Before Microsoft announced its intention to debut a mobile environment called Windows Phone 7 later this year, the company was already at work on slick new mobile devices under a separate initiative known internally as Project Pink.

Pictures and other materials leaked to a popular tech blog this week appear to reveal new details about two phones Microsoft is known to be developing under the Pink line - the Pure and the Turtle.

(The model names may be subject to change. If Microsoft sticks with Pure, it may have a trademark dispute on its hands, as HTC already sells a mobile device called Pure. HTC, of course, is having legal troubles of its own with Apple).

Apparent from the photos and documents, published over the past two days by Gizmodo, is that mobile devices developed under Project Pink will run on the Windows CE operating system, which also is thought to be the core OS for Windows Phone 7 devices.

Gizmodo's photos, which have not been confirmed by Microsoft as legitimate, indicate the Pure and the Turtle use Sidekick-style, slide-out keyboards. Gizmodo also reported that Verizon will be the network provider for both devices.

Full story: InformationWeek