Project Pink lives! With all the excitement over the Windows Phone 7 Series rollout, most everyone forgot about the Sidekick-inspired Project Pink phones. Everyone except for Microsoft and Verizon Wireless it seems, who have been planning for the launch of at least one and maybe two of these new handsets. While we have been drooling over the LG Panther, a third party marketing company contracted by Microsoft has been busy dressing up the rendered image of the Project Pink Turtle handset in glorious Verizon Wireless marketing garb. According to the leaked marketing materials obtained by Gizmodo, the oval vertical slider, otherwise known as the Turtle, will be launched by Microsoft with Verizon Wireless as a launch partner in an arrangement that may (or may not) be exclusive. The phone will focus on social networking and will run a novel OS that is not Windows Phone 7. The leaked document also hints at an application store for the Pink phone but details on the store’s platform and distribution model are unknown. That is what we have on the Turtle, hit the jump for the details on the rather unusual Pure.
Out of the depths of Microsoft’s Redmond campus comes two blurry photos of the Project Pink side slider known as the Pure. The Pure was spotted running a not-yet-seen before operating system that has the look and feel of Windows Phone 7 but it not Windows Phone 7. Described as a Zune-ified Sidekick that is “better than Android,” the Pure has a tiled interface with links to email, music, RSS feeds, and more. That mysterious application store once again rears its ugly head as the OS reportedly has a download screen which, unfortunately, is not yet populated with apps. Similar to the Turtle, the Pure is rumored to be headed to Verizon Wireless but is not mentioned in the marketing material that showcases the Turtle. Previous rumors suggest a Spring 2010 launch for the Project Pink phones so look for the Turtle and perhaps the Pure to get the official nod very soon.
