Microsoft and Verizon Plot an iPhone Rival

Apparently, Microsoft and Verizon Wireless are in talks to launch a touch-screen multimedia cellphone on the carrier's network early next year, in an ambitious effort to challenge Apple's iPhone. The discussions are a gambit by Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer to energize a mobile business that has lost buzz among consumers and software developers to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android. Microsoft is a major player in software for cellphones, but it is working hard to develop a new device that will rival Apple's. Verizon, meanwhile, is pushing on several fronts to extend its smart-phone offerings and compete with AT&T Inc., which is the iPhone's exclusive U.S. carrier. Verizon has also had discussions in recent months with Apple about partnering on devices other than the iPhone.