Opera Software tells us through a press release that their BREW browser is a success. Opera's BREW is a SSR enabled browser which was first released on the Casio W21 CA handset in Japan.

Opera's BREW® Web Browser Proving to be a Winner - Opera Demonstrates BREW Web Browser at 3GSM World Congress
Oslo, Norway - February 14, 2005

Opera Software ASA today announced the Company will demonstrate its BREW Web browser in QUALCOMM's booth Hall 1, Stand No: A2 at 3GSM World Congress. The BREW browser was commercially launched in December 2004 on the Casio W21 CA handset, which became Japan's best selling wireless phone at the time of launch, and has proved popular with users in Japan. As concluded in a survey conducted by Impress Corporation, the W21 CA was voted the third most popular phone of 2004 because of its installed full Web browser, Opera is leveraging its feature-rich and standards-based Web browser as the interface to the special services available to BREW mobile phone users.

Opera's unique Small-Screen Rendering (SSR) technology reformats Web content to fit the screen width of a handheld device, ensuring that users have a user-friendly and optimized display of Web pages and relevant applications. Opera's BREW Web browser is the first to incorporate the BREW platform's contextual shopping capabilities and offers advanced purchasing services for mobile phones. For example, with contextual shopping, users can visit their favorite sports site via their mobile phone, look up scores and statistics and purchase contextually-relevant products or services such as sports-related wallpapers, ringtones or screensavers.

"We are very pleased that Opera developed its impressive browser for the BREW platform," says Tom Grieco, senior director of BREW developer relations for QUALCOMM Internet Services. "Opera's work with BREW demonstrates the efficiency of the standardized, consistent BREW APIs - a key benefit that allows all the companies involved, including handset manufacturers, to realize a faster time to market. Contextual shopping in BREW can also help operators and handset manufactures provide a much more unified wireless experience for end-users."

"Opera is pleased to be working with QUALCOMM to enable contextual shopping," says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "We are looking forward to the future of the handheld marketplace and the services that can be made available through the wireless Internet."

QUALCOMM's BREW solution is designed to meet the distinct and varied needs of wireless operators, handset manufacturers, publishers, developers and end users around the world. BREW products and services include: an open, extensible client platform that supports robust system and application software including personalized and branded user interfaces for mass market devices; a J2EE-based, modular distribution system that enables the delivery of content, applications and user interfaces to wireless devices across all air interfaces; a dedicated professional services team that supports the integration of customized implementations; and the wireless industry's first global marketplace to support the monetization of applications and services developed in all programming languages. The BREW ecosystem can make your wireless visions a reality.

More information

• Opera press release: Opera's BREW® Web Browser Proving to be a Winner - Opera Demonstrates BREW Web Browser at 3GSM World Congress