It appears that Brew was specifically developed to facilitate wireless
carriers charging for what amounts to proprietary software on proprietary
hardware. I've spent an hour or so looking for independent sources of Brew
applications, and found none. Here's an article that describes the "value
proposition" for this platform.

Interestingly, it says that Brew apps now run under Java, but apparently not
the other way around. If anyone can figure that one out, please let me know:

Nokia makes play for mobile content
Preminet reinvigorates Java
By Wireless Watch ? More by this author
Published Friday 29th October 2004 10:28 GMT
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Java has suffered as a mobile content platform, compared to Qualcomm Brew,
by having a fragmented channel and a confused economic proposition for
developers. Nokia aims to change that with its new Preminet aggregation,
download and billing framework. Although operators can brand the service
themselves, reflecting the shift away from handset branding, in the longer
term Nokia could sideline them by accelerating the creation of open IP
portals. Nokia aims to stay out of the battle of content branding and ensure
that it controls the underlying software and relationships, giving it the
critical position whatever trends drive mobile applications in future.

Despite the rapid growth of mobile Java and the strengths of the industry
forces ranged behind it, Qualcomm's Brew platform has clung on stubbornly in
the hearts and minds of carriers and content developers. Brew may have had
to adapt to Java's presence (and will run on Java platforms now), but it has
not been crushed by the Sun-driven technology. Of course, Qualcomm has made
a business of standing against the industry standard with its own
technology, but Brew does have some genuine advantages over Java, which
Nokia is now seeking to neutralize with the creation of, in effect, the
first real ecosystem for J2ME. In so doing, it could achieve a huge level of
control over how mobile content is handled, and further its goal of gaining
power through software.

Brew's advantages
Brew's greatest appeal to CDMA carriers is that it offers a ready-to-go
system with simple distribution, digital rights management and billing
frameworks and aggregated content. Its big advantage for content developers
is that Qualcomm controls the value chain and so it is clear where each
element sits and how money is made. It's the old Microsoft dilemma - open
standards may be preferable, but sometimes there is a reassurance in having
just one version of a technology, firmly controlled by one vendor rather
than a committee.

Sun went some way to matching Brew's advantages in J2ME when it acquired
Pixo, whose technology became the basis for its Content Delivery Server for
carriers, which aggregates, manages and bills for downloaded material in the
same way that Brew does. A year ago, it duly introduced that product and
made its first steps towards a formal ecosystem with standard methods of
gathering content, provisioning it, collecting payments and sharing them
with partners. Key to this was the Java Mobility Advantage Programme to help
operators and developers develop, manage and sell Java services.

However, little really happened as a result of these changes, and the
channel to market remained fragmented between over 100 third party download
platforms. Now the baton has passed to Nokia, which has announced a
framework called Preminet within its Forum Nokia developer group. This
promises to codify the J2ME ecosystem and its mechanisms, just as Qualcomm
has for Brew. Preminet is a distribution and transaction service, offering a
one-stop shop for developers and carriers on either CDMA or GSM-based
systems.

While Brew has opened up to Java, Nokia has excluded Brew, mandating J2ME
applications for Preminet. It said it had rejected Brew because of its small
base compared to that of Java (there are about 38m Brew devices worldwide,
while J2ME is embedded in about 500m cellphones, though not necessarily
actively used). Nokia, which has a bitter rivalry with Qualcomm, is clearly
keen to see Brews sidelined still further. Nokia director Steeg Thygesen
managed to damn it with faint praise, referring to it as "an interesting,
proprietary solution for an early stage market", but one without a long term
future.

Operators take brand control - for now
Nokia's avid support for J2ME is in keeping with its strategy of encouraging
uptake of mobile data applications, thus boosting demand for highly
specified cellphones and for the Nokia Series 60 software platform, which
supports Java. It is also better positioned than Sun to make an ecosystem
really take off for J2ME, with its deep understanding of mobile developers
and their requirements.

What is more indicative of the changing times for handset makers, though, is
that Preminet will provide an operator branded content distribution system.
As large cellcos set increasing store by building their own content brands,
the handset makers are having to make concessions to this, at the expense of
their own brand visibility.

This is even true of Nokia, whose brand is a powerful one - a recent study
by Unisys found that 75 per cent of under 18s surveyed thought that Nokia
was their service provider and that they would specify a phone brand ahead
of an operator. But increasingly, the Finnish giant is cultivating that
brand in its high end enterprise and multimedia activities, and submitting
to the cellcos in the midrange. It recently exited the ringtones business
that it had offered through its Club Nokia outlet, presumably under pressure
from operators, for which ringtones are their primary source of data revenue
after SMS.

And mobile operating systems are giving up control of look and feel to the
carriers too. PalmSource and Microsoft now allow operators to customize the
interface for their systems, and Symbian subsidiary UIQ, which makes the
user interface for Sony Ericsson phones, has unveiled an operator
configuration package too. With Preminet, the carrier can easily amass and
distribute Java-based content, all under its own brand and with its own
choices of user navigation and interface.

Preminet's real significance
However, Nokia may be just biding its time. If Preminet becomes the main
framework for J2ME content download, and therefore the dominant one on the
whole GSM/GPRS/3G system, it gives Nokia a hugely powerful position in the
cellular market. It is one that fits perfectly with its recent goal of
gaining influence and revenue through software, taking the Microsoft
approach of providing the guts of a system and making itself indispensable,
thus making concessions on handset design less painful. We have seen this
with the licensing of Series 60, the near-control of the Symbian OS and its
increasing focus on creating a developer community to try to rival that for
Windows and .Net.

Once in control of the content framework, Nokia will have shifted the
balance of power neatly in its own direction and will be ready to open up
the system to other, more amenable partners. The operators may have the
shiniest content portals now, with Live! ahead of the pack, but J2ME's
openness also presents a threat to their walled gardens. Broader Java-based
content portals are being set up by media companies, and this trend will be
accelerated as more handsets feature open IP access. Nokia already plans to
work with some of these portals, as well as with cellcos, via Preminet.

Media companies such as News International and broadcaster Endemol are
seeking to form direct mobile relationships with consumers using Java, and
we can be sure that Nokia will grasp the opportunity to help them, prising
loose the operators' grip on its current decisions. The operators can use IP
blocking to ensure that users remain within their own portals, but they are
also attracted by the increased GPRS or 3G traffic open access could
generate, as well as scared of backlash from consumers who are increasingly
aware of the potential for mobile internet access.

Wooing the developers
Before Nokia can achieve its desired position, it will have to win over the
content developers, just as it has been working to do for Series 60. The
main strength for Brew in CDMA - in contrast to the fragmented world of
GSM-based download services - has been that its business model is simple and
really works for developers. Brew is not known for being either easy or cool
to develop for, but it can be very lucrative because of the way Qualcomm
controls it. Qualcomm sets the revenue share for the operators, as well as
all the billing and settlement, and makes it very easy for subscribers to
buy applications, as well as imposing clear guidelines for how much their
creators are paid.

Nokia must make Preminet equally attractive. The advantages are clear -
carriers are presented with a catalog of content from which they can select
applications, with a brandable download client, while developers have to
just submit their application once for it to be on show to all participating
carriers. Preminet provides a framework for content providers and carriers
to negotiate a price, so that likely revenues are predictable for the
developer because rules are consistent, and handles billing and payment
(Nokia takes a cut of content sales).

The biggest drawback for developers will be that the scheme will use Java
Certified and Symbian Signed QA mechanisms for ensuring quality of the
applications. This lowers support costs for the operator and assures
subscribers of bug-free software, but developers have to pay for the
certification as well as going through the processes, which can be a
turn-off for smaller programmers. Java verification starts at $200 and
Symbian Signed testing costs $700 plus $400 per year. Developers must also
join Forum Nokia Pro, which costs about €3,000 a year. However, while
ongoing costs in the Brew program are low, upfront investment can be
$10,000.

As well as getting pricing right, it will also be vital for end users that,
while allowing operators to brand their portals, that Nokia does not let
them lock their devices and prevent users installing applications from other
content download services such as Handango. This is a real downside of Brew,
which is often used by CDMA operators to keep phone users away from content
outside their own stores. However, Nokia is operating in a less tightly
controlled environment than CDMA, where users do not have to put up with
such tactics; and one where it seeks to gain power through opening up
software platforms like Series 60, not closing them down and so
strengthening the operators' walled gardens.

Lee Epting, vice president in charge of Forum Nokia, knows that a
streamlined distribution process will not be enough in itself to boost ARPU
and encourage upgrades to smartphones. For such content to be consistently
profitable, it must be readily available and easily used, something that
Brew has made possible in CDMA. "I would say the consumer awareness issue is
the one nut we have yet to crack," Epting said. "If we can make it an
experience where the consumer doesn't have to go looking for content it will
ultimately drive the revenue that will come out of this type of model."

Copyright © 2004, Wireless Watch

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