Microsoft's rumored Project Pink phones gained even more support on Thursday as a newly discovered FCC filing correlates with the second design. Following earlier confirmation of the Turtle, the Pure also appears to have surfaced as the Sharp PB20ZU. It lines up with the phone's conventional slide-out QWERTY keyboard and touchscreen design and carries a similar label design to that of the Turtle.
Microsoft's Pure and Turtle media phones have been given more tangible details thanks to the discovery of their firmware and the image creator that makes their firmware possible. The Sharp-made phones will be far from the specs needed for Windows Phone 7 and carry resolutions of 480x320 for the larger Pure and just 320x240 for the squat Turtle. Both will still be at least moderately quick using some variant of NVIDIA's Tegra, though whether this is the original or the dual-core Tegra 250 isn't known.
Microsoft's recent Zune 4.2 software has again revealed Zune-related phone plans through a finding in the .NET code. Enumerators for hardware support in the jukebox app make references to "eEndpointFamilyPmxPure" and "eEndpointFamilyPmxTurtle," or the two Project Pink phones that have been rumored but until now never definitively confirmed. The references hint at either Zune interface elements or at least syncing with the Zune software for content.
Use of Microsoft's new Zune 4.2 software indicates the multimedia player could be offered in non-English countries for the first time. Hidden in the free-to-download update is a translated version of all instructions, in this case German, at least when installed on a German Windows Vista PC.
A low-key version 4.2 update for the Zune software (currently only available through the software itself) may have confirmed Microsoft's plans for phones with Zune features. The INF file that identifies hardware drivers includes three references to "Phone.DeviceDesc" alongside more conventional Zune listings; the description in turn points to just "phone" as the description. As they have to refer to actual devices and can't be falsely associated with someone else, the mentions hint at three Microsoft-branded phones that would need the support in the near future.
A recent series of tweets signed "from Danger" and with the "#tmdp" hashtag indicate Microsoft's Pink phones are not dead in the water, as previously believed. Danger is the company behind Sidekick handsets, which was purchased by Microsoft in 2008, and Tweeting from those handsets returns a "from Danger" in the signature. The Danger tags also link to Microsoft's home page instead of Sidekick's, adding to the mystery. There is no indication of what the "#tmdp" tag means or refers to, however.
Microsoft's Pink phone project may be on the verge of falling apart even before its first product ships, according to a controversial set of leaks supposedly confirmed today. Backing a scoop from earlier in the week, a source for AppleInsider says Microsoft has poorly managed the project and squandered the acquisition of Sidekick creator Danger from 2008. Rather than implement Danger's advice, the larger company has watched the majority of the team either fired or leave in frustration as the majority of their advice is ignored.
Microsoft has picked the ad firm that will represent its "Pink" smartphone interface, sources said Wednesday. AdWeek hears that a contract bid has been won by McCann Erickson's TAG group, trumping others. The leak doesn't include any details of what "Pink" involves but adds that McCann already handles advertising for Windows Mobile, supporting the phone connection.
