AT&T Launches First Brew MP Phone

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 2/9/2011

Richardson, Texas - AT&T plans Feb. 13 availability of its first quick-messaging phone to incorporate Qualcomm's Brew MP operating system, designed to bring smartphone functionality to low-priced phones.

The HTC-made Freestyle is AT&T's first quick-messaging phone with Brew MP application platform.

Brew MP, short for Brew Mobile Platform, enables the use of downloadable apps that are more robust than the apps currently available for phones that lack a smartphone OS. The platform can run on lower-end chipsets with lower speed and lower memory capacity while supporting Java and Adobe Flash.

 In the past, quick-messaging phones used operating systems specific to each device maker, but with Brew MP, software developers will write one application and "generally" be able to offer it for use on any Brew-based AT&T phone, the carrier said.

"We plan for all future quick-messaging phones to feature Brew MP," a spokesman told TWICE. AT&T's other quick-messaging devices run Java, "and we will still support it," he said.

At January 2010's International CES, AT&T announced its plans for Brew MP and said it would roll out the first ones in the middle of 2010. At the time, AT&T also said it would offer a software developers kit to promote third-party apps.

AT&T's first Brew MP phone, which missed the carrier's original deadline, is HTC's Freestyle 3G touchscreen phone, retailing for $99.99 with two-year contract and required unlimited-messaging plan. It's also AT&T's first quick-messaging phone to incorporate HTC's Sense user interface, which has been available on HTC smartphones.

The 850/1900MHz HSDPA-equipped Freestyle features 3.2-inch touchscreen, aluminum unibody construction. It is also the first quick-messaging phone to feature the HTC Sense experience with customizable home-screen widgets, HTC's FriendStream app for integrating social-network data, HTML browser, 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder, MicroSD card slot and stereo Bluetooth. It also comes with AT&T Music and AT&T Radio services.