Microsoft to unveil 'Pink' phones on April 12

Microsoft also sent invitations with a catchy tagline "It's time to share" for the April 12 event to media people on Monday in a similar manner as Apple did before unveiling its iPad tablet.

Reportedly, one of the devices code-named ‘Pure’ will come in a rectangular design with a sliding QWERTY keyboard and might sport an 8-megapixel camera.

The other one is code-named ‘Turtle,’ which might be a slider with a 5 megapixel camera and a 3.5 mm headset jack. Price and the other specifications of the devices are still not known.

Reportedly, Microsoft’s ‘Pink’ phone devices are manufactured by Japanese electronics giant Sharp, while hardware, software and online services are designed by the company.

Microsoft is planning to offer its mobile phones via Verizon Wireless, initially only in the United States and will later expand the sales to other countries.

Microsoft might also announce tablet ‘Courier’
Speculations are also rife in the market that with its ‘Pink’ project phones, Microsoft will also be announcing its long-awaited ‘Courier’ tablet.

Many analysts believe by launching new line of phone devices Microsoft is finally making a conscious effort to target different groups of customers.

The company was supposed to launch the ‘Courier’ tablet at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January but the tablet did not make an appearance at the event.

Reports suggesting that Microsoft is gearing up to launch a tablet computer started coming in last fall and some even hinted that the device could be more a day planner than an e-reader.

Microsoft to challenge Apple in smartphone market?
Many analysts believe by launching new line of phone devices Microsoft is finally making a conscious effort to target different groups of customers.
By launching ‘Pink’ mobile phones, it could be gearing to lure young customers and might be planning to give Apple some sort of challenge.

According to Dave Sobel, chief executive officer of Evolve Technologies, a Fairfax, Va. based solution provider, "Go to any college or university and you'll see tons of Macs and iPhones. Microsoft correctly recognizes that they can't cede that space because there is mind share there that is fundamentally important."

"One size doesn't fit all when it comes to mobile devices. Microsoft tried to make Windows Mobile one thing to everybody, and that didn't work very well," added Sobel.

Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates said that it’s time that Microsoft does something to make its mark in the competitive smartphone market where it has lost all the momentum.

They have absolutely lost momentum in the mobile space and have been a non-player in e-readers. If they can't get momentum soon, it's not going to matter, said Gold.

"I'd be surprised it's Pink, since that was expected later in the year,” he added.