Application Protocol as the key to the wireless Internet has helped carriers and vendors realize that the future of mobile data may be easier to anticipate if they do not put all their eggs into one basket.

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Today, instead of singing the praises of just one technology, carriers are exploring Qualcomm's Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW), Sun Microsystems' Java 2.0 Micro Edition (J2ME) or a combination of both, plus or minus WAP. It may be too early to tell where carriers ultimately will end up, but for now they do not seem to be settling on any one technology.

“The point is that the industry is in transition, and [technologies] are tools to ease that transition,” said Darryl Sterling, Internet technology analyst for Mainspring. “By the time we get to 3G, there might be some other software solution that is much more efficient.”

WAP Wireless Application Protocol A communications protocol and application environment that can be built on any operating system, including PalmOS, EPOC, Windows CE, FLEXOS, OS/9 and JavaOS. It provides service interoperability between different devices Source: WAP Forum

For now, carriers, vendors and application developers are trying their hand at what's available today. In January, Qualcomm announced BREW and since then has forged a number of agreements with carriers. The company recently began working with China Unicom and KDDI and currently is in trial mode with Korea's KT Freetel, which plans a full launch of BREW this fall. In the U.S. later this month, Qualcomm anticipates starting trials with Verizon Wireless, which also is expected to commercially launch BREW in the fall.

BREW technically does not compete with any programs or operating systems, or WAP, but it is supposed to enhance or complement other technologies, Sterling said.

BREW Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless A platform that sits between the chip system software and the application, making the phone's functionality available to the application without requiring the developer to have the chip system source code or even a direct relationship with a device manufacturer Source: Qualcomm

With the largest national wireless carrier behind BREW, Qualcomm believes it has a technological and competitive edge. “The fact Verizon is going to launch BREW this year is making others like Sprint consider whether it has a solution to match that,” said Gina Lombardi, senior vice president of marketing and product development for Qualcomm. Verizon could not be reached for comment.

Although Sprint PCS has not announced its support for BREW, it has not ruled it out, either.

“We see key elements of it being an important part of our strategy, but we haven't jumped on the BREW bandwagon yet,” said John Yuzdepski, vice president and general manager of SprintPCS.com. While he believes that Qualcomm has made headway in developing a little operating system that can talk to a handset, Yuzdepski is encouraged by the fact that Java has started to gain critical mass in the development community.

J2ME Java 2.0 Micro Edition A technology that bundles together Java technologies useful for developing, deploying and maintaining Java-enabled consumer devices. These include a range of Java virtual machines; a library of APIs; tools for deployment and device configuration; and market profiles of major types of consumer devices such as smart cards, pagers, cell phones, digital assistants and set-top boxes Source: Sun

J2ME also appeals to companies such as NTT DoCoMo and Nextel, though Lombardi is quick to point out a critical difference between it and BREW. If a Java-enabled handset needed additional applications, a user would have to connect it to a computer in order to download them, she said. On the other hand, BREW is an entire system, which includes software on the handset and a server solution that can be hosted by Qualcomm or located at the carrier's facility. That way people can download applications directly from the server, she said.

Still, BREW may not be the be-all end-all. “Anything that makes it easier for programmers to program is good,” Sterling said. “BREW is a stepping stone, but in the end, it will not have to be there if there if software is available later.”

Qualcomm is working with 12 CDMA carriers today and maintains it is working with others. “Not only is this a CDMA solution, but it is a wireless Internet platform we believe can support all technologies,” Lombardi said. Qualcomm's stance is that BREW can support WAP and J2ME as if they are “just other applications that sit on top of BREW.” She said BREW has to be integrated once, and then additional technology such as J2ME is implemented right on top of it.

“BREW can be used on GSM and TDMA networks, but Qualcomm's primary objective is to drive more data traffic on CDMA networks,” Sterling said. “I see why they did this, [but] is it the savior? No.”

While Qualcomm believes the proliferation of BREW will become widespread because CDMA carriers are moving toward faster data rates than GSM and TDMA carriers, Lombardi believes it is only a matter of time before other carriers turn to BREW. “If we see that BREW is successful with CDMA, other carriers that don't use the standard may need to have a competitive alternative and decide to use BREW,” she said.

Today, Yuzdepski considers J2ME as more of a long-term strategy and anticipates that it will play a large role in terms of application development. He expects Sprint PCS' handset vendors to develop more of the BREW elements on mobile phones.

Leap Wireless, one of the original signers of the memorandum of understanding for BREW about a year ago, has been more cautious about pigeonholing itself into any one technology after realizing that WAP wasn't suited for its customers.

“It is not clear what is better, J2ME or BREW, for different applications,” said Mark Kelley, chief technology officer for Leap. “We would like to say we will do BREW or Java, but it appears to us there may not be one solution.”

“WAP never seemed to be a foregone conclusion to us. It just seemed like the only game in town, and it wasn't one we wanted to play,” Kelley said. While Kelley believes BREW could be its own stand-alone standard, he anticipates working with those companies tied to J2ME.

Leap still remains in an evaluation phase with BREW and also claims to be considering the possibility of downloading Java as well. But with fellow CDMA carriers lining up behind BREW, Leap continues to lean in that direction as well.

“We have to make sure we choose a similar path. Economies of scale mean a lot to us,” Kelley said. The fact that Verizon is moving ahead with BREW could spur the community of developers and create momentum, which is beneficial to others like Leap, he said.

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