Programming Cell Phones

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Lasky, Mitch" <mlasky () jamdat com>
Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 09:31:23 -0800
To: "'farber () cis upenn edu'" <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: Programming Cell Phones

I read your note regarding "programming cell phones" in your December 15th
email. Your email reprinted the statement of Colin Fahey, a wireless
application developer, who stated that "QUALCOMM BREW IS NOT GOOD FOR
CONSUMERS AND DEVELOPERS." He reached this conclusion from his experiences
as a hobbyist trying to get a simple application he wrote to work on
next-generation mobile phones. I wanted to offer an alternative point of
view, from the perspective of a wireless game publisher.

Our company works extensively with both Java and BREW - in fact, both Sun
Microsystems and Qualcomm are investors. Our business depends on our ability
to distribute wireless games to consumers and to get paid for doing so. To
attract consumers, we invest a lot of money in licensing major sports and
entertainment brands, as well as in research and development to keep our
products cutting-edge.

The BREW distribution system can be, as Mr. Fahey argues, tough for
hobbyists. BREW is not designed for the kind of do-it-yourself Internet
publishing the Mr. Fahey advocates. But for publishers who are trying to
make a business in wireless, BREW provides a terrific technological and
commercial platform. BREW allows us to make great games and, more
importantly, to get paid for distributing them. BREW also provides wireless
carriers with the security of knowing that any application that ends up on a
phone (and therefore becomes a customer support issue) has been certified to
have passed a certain level of quality and functionality.

In the video game business, a model similar to BREW's underlies the
incredible success of devices like the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo
GameBoy. Sony and Nintendo maintain some control over the content that
reaches the platform, but in return they offer a commercial ecosystem that
provides publishers with the confidence to risk large sums of money
developing content. It's the same with BREW.