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Switched On: Microsoft and Nokia trade posturing for pragmatism
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Few tech giants have circled each other as intently over the past decade as Microsoft and Nokia -- Big PC vs. Big Handset, not quite direct competitors but hardly partners, and only occasionally backing common initiatives such as DLNA. But this year there have been signs that relations between the two companies have been thawing -- the Finnish tundra's warmed to the Seattle rain. In March, Nokia announced that it would support Microsoft's Silverlight on its S60 handsets. And earlier this month, the two companies announced a "global alliance" that will begin with Microsoft porting Mobile Office to Symbian in order to compete more effectively against fast-growing Research in Motion. Just weeks after that announcement, however, both companies have made moves in each other's space that show they're willing to break with longstanding positions in order to capture a share of the other's opportunity.
Microsoft delivers OneApp app framework for featurephones
Who said Microsoft's mobile strategy has to be limited to Windows Mobile? Redmond has just announced OneApp, a comprehensive framework for delivering apps on a variety of featurephones -- largely in emerging markets -- where processor horsepower and memory are both at a premium. The solution is deployed in harmony with partners (carriers, primarily) that work to offload app processing and storage into the cloud and keep the on-phone footprint as small as possible (Microsoft is quoting a scant 150K for the OneApp executable itself). At present, OneApp is up and running on South Africa's Blue Label Telecoms where subscribers have access to Windows Live Messenger, Facebook, Twitter, and RSS apps among others; more launches are planned around the world "within the next year" at which point an SDK will be made available to devs who want in. Behind the scenes, the app is based on web standards -- think Palm's webOS -- and is currently compatible with a variety of S60-based Nokias, Sony Ericsson featurephones, and Samsung's U900 Soul. And no, don't worry, this isn't Windows Mobile 7.
Microsoft trademark application hints at cross-platform "OneApp" app store
Microsoft's attention may now be focused on Windows Marketplace, but a recently filed trademark application seems to suggest that the company could maybe, possibly have something even bigger in store for the future. As noted by istartedsomething, Microsoft is going after the name "ONEAPP" (or "One Application"), which it describes as a trademark for "online retail store services facilitating the download of computer software for use on mobile phones, media players and other portable electronic devices." Now, putting two and two together, that would seem to indicate that Windows Mobile phones and devices like the Zune HD would not only share a single branded app store, but the actual apps as well -- which isn't so much of a stretch, if not for the fact that Microsoft has already invested itself so heavily in Windows Marketplace. Then again, it could very well be just yet another name that Microsoft likes but has no real intention of using.[Via istartedsomething, thanks Chris]
