Qualcomm Inc. further expanded its push-to-talk game with its new BREWChat application, which the carrier said is a downloadable BREW application that can run on BREW-capable mobile phones. Qualcomm said BREWChat will be available in the first quarter of next year.
BREWChat is separate from Qualcomm’s QChat PTT offering, which the company said will be available “soon.” QChat uses technology from long-time push-to-talk provider Nextel Communications Inc.
Interestingly, Qualcomm said BREWChat is for CDMA2000 1x Release 0 networks, while QChat is for Release A CDMA2000 1x networks. Qualcomm said QChat for Release A CDMA2000 1x networks will offer faster performance capabilities. Qualcomm also said BREWChat and QChat will be interoperable.
“BREWChat takes advantage of the high data speed and bandwidth efficiency benefits inherent in CDMA to deliver a fast and very efficient push-to-chat solution for operators with 3G CDMA2000 1x networks,” said Peggy Johnson, president of Qualcomm Internet Services. “BREWChat will give operators who offer BREW-enabled services an added opportunity to leverage their investment. Since BREWChat runs on top of the BREW platform, integration with other applications and services is easy and allows updates of software over the air.”
Qualcomm said BREWChat works as a piece of client software managed by a distributed server platform. The company said BREWChat trials have been conducted and are currently planned around the world.
A variety of carriers around the world offer BREW services.
