Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

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What's brewing?
Thomas K. Thomas

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2005/06/27/stories/2005062700030100.htm

Plenty, on the BREW platform. And Indian software developers are fighting for space on the mobile phone screen with exciting ideas and services — for both Indian and global users.

AL Hartley, creator of the comic character Archies, could never have imagined this in his lifetime — that his creation would one day leap out of the comic book into a mobile handset.

Thanks to some innovation by a new breed of aggressive Indian mobile application developers, this, and much more, is being made possible.

Exponential growth in cellular telephony is silently brewing up yet another success story for India.

Latching on to the mega-buck opportunity are Indian software developers who are taking on the likes of global corporations such as ATI, Jamdat Mobile and Gameloft. These software developers are creating exciting applications for not just Indian mobile users but also for those in Europe and America.

"We are very happy with the developers in India and we would like to tap the software skills available to develop applications not just for the Indian operators but also for other markets,'' affirms Peggy Johnson, President, Qualcomm Internet Services.

Peggy, who is responsible for promoting value-added services on the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, is eyeing India as one of Qualcomm's major hubs to develop mobile applications using the BREW platform.

BREW is a Qualcomm-promoted platform that enables application developers, publishers, content providers and device manufacturers to build applications for mobile devices.

Plenty BREWing


Ten Indian developers have already started using the BREW platform and have come out with some interesting applications converting the mundane mobile phone used for voice calls into a computing device that gives you applications for entertainment, business and leisure.

Take, for instance, the Delhi-based Phoneytunes.com, which has pulled out six new applications within just a few months of joining the BREW platform.

One of them, called the Bartender, brings 1,500 cocktail recipes on your mobile phone. It also allows users to create their own drink — and comes with a graphic presentation of the cocktail with the alcohol percentage — for the benefit of discerning users.

"We are conceiving and developing cutting-edge fun and entertainment solutions and delivery systems for mobile platforms to include imaging, music and games, using enhanced data service capabilities on mobile devices for both the GSM and the CDMA platform," says Taron Mohan, promoter, Phoneytunes.com.

The company has applications running on international operators such as SingTel, Orange, Mobitel and Grameen Phone. It is also developing applications for 3G services and has tie-ups with the likes of Sony, HMV, Virgin and BMG for music-related applications.

Phonetunes.com was among the six Indian developers who had showcased their products at the recently-concluded BREW Conference 2005 in San Diego, US.

`Own your idea'


"Indian software capability is globally renowned, so it is not surprising that companies like Qualcomm are looking at India as a hub for mobile applications development.

But the key difference here is that now Indian developers are innovating and creating applications on their own rather than developing a product at the request of a client. These new breed of developers own the IPR for the applications that they develop rather than working on someone else's idea," says a market analyst.

Agrees Nitish Mittersain, promoter of the Mumbai-based Nazara Technologies, which could well have Hartley turning over in his grave.

Nazara, which had signed an exclusive deal with Archies Comics early this year, is now pushing through with its concept of `branded mobile applications' to operators in North America and the UK.

Nazara has licensed out both Indian and global brands such as Sachin Tendulkar, Colin Jackson, Stardust magazine and Diamond Comics and has created content based on these brands.

So, for instance, you can play games with Chacha Chaudhary — India's oldest comic character — or you can read the latest comic strip featuring Betty and Veronica on your handset.

The company has also taken the rights to some Hollywood brands such as the Robert Rodriguez movie Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D to offer ring tones, games, wallpapers and video clips.

"Brands sell. And we want to capitalise on the popularity of a brand by developing content for mobile users. For instance, we get $1 per download of a wallpaper, which is among the most popular features in the US market," says a company executive.

Nazara has lined up more than 400 games and over 1,000 wallpapers, ring tones, logos for release shortly.

Another company that has established itself deeply in the Indian applications market is the Indore-based Webdunia.com, which has created a niche in developing applications in local languages.

"Webdunia bridges the gap between the latest technology-based mobile applications development and low-level programming aspects of mobile technologies, optimising resources as well as reducing development cost," says Pankaj Jain, Chief Technical Officer, Webdunia.

The company has launched wireless applications on the hand-held Blackberry device, which offers the full suite of Enterprise-based applications on a thin client. It also has Reliance Infocomm and Idea cellular as its clients.

For the international market, Webdunia is betting on its domain knowledge in working in various languages to localise content.

Ride the wave


So why is there a sudden surge in mobile application development? The reasons are very clear. With tariffs for mobile phone calls coming down drastically, mobile operators are looking at making up the loss in revenue by offering value-added services.

At present, data services, dominated by short messaging, account for about 15-20 per cent of the operators' revenues.

Analysts predict that value-added services will account for nearly 50 per cent of operators' revenues within the next few years, making data services and applications in entertainment and gaming a key churner of money.

To be sure, application developers are not sticking to any particular technology.

From BREW to Java to Linux, Indian developers are making sure they don't miss the mobile wave. Applications developers in Japan, Korea and Europe are already making big bucks as mobile operators compete with each other in search of that `killer' application after SMS.

Indian developers have joined in the search.

Though Indian developers were not in the reckoning for the `best developer award' at this year's BREW Conference, companies like Phoneytunes and Nazara claim that it's only early days.

They will soon have that elusive killer application up their sleeve that could be beyond our imagination — and maybe bring Al Hartley back to life!

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