Microsoft developing own brand smartphones?

Leaked pictures suggest so, but are they real?

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24 September 2009 5:02 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Although Microsoft has repeatedly told the press that it would not be delevoping a Windows Phone of its own to go against the likes of HTC and other handset manufacturers, that hasn't stopped a new set of pictures leaking purporting to be just that.

Gizmodo, who seems to be on a Microsoft leaking role, are claiming that a pink handset manufactured by Sharp and sporting a qwerty keyboard will be released sometime in the not too distance future.

Aimed at the kids and leveraging Microsoft's Danger (the software company behind the sidekick) acquisition last year, the "Project Pink" phones are currently being referred to as Turtle and Pure and will have social media at its core and promise the usual array of communications skills.

"The hardware design has a definite younger feeling: Turtle looks like a chunky child's version of a Palm Pre, while Pure seems like a standard slider, and both are clearly plastic, with an overall sense of roundedness, thanks to lots of soft angles and circular keys," Gizmodo is reporting.

According to the story, the phones will also sport a Zune music store.
However as tech writer Richard Lai points out, the Turtle has a key marked with a ;) symbol suggesting this could just be a prank to entice and destroy Gizmodo's reputation.

We will keep you posted.