Microsoft has released the beta of on{x}, a free app and accompanying set of APIs, developed by Microsofts Information Platform and Experiences team in Israel, which enable users to choose scripts – or write their own – to make their smartphone perform automated tasks. Oddly, given that its a Microsoft product, on{x} is only compatible with Android, and not Windows Phone.

The idea is that users who want their mobile to perform specific functions that might not be supported by any available apps – to call a contact when arriving at a particular location, for example – can pick from predefined recipes or create their own to enable their smartphone to automatically react to a change in a selected parameter, including time, location, or even speed of travel. That last one is particularly interesting – the modeOfTransport API can apparently tell whether the user is walking, running or driving a car, and trigger a script accordingly.

While being able to do some coding seems a necessity if users want to wander off the beaten path of those predefined recipes, on{x} a great idea, hampered with a hugely mobile-unfriendly name. Seriously, when was the latest time you tried to find those curly brackets on your mobiles keyboard?

You can watch a video explaining on{x} below.