Kin ell!
Microsoft's badly-kept secret was officially revealed today as the software giant launched KIN - it's new range of mobile phones designed, it seems, for younger users.
There are two units initially - the KIN ONE and, wait for it, the KIN TWO - each of which feature a simplistic design, slide-out QWERTY, and special Microsoft software designed to facilitate social networking and media consumption.
The launch was in conjunction with Sharp - which made them - exclusive US operator Verizon and Vodafone, which will get first shout at the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain (no France?). They will be launched in the US in May, but Voda won't get its hands on them ‘til the autumn.
"We built KIN for people who live to be connected, share, express and relate to their friends and family," said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's devices division. "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."
There's just one problem with that: most other smartphones are designed to facilitate social networking too. So what sets these apart? KIN Loop is the social networking platform that offers an always-on push connection to all the usual social networking sources. KIN Spot is a hub through which you can select a bunch of stuff to send to your chums.
KIN Studio is the cloud service unique to these phones. Almost everything created on the phone is available in the cloud from any web browser, apparently. It's essentially an automatic cloud back-up coupled with a browser-based PC interface to allow you to muck about with all your content on a more accommodating interface.
Lastly, there's the kind of Zune media player feature that we can expect to see on Windows Phone 7 phones. But these will, presumably, be 6.5. The ONE is the entry-level one, with a 5 MP camera, mono speaker and 4GB storage, while the TWO has an 8 MP HD camera, stereo speakers and 8 GB.
The automatic cloud backup is a cool feature, but we suspect Microsoft will need to make an impact on the pricing to take on the handset incumbents with this. Another reason to assume these will be relatively cheap, apart from their juvenile design, is the impending launch of Windows Phone 7. It would surely not help Microsoft's relationship with its partners if their new WP7 phones were competing directly with KIN.
KIN ONE
KIN TWO
