BREW Running on Windows Mobile 5?
 

My carrier offers "Unlimited Internet" via BREW driven browser for the small clamshell phones for $5.99 or "Unlimited Data" for PPC/Blackberry for $39.99.

I was running the Gmail java midlet using the Java run-time environment and it occurred to me that Brew is just a modified Java environment; why couldn't I just install something similar to emulate BREW and use a BREW based browser rather than paying forty bucks a month for data.

Can it be done?

the thing is, your carrier knows you are on a ppc/blackberry just by your esn number.

Thats fine, I just want to know if I can emulate the BREW environment. :)

I see a Brew folder when I load the phone in QPST!~

Yeah, i have often wondered the same thing and i was thinking that BREW would be a whole lot better than the 40 dollar plan, but they always say the phone isnt BREW capable, which is crap because this phone is capable of everything and a whole lot more compared to those clamshells. Let me know if there is anything i can do to assist your "investigation"

The browser itself is irrelevant, all that matters is the plan. You are getting the same data on a VCAST phone as you are with an XV6700 on the unlimited data plan for $45. Your carrier figures you're going to use the internet more with IE and a big screen and keyboard, so they charge you more. It's just discriminating. Unless you can trick a retarded CS agent to give you an MOU data plan, your only option is to change your esn. It's not difficult, just illegal. It works well if you have a clamshell you know you won't use, just use that esn. And I didn't tell you to do it. :]

I'm still working on it... damn I want to work this out.

The PPC tries to go over #777 where as the BREW connection doesn't. As far as I know.

No. The device WILL dial #777 with another username/password.

You can use EPST to check your default username/password on the page named "M.IP settings". If you change the option to "Simple IP only" it will use the username/password you've specified in the connection settings. Here in PR China, the carrier uses "BREW/BREW" with brew and "CARD/CARD" for internet access. And there's an "SMTP/SMTP" for push mail.

Anyway, brew stands for "binary runtime environment" which is designed by quallcom for their MSM processors (arm core?? no idea). Thus I've no idea if it can only be implemented on other cpus. But I guess it is not that simple to do that.

Yeah, W0rdie, I'm sorry, but it does indeed dial #777. The phone provider assumes you don't need to know this, because it's technically not costing you anything but minutes. I don't know about the vzw interface, because it sucks, but on all of my motorolas, when data is being used, I get a little data indicator at the top; it has connected via #777.

So if I get the "BREW Access" enabled on my account I can access the web via #777?

I just enabled the $5.99 Brew Access package and #777 works fine... the question here is at the end of the month will I see some massive "out of plan" usage charges or will this be the best deal I've ever found since getting on board with this rinky little provider 4 years ago!? :D

I'll update when I know more.

w0rdie,

If this is real you have just made me the happiest person in the world! Seriously!
Please log into your account on CellularSouth.com and check your charges (or call 611 and ask) so i know whether this is amazing or just a tease! Regarding your "out of plan" thing, I would seriously doubt that they would charge you for anything, because you really arent doing anything wrong, you are just using the BREW service for all they know.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW SOMETHING SOON!

I've logged in a few times to check it out but didn't see any thing out of the ordinary... then again with the unlimited voice plan I'm not sure that I would.

My billing cycle ends in a week... I'm just going to sit tight and look on my statement... if there are no charges there then I'm good to go.

If there are charges the fact of the matter is my phone isn't even BREW capable and the 611 rep should've told me that before letting me add a feature that I wasn't going to be able to use and on top of that would be billed per KB for... so I am not paying any overages.

Free test. :)

I suggest you call and add the feature... or you can do it online, if you call and they question your device say that you're a BREW software developer and you plan on using the BREW Connect to test your software using a virtual machine.

Any updates on the BREW charges? Everything still good?
With the BREW when you open PIE what happens? Does it go to some BREW homepage or to your personal homepage?
How does the sign-in work? Just like the data plan?
Damnit, im too much of a broke college kid to sign up and then find out there are ridiculous charges. Well, the more i talk about it the more i want it, so i may just have to nut-up and do it.

Ok, so i just made the leap into the unknown... (a.k.a. signed up for BREW)
Wish me luck!

*Posting this from my 6700 and BREW!*

Holy crap this is cool!

Congrats man... I think this is going to work out just fine... then again it's tough to say until the billing cycle is up and we can confirm that they're not charging us on a per KB rate but if so, like I said it's easy enough to argue since we're technically not supposed to be able to use this feature. :D

You're not using any kind of brew client are you, just PIE, right? Your carrier is just retarded and doesn't discriminate between phones?

Just Opera/PIE

So... as of today, it tells me that my password is invalid. :(

nevermind, got it sorted out. just needed to use cs3g as the password. posting from the phone now. :)

Just an update for anyone interested.
Just got my bill from CSouth and am pleased to say that there are NO excess charges! So, yes, this does work and yes I am extremely excited! Unlimited Data for $7 a month! And its fast, and there is no BREW client necessary, just PIE!
HOORAY!

My bill seems to be about $5.00 higher than it should be, but all I've seen are the charges, not the statement. I'll take a look and try to find out what the extra charge is for.

Ahhh... I had used 411 a few times @ a buck a pop. That explains the extra few dollars.

This is excellent news... I just wonder if EVDO was offered here would it operate on that over 1X? :twisted:

Does accessing BREW look any different when you access it than it did before you activated BREW? I changed mine online with my carrier and nothing looks any different on my phone when I access the internet. Although hopefully my bill will look different. I had some furniture delivered and the delivery guy told me that BREW is how he accesses the net instead of paying for data. Our BREW is 5.99 a month instead of 49.99 a month.

anyone know if this will work on verizon? I would love unlimited internet via BREW. Can't justify the $49.99 a month for casual surfing on the phone.

+1...........

What is the verdict? VZ or no VZ, that is the ???

unfortunately i cannot speak for verizon BUT... for sprint, all that plan manages is billing. the network does not care what device you have, only the billing system does. so if your carrier has a way to get around the error they get when they add the plan in the billing system that may say it is not capable. Then you can have that plan and have the same access. your esn tells the network how to provision your connection, all the plan handles his how much money shows up on your bill. It is no problem for people who have OLD Vision plans that were free cause 2.5G access was new, and now on 3G EVDO and they are on the same plan cause the the rep knew how to get around the error when in fact were supposed to tell the customer that they need to upgrade plans to get EVDO service.

also, #777 is what is called a packet dial string. on Qualcom chipsets for CDMA, when the phone is passed that string (PDA, Java Clam, Brew Clam), it knows to initiate a data connection. your device can use dialup numbers (e.g. aol) and it would technically work but that would be using the original wireless web connectivity of 14.4kbps and charged by the minute regardless of plan. This is true for all CDMA carrier in the US.

sorry, no verizon news. lol ;)