Tata Indicom subscribers in Maharashtra and Goa can now plug into high-end games on their mobile phones.

Tata Teleservices (TTSL), the company that runs Tata Indicom, has tied up with California-based Qualcomm, a company that makes chips for CDMA phones, to offer these services on Qualcomm's BREW technology.

BREW is a software program that competes with Java and is used by coders to develop applications like games, wallpapers and websites on the mobile phone.

High-end games that have 3-D elements cannot be played in existing CDMA handsets, which is the opportunity that both companies are eyeing.

"We are looking to bring 3-D games and rich graphical downloads to the masses," Pankaj Sethi, president, value-added services, TTSL, told Hindustan Times.

Phone makers like Samsung and Huawei support these services that are based on Qualcomm's single chip (QSC6020 chip), which according to analysts offer a faster Internet browsing experience as against traditional mobile chipsets.

"Qualcomm's single chip has helped us to extend data services on low-end devices," says Sethi, adding that leveraging BREW and CDMA technologies has helped TTSL open up entertainment and information to mass customers. Tata Indicom has been facing severe competition from Reliance Communications. It is eyeing new customers and looking at monetising its existing subscribers with services like games, spiritual content and wallpapers, according to a telecom analyst.

Recently, TTSL tied up with Opera software, the company behind the Opera web browser, to provide a version called Opera Mini on the Huawei C2900i handset.

According to TTSL officials, the company has reached 30 million downloads of BREW content and applications this year. With this, TTSL has about 80 per cent of its value-added services revenue from the non-SMS category.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics on Thursday launched India's first operator independent phone for CDMA users.

Called the "Samsung Max", with consumers constantly wanting to upgrade their handsets, this phone can be picked up by the consumer from any shop without having to go to the telecom companies' retail shops. The phone would work like GSM phones where a user can change his phone and has the option of changing the operator too in the open market.