14 DAY TRIAL // With OneApp Microsoft is working to democratize web-based applications and access to social networks with a focus on feature phone users in emerging markets. Popular mobile phone applications are generally restricted to smartphones, but OneApp is designed to break the limitations associated with the mobile phone versions of apps including Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger and Mobile Wallet. OneApp has been designed with mobile phone users in developing countries in mind, in an effort to provide them with access to the same applications and services as smartphone owners.
Amit Mital, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group and Startup Business Accelerator, applauded the move. “OneApp is a technology that is going to help people do things they couldn’t do before — anything from paying their bills to helping diagnose their health issues or just staying connected with friends and family,” Mital stated.
Just watch the video embedded at the bottom of the screen in order to get a more accurate idea of what OneApp is capable of bringing to feature phones. According to Microsoft, OneApp spans across both server and client, and the lightweight component for feature phones weighs in at just 150KB, with the web apps themselves at just 30KB. However, phone users don’t have to store OneApp applications on their phones, as the solution comes with a Cloud service that makes all items accessible, even though they are not deployed locally.
For the time being, Microsoft OneApp comes with support for Nokia 3555, 5320, 6300, 6500, 6600, E50, E51, E63, E65, E66, E71, N70, N72, N73, N78, N80, N81, N82, N85, N95, N96; Samsung U900 Soul; and Sony Ericsson C510, C902, C905, G705,K610i, K800i, K805i, T650i, W200i, W580i, W595, W660i, W980. Microsoft noted that additional applications could be developed for OneApp using JavaScript and XML. In this regard, the Redmond company plans to offer a software development kit for OneApp by the end of this year.
“When people see these apps running on a feature phone, their eyes light up. It’s pretty exciting,” added Tim McDonough, senior director of Mobile Product Management at Microsoft. “What we’re letting you do is get access to the applications and services you want from a device you already own. If you don’t own a PC, or you share a PC, your mobile phone may be your first or only computing device.”