Report: Microsoft, Verizon Working on Rival to iPhone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 28, 2009 - 7:38am.

New York - Hoping to rival the success of Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone, Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) is in talks with Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) to launch a competing device on the carrier's network by early 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The report follows a report in Monday's USA Today that said Apple has been in "high-level" talks with Verizon for several months on developing a new version of the iPhone compatible with the carrier's CDMA wireless network.

AT&T has the exclusive carrier rights for the iPhone in the U.S. until 2010, and will likely try to extend that deal.

Either winning rights to the iPhone or launching a rival, however, would be considered a coup for Verizon, which counts about 80 million customers in the U.S. and is owned in part by Vodafone, which sells the iPhone in Europe.

The Journal reported that Microsoft's device would extend the company's Windows Mobile operating system.

http://snipurl.com/gxqr6 (USA Today)