Microsoft’s iPhone Rival

According to The Wall Street Journal Microsoft Corp. and Verizon Wireless are in talks to launch a touch-screen multimedia cellphone code name “Pink”, in an ambitious effort to challenge Apple Inc.’s iPhone, according to people familiar with the matter.

Rumors of an iPhone on the Verizon Wireless network have been stirred before, and last week received a fresh turn. The Wall Street Journal, interviewing Verizon’s chief executive Ivan Seidenberg, said Verizon was likely to get access to the iPhone in the coming years, as it converts its 3G network over to 4G, or LTE.

Microsoft is a major player in software for cellphones, but it is working hard to develop a new device that will rival Apple’s.

Verizon, meanwhile, is pushing on several fronts to extend its smart-phone offerings and compete with AT&T Inc., which is the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier.

In a recent interview, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg declined to comment on whether Verizon and Microsoft were planning an iPhone-like device.

Microsoft’s project, which is code-named “Pink,” aims to produce a phone that will extend the tech giant’s Windows Mobile operating system, adding new software capabilities. It would also likely include Microsoft’s new Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a store for cellphone downloads along the lines of Apple’s App Store, these people said.