Microsoft event says it's "time to share"

Microsoft signaled its possible readiness to unveil its first self-branded phones on Monday with a teaser for an event in San Francisco. The notice obtained by Engadget doesn't mention more than that "it's time to share" but uses the same typography as seen on the Pure and likely the Turtle, hinting that the phones under the mystery Project Pink banner are almost ready to be revealed. Prior leaks have had both phones shipping April 20th for Verizon, which would line up with an introduction the week before.

Both the Pure and Turtle are expected to be labeled as "Sharp+Microsoft" and would use a new interface somewhat similar to Windows Phone 7 but without most smartphone-level features. It would instead aim at the messaging phone market with a social networking focus -- possibly reinforced by the "time to share" slogan -- and would likely include Facebook and Twitter integration.

The two phones would be rough equivalents to the T-Mobile Sidekick and may replace it over time, as it's known that both GSM and CDMA versions exist of either model. Both should have touchscreens and slide-out QWERTY keyboards, and they may use NVIDIA Tegra chips that give them relatively advanced graphics.

Pink is believed to be Microsoft's attempt at creating a vertically integrated phone design much like the iPhone but without stepping on its smartphone hardware manufacturers, who it still intends to support with Windows Phone 7. Many have criticized Microsoft's previously hands-off approach to phone platforms as producing a lowest-common-denominator effect where the OS is reduced to accommodate all possible form factors. Both Pink and WP7 will have guaranteed specifications to produce a certain experience as a baseline.

By Electronista Staff