Is Microsoft gearing up for own smartphone?

Is Microsoft following Google's path by partnering with a handset manufacturer and introducing its own smartphone based on the new Windows Mobile 7?

According to Jefferies & Company analyst Katherine Egbert, Microsoft is gearing up for a launch of such a device, previously rumored as the "Pink" phone project. "Our recent industry checks indicate Microsoft will be debuting its own phone sometime in the next two months," Egbert wrote. "We expect the new phone to debut soon, at either the Feb 15-18 Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona Spain or possibly at CTIA in Las Vegas one month later."

According to Egbert, the device is "a Zune-like phone" that will likely be brought to market via an OEM partnership similar to the deal between Google and HTC that released the Nexus One. Egbert has no information about the price of the phone or what operators might carry it.

"Revenue from the phone is also very unlikely to be meaningful for many years," the analyst adds. "However, the new phone might explain why Microsoft has allowed WinMo to dwindle to [less than] 10 [percent] mobile OS market share. Pink would be the 'third screen' (after Windows and Xbox) and final component in Microsoft's '3 screens and a cloud' strategy."

For more:
- see this All Things Digital article

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