Microsoft Corp. is offering Microsoft OneApp, a new software
application that enables feature phones -- to access mobile apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Windows
Live Messenger, and other popular apps and games.
OneApp brings mobile apps and services to feature phones in emerging
markets. Launching first with Blue Label Telecoms in South Africa,
OneApp will be used as part of the new and upcoming release of its
mibli consumer mobile service. Mibli, powered by Microsoft OneApp, will ship
with more than a dozen new mobile apps. Additional apps will be
available in the future, focusing on areas such as healthcare.
Consumers in South Africa can download and install mibli for free.*
OneApp was designed from the ground up to enable mobile
apps to be accessed by feature phones with limited memory and
processing capability. For customers, OneApp appears on their phone as
a single application where they can then easily access all of their
mobile apps:
- The OneApp lightweight on-phone footprint of just 150 KB makes the initial installation easy and fast.
- OneApp
dynamically launches just the parts of a mobile app that a person wants
to use, eliminating additional installation time and the need for a
person to store all of the mobile apps on the phone. - OneApp
includes cloud services that help offload processing and storage from
the phone to the Internet, improving overall performance. - OneApp uses data networks efficiently to reduce data access charges, saving money for the customer.
Microsoft OneApp will begin to be offered through
partners worldwide. Software developers can write new apps for OneApp
using industry standards such as JavaScript and XML. The OneApp
software developer kit is expected to be available for developers by
the end of 2009.
Microsoft OneApp is an example of Microsoft's commitment
to Unlimited Potential, the company's effort to enable social and
economic opportunity for everyone. More information on Unlimited
Potential is at http://www.microsoft.com/up, and more about Microsoft OneApp is at http://www.microsoft.com/oneapp.