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Published in Mobiles

Microsoft and Verizon talk phones

by on29 April 2009

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Verizon deal with Apple for iPhone unlikely

Several new sources including the Wall Street Journal are claiming that Microsoft is working with Verizon to cook up a competitor to the iPhone. While we have heard this all before, it seems that either these folks didn’t get the word last time or we were just a bit ahead of the curve.

At any rate, all that we have been hearing this time around is pretty much what you would expect. Codename “Pink” is a new Microsoft designed cell phone product that is being designed to compete with the iPhone. It is said that it will run a new tweaked out version of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile OS with some new abilities that are reportedly being brought over from the Zune.

While Microsoft is said to be driving the design of the software and the hardware, the actual production and building of the phone will be farmed out to a third party company that is yet to be decided; but they do have quite a few willing partners with experience building a Microsoft Windows Mobile OS-based product to choose from.

According to our sources, while Verizon has pleased with the sales of the BlackBerry Storm exclusive, it was more than a bit unhappy with some of the bumps in the road on the software and hardware side that the company has had to endure. Still, Verizon is concerned about market share that the iPhone continues to gain and the prospect that AT&T is likely to secure an extension of their exclusive on the iPhone in the U.S.

While is too early to know what the exact feature set of this device might look like, it is said that both Microsoft and Verizon are trying to think outside the box to bring some new software abilities to the device that would excite consumers and perhaps get them to rethink the purchase of an iPhone.

Speaking of Apple and the iPhone, the rumors of Apple doing a deal with Verizon for the iPhone are unlikely. We continue to be contacted about rumors of negotiations between the two companies for a low-cost iPhone and a tablet-like device with EVDO wireless; our Verizon moles insist that this is not the case, as Apple’s demand for exclusive application distribution is a deal breaker, along with the price that the company wants per device.
Last modified on 29 April 2009
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