My first phone
Tech blog Gizmodo says it has got hold of a bunch of marketing material for the imminent launch of a Microsoft-branded phone - generally referred to as Project Pink - in the US. The source of the leak is a third party involved with the launch and the implication is that we'll be seeing it soon.
The marketing material uses the same renders of a simplistic slide-out QWERTY handset leaked to Gizmodo last September, shown below. The device looks like an attempt to evolve Microsoft's Sidekick proposition into an entry-level handset aimed at teens and possibly even younger consumers.
In fact, come to think of it, the image reminds us a bit of the Leapster pre-school hand-held gaming device.
Other details in the story put Verizon as the launch partner and that it isn't running Windows Phone 7. That is to be expected if a) it's going to launch soon and b) it will be a low-specced device. Microsoft has set a minimum - and pretty high - spec threshold for phones looking to run Windows Phone 7.
Assuming all this stuff is legit, we would expect Microsoft to utilise the control that comes from making its own handset to produce a feature-phone that is substantially cheaper than the phones it would be competing with. It would be a ‘my first mobile phone' with limited apps and Internet access, offering reassurance to parents wanting to shield their kids from some of the depravities available online.
If it's done right, and the price is low enough, Microsoft could carve out a nice little niche for itself with this.
