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While Apple and Research in Motion battle to see who can launch the most feature-rich smartphone, Microsoft is moving forward with an initiative aimed at the opposite end of the spectrum.
The software giant announced Monday the launch of OneApp, new software that enables standard cellphones to access many of the same mobile applications that have been limited to those with smartphones. The software could open up a huge new audience – most notably in emerging markets – to such Internet services as Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger, MySpace, and a wide range of other popular mobile apps.
“Microsoft OneApp will be able to help people do things they couldn’t do before with their feature phone,” said Amit Mital, corporate vice president of the Startup Business Accelerator group at Microsoft. “Anything from paying their bills to helping diagnose their health issues or just staying connected with friends and family.”
Microsoft says OneApp was designed from the ground up to be used on cell phones with limited memory or processing capability. The software takes up just 150 KB of space on the phone. From the user perspective, OneApp appears as a single application, from which they can access all of their mobile apps.
On one hand, Microsoft appears to be missing the boat when it comes to having the latest and greatest smartphone device. But the company’s strategy is based on solid numbers. It is estimated some 800 million cell phones will be sold in 2009 capable of leveraging the OneApp service. In addition there are an estimated 2 billion such phones, which Microsoft describes as “feature phones” currently in use. The initiative could put Microsoft in driver’s seat in hot emerging markets, where feature phones remain the dominant form of mobile devices being sold.
Tim McDonough, senior director of mobile product management at Microsoft, says OneApp has the potential to spur a wide range of mobile applications addressing specific market needs. In the past software developers have found it difficult to develop applications for feature phones because of the difficulty of maintaining an application for “50 or 100 different kinds of phones.”
Now, there is the potential to develop an application once, and through OneApp make it available to the broader feature phone market.
The company announced that its first partner for the service will be Blue Label Telecom of South Africa. Blue Label will use OneApp to power its Mibli consumer mobile service.
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