Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

Microsoft has unveiled a budget, Internet-connected phone under the Nokia brand, which will cost $29, as it steps up its efforts to capture the rapidly-growing emerging market consumer.

The Nokia 215's Internet connection – albeit 2G – sets it apart from Microsoft's other low-end devices, giving users access to Facebook, Twitter, a weather app and a web browser.The Redmond, WA-based technology giant is billing the so-called feature phone as a chance to tap into users who have never been connected to mobile Internet."With our ultra-affordable mobile phones and digital services, we see an inspiring opportunity to connect the next billion people to the Internet for the first time," said Jo Harlow, corporate vice president of Microsoft Devices Group, in a statement.

The Nokia 215 will be released in "select markets" in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe in the first quarter of this year. Microsoft also claims the phone has battery life of up to 29 days.

IN-DEPTH

-- Arjun Kharpal, CNBC