Microsoft may be geared to take its place alongside Apple and Google with the upcoming release of its new batch of smartphones. Actually only one of them is a smartphone—the Windows Phone 7—the other two are simpler QWERTY phones aimed at the social media addicted teen demographic.
Kin 1 and Kin 2
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The Kin 1 and Kin 2 are both decidedly simple, and perhaps a tad underwhelming QWERTY phones with some nice features, if you’re only into texting and updating your social media statuses. The Kin 1 is a turtle looking clam shell which seems to bear a striking resemblance to the Palm Pre, and the 2 is a rather uninspiring redux of the flip-out-fold-out phone model.
Kin 1: A Palm Pre Look Alike?
Both models are equipped with cameras and video recording capability, though it’s worth noting the Kin 2 can record in 720p. Both come with limited amount of storage—4 and 8GB respectively—but, that may not inconvenience users that much due to the phones’ interesting connection to the cloud (more on that in a moment).
Neither phone actually comes with any apps and their are no apps to be had; what you get is what you get. As this article from Gizmodo states, these phones are really built for sharing on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. As a matter of fact, streams from your favorite people and feeds are displayed right on the main screen, and you can update your status to multiple outlets. Sharing is made easy by a dedicated area at the bottom of the screen called the Spot: drag anything down to this area and you can share with whomever you like, it’s that simple.
Music may be one feature where the Kin will shine. Music, video, podcasts, all powered by Zune and access to Zune Pass with a subscription giving access to the entire Zune database while on the go all sound great. There’s also a browser, and a basic email client, but no calendar. Go figure.
So, nothing really Earth shattering. But here’s where it gets hairy. We mentioned the cloud connection a moment ago? Yeah, it’s certainly interesting, but potentially frightening. Read on.
Apparently the Kin is intimately connected to the net through something called the Studio, which is basically an online backup for absolutely everything you do on the phone. Texts, emails, photos, contacts, all of it end up in the Studio and displayed in a glorious collage for your viewing pleasure. Does this disturb anyone else? Seriously, a place where everything you do on your phone is plastered up on screen? Good or bad, it could go either way.
We’ll have to wait and see how all of this pans out as the phones go on sale at Verizon Wireless in May, but for the time being here are some points to remember:
PROS
- Physical QWERTY keyboard
- Immediate access to social media feeds
- The Studio
- Zune powered music
CONS
- The Studio
- Boring form factor
- No apps, no games
- No GPS
Do you think the Kin will be a flop? Going to rush out and buy one next month? Let us know in the comments.
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