With the Monday unveiling of its two “Project Pink” feature phones – code-named Turtle and Pure, Microsoft is apparently experimenting with a new approach in the highly-competitive mobile phones arena.

Manufactured by Japanese firm Sharp and sold by Verizon Wireless, the two Microsoft-branded phones will essentially target the ‘always connected’ messaging crowd – largely comprising the hyperactive teen users who are looking for ‘cool’ devices supporting multiple instant messaging accounts, games, music, e-mail, and Facebook.

Moreover, along with having social-networking as their key selling point, the Microsoft phones are also the first handsets to boasts accessibility to the Zune music service.

Despite the fact that Microsoft’s “Pink” phones do not offer any substantial competition to the Apple iPhone – they are not intended to -; these handsets carry the potential of allow Microsoft gain market share by attacking a different part of the phone business – they widen the extent of the Zune community; thereby making Zune an even more attractive feature of Windows Phone.

Featuring distinctive slide-out keyboards and swiveling screens, both the new Microsoft “Pink” phones will be comparatively lower than the Apple iPhone and the Google Nexus One.

Commenting on Microsoft-branded phones, Morningstar analyst Toan Tran said: “This is a trial for Microsoft. If this goes well or better than they expect, they may be more willing to dip their toe in the water and build a full-fledged phone.”