• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 6, 2010

Microsoft made a splash in Barcelona in February with a sneak preview of its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system. Now the software giant next week is expected to launch its long-rumored "Project Pink" phones geared to social networking and aimed at young mobilistas. The slogan for the April 12 unveiling is "It's time to share."

For Microsoft, it's time to deliver. Like Google with the Nexus One, the company thrusting more deeply into the mobile space with the new devices, designing the hardware and software for the Pink phones itself, according to The Wall Street Journal. The approach is said to be modeled on that of the T-Mobile Sidekick, the smartphone developed by Microsoft subsidiary Danger Inc.

That device was last making headlines when a server outage caused Sidekick users to lose personal data for about a month last fall.

With its Zune media player a commercial bust and the new Windows Phone 7 devices not arriving until year's end, the Pink phones will be Microsoft's latest chance to show it can mount a mobile comeback. Data released Monday by comScore showed the share of U.S. smartphones using Microsoft's software dropped to 15.1% in February from 19.1% in November.

But when you think of terms like "young mobile users" and "social networking," Microsoft isn't the first company that comes to mind. It's like picturing Steve Ballmer in skateboard gear. The company is also entering a market already crowded with competitors from the iPhone and iPod touch to prepaid services like Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile that skew toward younger consumers.

But if the new phones have a solid launch and don't get lost in the wake of iPad's waves of publicity, then it could create momentum for Microsoft leading up to the more critical rollout of Windows Phone 7 devices later this year. Otherwise, the company will need another comeback from its latest mobile stumble.