Bitfone lands first customer for firmware update software

Bitfone today announced the first commercial deployment of its new over-the-air firmware update technology with Japanese wireless giant NTT DoCoMo. The carrier will include the software patching application in its new PDC-based multimedia handset, the mova SO505is, manufactured by Sony Ericsson.

Bitfone’s mProve software allows carriers and vendors to patch or upgrade OS and middleware software over a wireless data connection, enabling updates and repairing glitches after a handset has been shipped and it reaches a customer’s hands. The software functions as a layer between the physical hardware of the phone and the embedded operating system, meaning it can access and repair all aspects of the phone’s software, whether it’s Java, BREW or even a company’s proprietary OS.

"Usually bugs and other firmware problems are solved only by replacement [of the handset], which takes time and is expensive," said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO of Bitfone.

Wang estimated carriers and vendors spend $8 billion per year on handset replacements, most of that owed to software problems. If customers with handset problems could access a patch from their phones or if carriers actively pushed updates to phones through prompts, the industry would save billings, replacing only those few handsets that were faultily built. Furthermore, vendors can speed up their time to market as they could test and troubleshoot software while the first handsets are being shipped to vendors. Before any salesman hands over a phone to a new customer, he would simply download the latest update into the device.

"Carriers and vendors are always looking at ways to improve the development cycle," Wang said. "The state of firmware and hardware freezes when a phone leaves the manufacturer, but product development doesn't. By the time that phone hits the market, their could be a new firmware release or a new patch available."

While the new Sony Ericsson, featuring a digital video and MP3 player and a camera phone, is the only handset the vendor has released with the mProve technology, company officials said they are working with Bitfone on additional models.