With Microsoft expected to announce its Project Pink endeavour tomorrow I thought I would share with you what I think about the reasoning why Microsoft are pursuing this idea and what information is out there already about the products.

The Information

The information that has leaked out about the project indicated that there will be two designs for the devices, Turtle and Pure with the former being a pebble-like device and the Pure having a slide out QWERTY keyboard. Neowin are today reporting that there were going to be two different versions of each devices, a UTMS and a CDMA version, bringing the total number of devices to 4. However, it sounds like Microsoft have dropped one of the types of the devices due to time constraints, its unknown what technology the devices will be using.

In terms of the operating system it sounds as if delays with Windows Phone 7 meant that the Project Pink team couldn’t use the same code for their OS, this means that the Pink devices wont be able to make use of the same apps as Windows Phone 7. I’m not sure if that will actually be much of a problem as I discuss later.

The OS is likely to look similar to Windows Phone 7, not necessarily with a full Metro UI but certainly one inspired by the Zune HD’s interface. It is also expected to feature a lot of social integration with the ability to quickly update one’s status on a number of services and upload pictures and videos easily. It has been reported that many Instant Messaging services will be incorporated into the device, including Windows Live Messenger.

It is understood that Zune will feature heavily on the device at the minimum offering music content to users, but perhaps there the entertainment service will also offer videos to the devices. There has been little talk of Xbox Live existing on the devices and as the OS wont be running on top of Windows Phone 7 I doubt there would be many games for these devices or if there were they could “water down” the quality of the mobile Xbox Live games. There could well be other Microsoft services integrated into the device such as Bing, but I think it unlikely that Office will make an appearance for the reasons discussed below.

My View

In Windows Phone 7 we have seen Microsoft emphasis that users’ focus should be more about the people they are in contact with than the apps they need to use to keep in contact, from what I can tell Project Pink will be taking that idea further. The focus here could be a lot less about the apps on the device as many services are integrated within the OS itself.

For many this implementation for a mobile device probably isn’t appealing, however if you consider the main demographic that is thought Microsoft are going to be aiming these phones at it does make sense; teenagers. Smartphones are great but for many people they probably aren’t the first phone they have when a teenager because they are too expensive, grownup, business oriented etc etc.

If Microsoft are able to get the pricing of these device right (read: cheap) then its likely these devices could be consider by teens but the problem with today’s mobile phones is that a user also needs to purchase apps which, for some new devices, cost a lot. If Microsoft can do away with the need for teens to have to buy the apps that would matter most to them because the OS has the functionality it would again make it appealing to the key demographic.

Then if you look at what teens are likely to want to do on their mobile phones, they aren’t that interested in productivity apps or the like and are really only interested in entertainment apps. In fact when talking to my friends, many of which are just outside (older than) the key demographic Microsoft is after, its become apparent to me that many people only want a phone to contact others not to use apps at all, which was surprising. From this I don’t think that a lack of apps or ecosystem will really be a problem for users of Project Pink both through the cost of the apps and the fact that many teens aren’t going to be interested in them.

But by the target market’s very nature it doesn’t have the money to spend on many extras for the devices so its unlikely Microsoft are looking at making billions from this venture. The reason I can see Microsoft pursuing Project Pink is actually create a “lock in” for teenagers. If teenagers buy the devices, use Windows Live, Zune, Bing, possibly Xbox Live etc then it will encourage the users to also use those services on their PC but also when they go to upgrade their phone to a more functional phone they wont want to lose access to all the music they brought on the Zune Marketplace etc so the logical and obvious choice of device would be a Windows Phone.

The reason for this, I believe, is because many teens have iPods but a relatively cheap phone, when they look to buy a more functional phone they naturally are pulled to the iPhone so they can have all their music on a phone. The Zune HD isn’t really aimed at teenagers, nor is it priced for this market, so by encouraging teens to make the move to combine their MP3 player and phone at an earlier stage it could well be an attempt by Microsoft to head off teenagers getting “locked in” to the Apple ecosystem. The Metro-esque look of the interface could also be a way of getting teens used to the interface of Windows Phone 7.

To be able to stand any chance of competing with Apple Microsoft and its network provider, likely to be Verizon, need to have a good branding and marketing campaign ready for these devices. The name that has often been circulated, but is unlikely to be the product’s name, is the Zune Phone, a name that seems unlikely because the UI looks to have moved away from the Zune HD’s interface. One name I have seen mentioned is the Windows Live Phone, which could actually make a lot of sense, people are aware of Windows mainly through Messenger and Hotmail and considering Windows Live is likely to be heavily integrated into the OS it seems to sum the device up well. If the device is going to hit the market soon-ish then perhaps the update to Windows Live, Wave 4, will be in conjunction with its launch.

The Conclusion

My hopes for Project Pink aren’t that high as I don’t think the devices will appeal to me, however there might be some interesting service integration that will also be present on Windows Phone 7 when that is launched. Specifically a greater offering from the Zune service to mobile devices. But with my hopes for the project quite low I guess I can be more easily surprised and pleased with Microsoft have done.

From a business stand point this is actually quite an interesting project, if my ideas are correct, as it will seem Microsoft trying to stop potential users going to Apple’s offering in a way that wont actually directly compete with Apple.

The information currently out there about Project Pink means the devices don’t appeal to me, and probably don’t appeal to many of the readers of this site, however these aren’t the people Microsoft are likely to be aiming this device at so only time will tell. If they can getting the branding and marketing right they could well be able to convince teens that this is the new cool thing to own.

Whatever Microsoft have planned should be made clear tomorrow, which you can be sure I will be following intently and shall provide information about after the announcement (possibly during too if it is being streamed live).

Update: There is a now a page for the announcement tomorrow so that you can watch the live stream wherever you maybe. There are also a selection of fairly artistic images depicting several different social interactions between young people.

Looking at those images I can see what looks to me to be a Turtle device on the far left, you can see it better when zoomed in. There don’t seem to be any other pictures which show off the devices.

Another interesting to point out is that I have seen several tweets that suggest Project Pink’s OS will be very much like an updated Zune HD with phone functionality, perhaps its segment in the market can be easily summed up in a good old Venn diagram.