Quote:
Microsoft on Monday introduced two new phones for Verizon Wireless called "Kin," which are designed to appeal to social-networking focused teens and twenty-somethings.

The Kin One and Kin Two, which were formerly known by the codename "Pink," are both sliding phones with hardware keyboards. The Kin One is a small vertical slider, while the Kin Two is a bigger, horizontal slider.

The phone is called Kin because it "knits together... kindred spirits," said Robbie Bach, president of the entertainment and devices division at Microsoft.

The Kin One contains a 5-Megapixel camera, while the Kin Two contains a more powerful 8-Megapixel camera that can shoot 720p HD video. The One also includes a mono speaker, while the Two supports stereo sound. Both cameras include an LED flash, to better illuminate subjects in low-light environments. The One version also includes 4-Gbytes of onboard memory, while the Two version includes double that amount, at 8 Gbytes.

Onboard storage, however, is not the point, according to Microsoft executives. In fact, both phones serve as a portal to the cloud, storing photos, videos and other data on the network, rather than on the phone. Neither phone, for example, has an SD card slot, executives said.

"Thousands of customers walk into our stores every month and ask us, how do I get photos off this phone?" said John Harrobin, Verizon's vice president of digital media.

The Kin phones are decided for "the social generation," according to Bach, who appeared at a San Francisco event that was also broadcast to reporters in New York. "Their social life is their priority."
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Kin phones help those young people communicate with different circles of friends—whether they be their closest dozen friends, hundreds of acquaintances, or celebrities they follow on Twitter.

The Kin's target audience is also constantly publishing information about themselves, Bach said.

"This is 'read all about me' things that people are doing—wee call it lifecasting," Bach said. "If you talk to these people they really haven't had a phone that's been well designed specifically for them."

Windows Phones, But Not Windows Phones
Both phones are made by Sharp and run a new operating system, which is related to, but different from, the upcoming Windows Phone 7, Bach said.

The upcoming Windows Phone 7 is a multi-purpose experience that integrates all of Microsoft's strengths, Bach said. But it's a "broader offering" rather than one that appeals to a "specific target audience."

Kin shares Windows Phone 7's core elements and design, but is a unique product for a social-centric audience, Bach said. "Windows Phone 7 is about simplifying peoples' lives. This social phone is about amplifying their lives."

But a list of apps included with the phone have been designed solely by Microsoft for the Kin. None of the apps that will be provided on the Windows Phone 7 App Store, which will debut this fall as well, will be able to run on the Kin without Microsoft recoding them, said Paul Patinios, Microsoft's brand manager for the Kin.

The Kin's Main Features
The Kin's central focuses are the "loop" and the "spot." The "loop" is a feed of social networking information and messages from all of your friends, with your top friends' updates prioritized and shown in a larger font than others.

"Wee're the only phone that actually keeps your close friends close and treats them differently," said Derek Snyder, the senior product manager at Microsoft.

The "spot" is a point on the screen where you can drag any information - Web pages, music, images—to share them with a person or group of people.

The Kin phones also sync all of their content with a Web site, just like the Sidekick phones do. The Kin Studio organizes all of your content along a timeline, allowing you to zoom into all the photos, videos, and messages you got on a certain day.

"The vast majority of customers will use phones to capture photos, but less than a third are able to pull photos off their phone," Snyder said.

The Kin's music feature syncs with PCs running Zune software, and the phones have FM radios built in. Zune Pass owners can listen to unlimited subscription music, and the phones have stereo speakers.

"Wee are the first Windows phone to ship with Zune," Snyder said. The phones' other main features include phone calls, Web browser, search, and messaging. The browser is "touch-based" according to Kin's Web site, and lets you immediately share items by dragging them to the Spot.

The Kin's search feature includes Web, GPS-based, and on-device search.

Kin phones will be available exclusively at Verizon Wireless stores in May, Harrobin said.

Microsoft did not make any announcements regarding pricing.

- Source: [PCMag]

Probably not for you guys though...

Quote:Microsoft on Monday introduced two new phones for Verizon Wireless called "Kin," which are designed to appeal to social-networking focused teens and twenty-somethings.

First line I read I know I don't want it or need it.

And it ain't pink as well.

Twit | DA | G+ | Last.fm

I'm gay.

Is this Microsofts attempt at beating Apple at catering for the idiot?

Not really - in fact I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish with those tiny things... I see a failure on the horizon.

(14/04/2010 01:47 AM)S7* Wrote:  Is this Microsofts attempt at beating Apple at catering for the idiot?

Not really - in fact I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish with those tiny things... I see a failure on the horizon.

that round phone looks like spoon.

reminds me of one of these