Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless

Logo of 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.

Heavily branded BREW app manager of UScellular

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).[1] 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.

  1. ^ SDK & Tools | Brew MP Developer Archived 2012-12-17 at archive.today. Developer.brewmp.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.