Microsoft, Apple, Verizon, AT&T All Playing Phone Tag

The Redmond, Wash.-based company is denying reports that it plans to make its own smart phone. The rumor is that Microsoft was in talks with Verizon Wireless to launch an iPhone competitor with the code-name "Pink," but Microsoft swears it isn't true.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Microsoft and Verizon were in talks to launch a touch-screen multimedia cell phone to challenge Apple's iPhone. But a Microsoft spokesperson said the company is not getting into the phone hardware business and that it, instead, is looking to deepen its relationship with existing hardware partners that make phones using the Windows Mobile operating system.

According to a Microsoft spokesperson, "Microsoft's strategy has not changed; it is and has always been to provide a software platform for the industry. We work closely with many mobile operators and device makers around the world because customers want different experiences on a variety of phones."

The talks between Microsoft and Verizon are meant to energize a mobile business that has lost buzz among consumers and software developers to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform, according to the Journal.

The project would add new software capabilities, including Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile, a store for cell phone downloads, according to the report.

The Microsoft-Verizon rumors come on the heels of news that Verizon is talking to Apple about an iPhone partnership, fueling speculation that Apple is pitting its existing iPhone carrier, AT&T, against Verizon, according to Reuters. It's also possible that Microsoft is using Verizon to get at Apple, or vice versa. AT&T's exclusive rights to the iPhone are expected to expire next year, but the carrier is believed to be seeking an extension.

Lowell McAdam, the head of Verizon Wireless, recently spoke with Apple CEO Steve Jobs and other senior Apple executives about wireless devices, according to Reuters.

"It makes sense for Apple to spread the love to Verizon, and it makes sense for Verizon to have iPhone, and it makes sense for AT&T to make sure that doesn't happen," Roger Entner, the head of telecom research at Nielsen, told Reuters. "The winner is Apple either way."