14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Pink, the project that was rumored to be all about a mobile phone that the Redmond company was planning on delivering to the market running under its own Windows Mobile 7 operating system, has made the headlines once again. This time around, however, the rumors are even juicier than before, as they point towards two handsets the software giant is expected to come with at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2010.
The two smartphones, 9to5mac says, should come to the market as the result of Microsoft's acquisition of Danger and are reportedly manufactured by Sharp. Codenamed Turtle and Pure, the two devices are reportedly sliders and should reach the market branded as “Microsoft+Sharp” products. According to the news site, detailed product pictures also emerged, which should make the two handsets as close to reality as they've ever been.
“One device is 'squircle' in shape like the past Zune's buttons. The slide out keyboard houses the mic at the bottom and it is meant to be open when being used as a phone. This device is code-named 'Turtle' and looks like a dressed up Motorola QA1. The other device is more traditionally-shaped candybar slider and is code-named 'Pure'. The devices had previously been rumored to be carried on Verizon but we haven't heard anything more in this area,” is how 9to5mac describes the phones.
We've already discussed the Pink project a few times before, and there are a few things that might just not stand up in this rumor. First of all, Microsoft already stated loud and clear that it did not plan on delivering any mobile phone to the market, although it confirmed working on a Windows Mobile 7 chassis. Second, due to the fact that Windows Mobile 7 is expected to land only at the end of next year, the CES launch for said devices is ruled out.
For what it's worth, the Pink project is indeed expected to turn into a mobile device, though one not manufactured by Microsoft. As Mary Jo Foley notes, although the Redmond company does not talk about the project, it is an active one, and an ad agency has already been chosen for it, so there are great chances that some info on it will be unveiled at CES next year, though the actual handsets aren't expected to be launched at that time.
As for the chassis, it seems to be the result of Microsoft's intention to work more closely with mobile phone makers around the world. A closer partnership with Sharp would make sense from this point of view, and the same does a handset that would come with Microsoft's branding, along with the manufacturer's. The software giant is also reported to plan on working with fewer makers, yet more tightly, and the list might include only a few names at the moment, such as HTC, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, and few more.