Where to get the Grinder??

[Bob]

According to the Development Tools page (http://www.qualcomm.com/brew/developer/developing/brewdevtools.html) the Grinder is a downloadable tool, however I cannot find it.

Do I need to be a certified BREW developer to get the Grinder? If not, were can I find it?

[Murray Bonner]

The Grinder is included with the BREW Tools Suite available from the Developers' Extranet. You need to be an authenticated BREW Developer to access the Extranet.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[Bob]

I appreciate the info.

I guess I just don't understand why Qualcomm thinks it's a good idea to severely limit their base of developers. From my point of view, the end game for Qualcomm is to sell phones, not compilers (or tools). Case in point ... Microsoft distributes freely eMbedded Visual Tools. Why would a software company give their products away for free? Because they want to develop a market for PocketPCs and SmartPhones.

Wouldn't Qualcomm benefit from a similar strategy?

-Bob

[Murray Bonner]

Qualcomm doesn't really sell the tools. The price of admission is $400 for a digital signature from Verisign (the money goes to Verisign, not Qualcomm). The BREW tools are then freely available to you, as an authenticated developer.

The tools that you have to purchase from ARM (RealView Compilation Tools for BREW) and Microsoft (VStudio) don't generate any revenue for Qualcomm.

Qualcomm is no longer in the business of selling phones (that part of the business was sold to Kyocera a few years ago), just the chipsets that go into them. Qualcomm's vested interest in BREW stems from the revenue percentage they get from each application sale. BREW itself can operate on a GSM network as well as on a CDMA network, so you can't really say that Qualcomm is using BREW to drive CDMA chipset sales (or, equivalently, phones, as you suggest). The reason BREW works is that the potential for profit exists for every participant (the device manufacturer, the carrier, Qualcomm, and the developer -- the end user gets to personalize, and increase the utility of, their handset).

To be quite frank, as a small developer, I like the fact that there are some barriers to entry into BREW development. With the masses developing for Palm, WinCE, Symbian, it's difficult for a small developer to rise above the noise and get their application noticed, unless you have a big bucks promo. budget. For now, with BREW, I believe it's still possible for a small developer to get an application to a potentially huge market (Verizon alone has 35 Million subscribers) on a tiny budget (say $25K or less).

I understand that outfits like Handango and Tucows are potential distributors of non-BREW app.'s but how do you stand out among the thousands of available applications? Wireless carriers are unlikely to allow subscribers to download applications from such sites without some sort of app. certification process.

With BREW, you have to pass TRUE BREW testing, and this gives the carrier that warm, fuzzy feeling that your app. won't do anything that might be detrimental to their multi-billion dollar network. Without this, I doubt that a carrier would allow small developers access to their market.

If you are targeting Java phones using J2ME, the part that is missing can present an insurmountable obstacle. Specifically, how do you bust through the carrier barrier and get them to make your app. available to subscribers? As a small developer, trying to find the right person within a carrier's organization, then trying to get a return phone call, would have inspired homicidal rage in Mother Theresa. BREW obviates this obstacle.

In past posts in this forum, several people have decried the fact that they can't use BREW to develop applications for their own personal use on the phones that they have purchased, without paying for authentication or an ARM compiler. Their argument revolves around the perception that they own the phones and should therefore be able to do whatever they want with them, for free. These people seem to overlook the huge investment that goes into developing and supporting BREW, and the 3rd party tools, and that there's a network involved. In short, BREW is a business, as opposed to a hobby.

Bob, I'm sorry that this rant goes beyond what would be considered an appropriate response to your post. In large part, it stems from various misperceptions I've seen promulgated in this forum in the past.

[Bob]

I appreciate your response.

I feel it will be interesting to see what happens with BREW enabled devices over the next five years, since the success of developers is inextricably linked with the success of the product (and vice versa).

Thanks for your time. -Bob

[Roadkill]

Murray -

The obvious answer is that J2ME developers do not need to involve the carriers at all in their business plan. The BREW environment makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to develop applications WITHOUT involving NSTL, Qualcomm, and the carrier. J2ME apps can be developed, marketed, and sold without the carrier's knowledge, let alone their permission.

It's the equivalent of open source vs Microsoft, except in this case the dominance roles are reversed.

[Murray Bonner]

The obvious answer is that J2ME developers do not need to involve the carriers at all in their business plan.

Glenn --

I wasn't aware that end users could acquire J2ME app.'s over the air without the carrier's direct involvement. Thanks for setting me straight.

I just learned that J2ME app.'s could be downloaded over the air from Handango. The "Handango Mobile Ready" certification is required before an app. is made available over the air. Sprint PCS also has an approval process for their "Java Vending Machine". Are there J2ME vendors that have no certification requirement?

Obviously, my point regarding J2ME is that the distribution / billing piece is not included in the spec., while it is an integral part of BREW.