Isaiah's Tech

Although Microsoft Germany spilled the spec sheet for the Microsoft Kin One and Two, the CPU speed still wasn't mentioned. Now we're hearing that both handsets are sporting a 600MHz CPU along with ambient sensors and EV-DO Rev. A connectivity. There's also support for H.264, MPEG-4, and WMV files in case you're interested.

[Engadget]

Microsoft just held their event and they've obviously announced their Project Pink - finally. Let's just get right down to it, since I'm already behind after taking a nap. The "Turtle" became official as the Kin One and it'll feature a QVGA display, 4GB of internal storage, a 5MP camera with an LED flash, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The "Pure" became official as the Kin Two and it's the higher-end of the two handsets. It features an HVGA display, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, an 8MP camera, and 8GB of internal storage.

They both feature WiFi / Bluetooth support, 3G connectivity, and a "desktop web experience" which is based on Silverlight. Engadget likes the way it works, so it must be pretty good. The UI is similar to the Windows Phone 7 Metro look, with heavy social integration.

Verizon will be launching the Kin One and Two this May, while Vodafone will be launching it in Europe this Fall. Prices weren't mentioned. Check out Engadget's hands-on here.

Update: According to Engadget, there's no microSD card slot on either of these handsets. So much for those SanDisk microSDs.

[Engadget, The Next Web]

Microsoft has just leaked out what they're announcing. In the photo above, it's clearly the Project Pink Turtle. This handset should get announced on Monday at 10 AM PST (1 PM EST). The specs shouldn't be high-end, but it's for "sharing." Check out the picture here.

[WMPowerUser]

Here's an interesting one. Someone in the wild has been spotted with what appears to be one of the Microsoft Pink devices that should get announced on Monday. This is supposedly the Turtle and it's headed to Verizon - clearly you can see why it got its name. This handset has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard along with a touchscreen display. It looks pretty funny, so we'll see how this goes with the teens.



[Slash Gear, Engadget]

Okay, well, Verizon is announcing something on Monday, April 12th. Engadget believes that it's the Microsoft Pink (Pure and Turtle), while Phandroid believes it's the HTC Incredible. It's only 3 days away, so be sure to tune in on Monday to see what's up.

Update: According to Slash Gear, SanDisk has actually confirmed that Pink will be announced on Monday. Both of the handsets will feature microSD card slots (especially SanDisk ones), which is a big positive - seeing how WinPho 7 won't have support for that.

[Engadget]

I'm sure you're familiar with Microsoft's Project Pink, it consists two phones: the Turtle (above) and the Pure. Apparently, both of these handsets will be fairly low-end phones targeted for the youth, but they'll still be running on the Tegra chipset which is pretty amazing for a "low-end" phone. The Turtle and Pure are expected to have GSM connectivity and the CDMA variants will reportedly be the Pride and the Lion, respectively. The Turtle / Pride will be sporting a 240 x 320 resolution and the Pure / Lion will be sporting a 320 x 480 resolution. Tegra for a low-end phone? We'll have to wait and see.

[WMExperts, Engadget]

Well, it looks like those old picture of the Microsoft Turtle could actually be true - they weren't kidding around about launching it for the "younger" generation. The Turtle has just passed the FCC (filing here) and it's been identified as the Sharp PB10ZU. It's said to be packing a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, CDMA connectivity, WiFi / Bluetooth support, a camera, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. We don't know what version of Windows Mobile this handset will be running, but we could hear about it at MWC which officially kicks off tomorrow!

[Electronista, WMExperts]

I'm not going to cry over this since Microsoft "Pink" never seemed all that desirable in the first place, but it looks like the project has been canned. I don't have much left to say because Mobile Crunch got the scoop on it below. I'm sure this won't make anyone sad anyway. Goodbye Pure and Turtle - even if it isn't official at this point. Anyways, Microsoft should start working on that Zune HD Phone now...

• Much of the Danger/Sidekick team has left or been fired since the 2008 acquisition. According to our source, there is “no braintrust that understands how to build a product” left on the Pink team.
• If a product does ship, it will lack the third party application support/store that rumors have indicated it would have – the remaining team members simply don’t know how to get it done.
• Amongst remaining employees, dissent is high. Much of the team uses iPhones around the office, or their old Sidekick handsets. Employees “hate the product” internally, many feeling that the division exists only to “challenge [the Windows Mobile 7 team] and upset them into competing.” Our source outright indicated that they felt the product was never intended to ship.
• At this point, the project is roughly 2 years behind schedule. In order to continue moving forward toward some undefined launch date, basics such as a calendar application have already ended up on the cutting room floor.
• On the “Turtle” (the smaller of the two devices): The touchscreen is unusable, as there are too many elements on screen at one time. “Your finger covers 50% of the screen”, says the source. The unit was designed “on the fly”, with a design drawn up and then sent to Sharp for verbatim manufacturing. Our source says this backwards design process has lead to a “near disastrous” battery life. “Designers forced Sharp to build to sketch and not ‘worry about that stuff.’”
• The UI concept work was originally done by an outside party, and Microsoft engineers have been “struggling to replicate it ever since”.

[Mobile Crunch]

Could what you see above really be what Microsoft is codenaming "Pink" more specifically the "Turtle" (above) and the "Pure" (below)? I really, really, really hope not. This handsets are, apparently, made by Sharp and will have a "youth focus" and will have their own little app store. "Unlike the Sidekick however it will have a music focus, with some kind of Zune integration." I really hope this is a really bad joke. Microsoft, please don't do this!

[9 to 5 Mac, Engadget, Gizmodo, Maximum PC, WMPowerUser]

Seeing how this latest rumour came from a Mac website, this is chalked up pretty lightly. The rumour states that Microsoft will be releasing two mobile phones next year that will compete with the iPhone and they will be under the Project "Pink.". One of the devices - codenamed "Turtle" - will be a Motorola QA1-looking device, which means it'll be a smartphone similar to the BlackBerry - just uglier. The other handset is said to be codenamed "Pure" and will be a candybar slider, which will also be stupid. Don't forget that this is a big rumour.

[9 to 5 Mac, WMExperts]