The rumour is that Microsoft is gearing up to push out a couple of their Project Pink smartphones, codenamed the Turtle and the Pure and are apparently rumoured to pack some premium social networking capabilities, but the guys over at sparxoo ask the question, what can these new smartphones offer if they are to stand a chance at competing with so many rivals handsets.

In the past Microsoft has concentrated on software for non smartphones so can Project Pink be Microsoft’s way into the smartphone space like Google did with the Nexus One superphone even though sales of the Nexus One seem to be disappointing.

The article says that for Microsoft to be successful with their Pink line of handsets they need to identify an “under-met need” in the mobile arena and find a way to fill it. But there are a few ways in which Microsoft can grow its market share with Project Pink.

One good move by Microsoft is that the project Pink phones sport social networking features which is big with the youth market and they may well be able to capture the youth market for years as according to a recent study 55% of visitors to social networks are teenagers.

On the applications front of things, Microsoft does have an advantage over the likes of Apple in the computing industry as a whole and thus may attract developers who are familiar with their software which could then possible lead to a Project Pink app store.

Then there’s the big question of multitasking; and not even the iPhone can run multiple apps simultaneously and if Project Pink phones offer multitasking they would gain a leg up over the iPhone and be able to compete against Android.

At the moment the top smartphones which attract the younger crowd and professionals is the iconic iPhone and of course BlackBerry handsets and although Microsoft’s Project Pink phone may not be cutting edge tech they could well be good starter handsets for the younger crowd who may well continue to use Microsoft handsets as they get older.

No doubt the upcoming Microsoft event will produce more insight into what the Project Pink phones will offer in the way of features but one thing is for sure, Microsoft is entering the smartphone world at a very competitive time.