Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless
Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless
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Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless

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Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless

Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW, also known as Brew MP or Qualcomm BREW) is an obsolete application development platform created by Qualcomm, originally for code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile phones, featuring third-party applications such as mobile games. It was offered in some feature phones (mostly with specifications similar to those of mid to high-end mobile phones) as well as smartphones.

First developed in 1999, as a platform for wireless applications on CDMA-based mobile phones, it debuted in September 2001. As a software platform that can download and run small programs for playing games, sending messages, and sharing photos, the main advantage of Brew MP was that the application developers could easily port their applications among all Brew MP devices by providing a standardized set of application programming interfaces. Software for Brew MP-enabled handsets can be developed in C or C++ using the freely downloadable Brew MP software development kit (SDK). The BREW runtime library is part of the wireless device on-chip firmware or operating system to allow programmers to develop applications without needing to code for system interface or understand wireless applications. BREW is described as a pseudo operating system, but not a true mobile operating system. BREW was not a virtual machine such as Java ME, as it runs code natively.

For software developers, Brew MP was a full set of application programming interfaces (API) that enables making software and applications in C, C++, Java, and was supported (platform) by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). It has a memory footprint of about 15,900 KB (15.9 MB). From versions 1.x to 2.x (before 2004), it had a smaller memory footprint of around 60 KB. BREW also features direct hardware access. Versions before Brew MP ran/relied on REX OS (Qualcomm's own RTOS), while Brew MP used Brew RTOS (another RTOS for advanced feature phones). Rather than using an interpreter-based code, BREW also relied on its own mobile hardware.

Debuted in 2001, it was the first actual version of BREW. Originally made for the Kyocera QCP-3035 (which was the earliest BREW-enabled phone commercially available) and Sharp Z-800. It made use of personal digital assistant-level features (usually for some applications and the ability to run BREW applications). However, it lacks advanced multimedia features and support for Java ME that were available in subsequent versions. It was the only version of BREW to support monochrome screens as support for monochrome screens was removed in BREW 2.0. BREW 1.1 was the first version of Brew to run Java ME applications. It was available in some BREW-enabled phones in 2002 and early 2003.

Released in the mid-2002, it was installed for most of the BREW-enabled phones in late-2002 until late-2009. It includes support for advanced multimedia playbacks (the ability to play video and audio files, as well as support for 3GPP multimedia formats), connectivity for EV-DO and Bluetooth support, as well as screen savers, and other improvements. It also supports MIDP 2.0 on BREW 2.1 and it is backward compatible with BREW 1.x applications.

It was installed on most feature phones in Indonesia, China, and other countries since 2004 and was supported by a few carriers until 2017.

Released in mid-2002, it was installed for most of the BREW-enabled phones in late 2004 until early 2012. It was the first version of BREW to have major changes and it has a vast majority of features for mobile phones, such as WiFi connectivity, OpenGL ES 1.0, support for 3G, GPS, QWERTY-based keypads, and support for mobile screens that are higher than 176x220. It is backward compatible with BREW 2.x applications, but not with BREW 1.x applications.

It is also the first version of BREW to support 3D graphics rendering, although it only uses software rendering (which also supports JSR 184 for Java ME games). Hardware acceleration is also natively supported via OpenGL ES 1.0 (if a 3D acceleration chip is available).

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