Microsoft’s Project Pink has finally matured into a couple of official devices, and if you were expecting a Zune phone then you might be a little surprised. The Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two – formerly known as the “Turtle” and “Pure” – are being positioned as feature phones for “Generation Upload”, with an emphasis both on social networking and on making sure Windows Phone 7′s toes don’t get stepped on.
We're less than two hours away from the start of the Microsoft's April 12th event, where the company is expected to finally out their Project Pink cellphones, but someone at Verizon has itchy fingers. The carrier's inventory system has been updated with entries for what look to be two Microsoft handsets, the MSONE and MSTWO, each manufactured by Sharp. Meanwhile there's also mention of an LG Android device.
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Microsoft's Project Pink event is scheduled to take place in around twelve hours time, and SlashGear will be there to bring you all the details. However, if you'd like a sneak peek at one of the devices themselves, head over to Microsoft's livestream page; the event may not be running, but either accidentally or on purpose there's a Project Pink "Turtle" in view. Already well leaked over the past few months, the Turtle is expected to be - along with its "Pure" counterpart - a QWERTY slider prioritizing mobile social networking.
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The leaked Verizon teaser may have people wondering what six imminent devices the carrier may have up their sleeve, but one of BGR's sources reckons they know the truth. According to them, the line-up includes the HTC Incredible, LG VS750, the Microsoft "Pure" and "Turtle" Project Pink devices and the Samsung U820 Reality. As for the sixth device, that's unclear, but both the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and the Google Nexus One are possibilities.
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Microsoft's been a leaky old sieve lately, with Courier slipping out earlier and even more Project Pink news just now. After yesterday's Verizon revelation and the subsequent firmware leak comes new images of the two Sharp-manufactured Pink phones, the Pure and Turtle, themselves, along with a potential launch date of April 20th.
Update: Apparently the devices will also get an international launch - in their GSM formats - with carrier Vodafone.
Larger images after the cut
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Hardly has the dust settled on the Microsoft Pink Verizon leak, when along come live - if blurry - shots of one of the handsets themselves. You're looking at the device codenamed Pure, a touchscreen slider with a full QWERTY keyboard and - according to a leak of the firmware - a 480 x 320 display. The firmware also confirms the Verizon launch, together with traces of of Zune, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! and Windows Live.
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Microsoft's oft-rumored Project Pink consumer cellphone platform has seemingly had another shot of credibility in the arm today, with Gizmodo claiming to have been sent a stack of promotional materials tipping a near launch. As well as reusing the same graphic of the so-called Turtle phone as we saw leaked last year, they also confirm Verizon as the carrier and position the handset as a social media-centric messaging device.
[Update: New tipsters have apparently confirmed that both the Turtle and the Pure (aka the Sharp PB10ZU and the PB20ZU) will be available, and are likely to launch in late April 2010. The production names are still not finalized, but the UI shares some of Windows Phone 7's appearance along with "some sort of UI skin/more of a social-networking edge".]
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Some detailed digging through the latest version of Zune software has turned up numerous references to what looks to be phone capability, along with some product codenames, leading to suggestions that the rumored Zune phone and the Project Pink handsets could in fact all be in the same family. Zune Boards discovered not only the Zune HD but the PmxPure and PmxTurtle lurking in the eEndpointFamily files - the section which details all compatible hardware - references recognizable as the codenames for the two leaked Project Pink devices spotted in September last year.
Meanwhile further entries referred to the ability to "View and manage pictures and videos taken with your phone at the Studio", with users able to sign up as "Studio members". The suggestion is that this could be Microsoft's new media upload service, enabling content produced on the handset to be shared via a web gallery.
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Last week DigiTimes, this week CNET; the likelihood of Microsoft making at least some demonstration of Windows Mobile 7 at Mobile World Congress 2010 looks ever more probable. The latest sources reckon Microsoft will be previewing the latest build of the smartphone OS next month, with plans in place to finalize the platform's code by the summer. Meanwhile, they're also saying that Microsoft's consumer phone range - tipped to be the fruits of the Pink project - is well underway, and should beat WM7 devices to market.
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Whether you're a Windows Mobile lover or not, one thing most people can agree with is that Microsoft really need to pull their finger out if they don't want to see their smartphone business slide away. We've already heard rumors that the company plans to bring Windows Mobile 6.6 to Mobile World Congress 2010, as well as talk of Windows Mobile 7 making its debut, but now there's speculation that in fact an altogether different device could appear. Engadget have been sniffing out Twitter messages and compiling a list of those posted "from Danger".
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After mediocre feedback to the leaked Microsoft Pink handsets, Turtle and Pure, now comes word from inside the project itself that the whole house of cards may be close to tumbling. An ex-team member has been talking to Apple Insider about the Pink "skunkworks" project and its mismanagement, including attempting to develop too many SKUs simultaneously, potentially misleading hardware and carrier partners, and in the process pulling the rug out from the already-ailing Windows Mobile. In fact, he reckons the Pink project is "near death and probably will be canceled".
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Crystal ball, secret tunnel or loose-lipped mole; we don't know how Gizmodo are doing it, but hot on the heels of the Microsoft Courier dual-touchscreen tablet leak comes shots of Microsoft's two upcoming Pink cellphones. The Microsoft Turtle (the squarish model) and Microsoft Pure (the more traditional handset) are both manufactured by Sharp and will be co-branded, and like the Sidekick - which Sharp also manufactured for Danger - will be targeted at a messaging-friendly youth market.
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