HTC unveiled an advanced handset Wednesday that is powered by Qualcomm’s Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) platform — which provides developers with the technology for porting their applications between all Qualcomm devices. The move marks a major departure for the Taiwan-based company, which has heavily invested in the development of handsets based on Google’s Android platform and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS.
Scheduled to take its inaugural bows on Telefonica’s networks in Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, the HTC Smart is squarely aimed at price-sensitive consumers, noted HTC CEO Peter Chou at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
“More and more people are craving advanced mobile phone experiences with e-mail, web browsing, and social networking, but the cost and complexity often represent a significant obstacle for many,” Chou said. “The HTC Smart introduces this functionality in an intuitive phone that is affordable.”
Competing For Developers
HTC sees Qualcomm’s BREW as an opportunity to give its handset customers access to new applications and services from software developers worldwide. Though Gartner analyst Tole Hart has noted that the BREW platform has long been “a fairly closed ecosystem” with a complete storefront, applications development program, and carrier billing integration, things are changing.
Qualcomm signaled a willingness to open up its ecosystem last October when it announced an agreement with Brazil-based mobile operator TIM governing the launch of Plaza Retail — a widget framework for the support, management and delivery of mobile apps and mobile content based on Java, BREW, Flash and Android. Moreover, Qualcomm says support is also in the works for Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian and LiMo.
However, Qualcomm will have to fiercely compete to divert developers’ attention from Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market. Additionally, Qualcomm faces the prospect of heightened competition from MeeGo — a new open-source platform…