Microsoft seems really interested in the mobile phone segment off late. If it announces a major partnership with Nokia a few weeks ago, its now turn to announce its OneApp service which promises to bring smartphone like abilities to feature phones.
This also marks the beginning of Microsoft "deviation" into the non-smartphone scheme of things who, until now, had only Windows Mobile range of smatphone OS in its mobile arsenal.
As for OneApp, this happens to be a "do it all" application that will enable users to run various subsidiary applications under it that include things like Facebook, Windows Live Messenger, Twitter and Mobile Wallet. It's a pretty small app, "weighing" in at just 150KB. The add-on apps are just 30KB in size and hence should fit in most feature phones of today. The best thing about this is that it offers users to access the service "online" as it is more of a cloud service. Which means, users do not really store and install apps to their devices.
"When people see these apps running on a feature phone, their eyes light up. It's pretty exciting. 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," said Tim McDonough, Microsoft's senior director of Mobile Product Management.
OneApp will be initially launched in South Africa. For those wanting more, there's a video preview available as well - strangely showcasing the service being used on a Nokia smartphone!
