Microsoft to launch 2 iPhone killers at CES in January 2010

You wouldn’t expect to hear such Microsoft rumors from a source such as 9to5mac which is an Apple blog, but they sound pretty confident that Microsoft plans to announce two slider smartphones from Project Pink at CES in January of 2010. One of them will be squircle in shape like last generation Zunes and has the code name ‘Turtle’, while the other one, code named ‘Pure’ has a candy bar shape. Both will have slide out keyboards just like Danger’s Sidekick (Microsoft acquired Danger around a year ago).

These devices will be manufactured by Sharp just like the Sidekick was and have an App Store. Here’s a fun fact from 9to5mac:

  Danger’s phone App Store predated Apple’s by two years.

Only if it has been marketed in a better way, most of us would have been aware of this fact. Anyhow, 9to5Mac will be tweeting the pictures of Turtle and Pure so make sure you are following them. Even if you don’t, you can stay updated here.

One unanswered question is which version of Windows Mobile would Project Pink use? From the news spread around the Internet, it doesn’t seem as if Windows Mobile 7 would be ready by January 2010. Here’s wishing Microsoft does use Windows Mobile 7 with these Project Pink devices as well as launches them worldwide and not for US only like the Zune HD.

[Thanks to @volvoshine for the tweet]