Microsoft unveils Kin smartphones

Published on Apr 13, 2010

Microsoft Corp. has announced KIN, a new Windows Phone, designed specifically for socially active youths

Published on Mar 17, 2011

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Microsoft Kin has been brought to life through partnerships with Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and Sharp Corporation. KIN is designed to be the ultimate social experience that blends the phone, online services and the PC with breakthrough new experiences called the Loop, Spot and Studio. Microsoft's latest Windows phone Kin comes with a simple interface and built-in social networking features. With the unique hardware design developed in partnership with Sharp, both Kin social phones, Kin One and Kin Two, feature a touchscreen and slide-out keyboard. Kin One has mono speaker, while Kin Two comes with stereo speaker. Kin One comes with 4 gigabytes memory which can store about 1,000 songs but Kin Two offers double memory of 8 gigabytes for storing about 2,000 songs. Both the Kin devices are equipped with media player powered by Zune."Working closely with our partners, we saw an opportunity to design a mobile experience just for this social generation — a phone that makes it easy to share your life moment to moment,” said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "We built KIN for people who live to be connected, share, express and relate to their friends and family. This social generation wants and needs more from their phone. KIN is the one place to get the stuff you care about to the people you care about most."Built for text, Kin One comes with compact keyboard for one-handed texting, while Kin Two features ample keyboard for two-handed texting. Both the touchscreen Kin devices offer pan, scan and zoom features. The 5 and 8 megapixel cameras in Kin One and Two, respectively, are designed for use in low light with image stabilization and a bright LumiLED flash.Equipped with Kin Loop home screen, Kin automatically brings together feeds from leading Microsoft and third-party services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter all in one place, making it easier to stay connected. There is another new features called the KIN Spot, that helps Kin phone users to focus first on the people and stuff they want to share rather than the specific app they want to use.The devices feature Kin Studio that automatically backs up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts, and populates a personalized digital journal. With Kin Studio users get access to tons of storage to keep all their photos, videos, contacts and texts. Also, Kin will be the first Windows Phone to feature a Zune experience — including music, video, FM radio and podcast playback.Kin phones will be exclusively available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. beginning in May and from Vodafone this autumn in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. There is no official words on the pricing details of Microsoft's Kin smartphones; however, the official Kin website hints at the prices at its 'Sweepstakes Rules' page - Twenty-Fine (25) grand prizes: Two (2) Microsoft mobile devices and two (2) 1-year subscriptions to Zune Pass. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $968. 

 

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