Microsoft’s latest shot on cellphones, the Kin One and Two. These phones are targeted to those social networking savvy kids, who don’t spend an hour without updating their Facebook or Twitter status (includes me, sort of).
First let’s talk about the hardware which has been prepared by SHARP. Kin One is a compact slider which has a 5 MegaPixel camera with LED flash, shoots SD video, Mono Speaker, Slide out compact keyboard, Multitouch, 4 GB inbuilt memory. Kin Two is slightly larger in size than Kin One but resembles most of it, it’s equipped with a 8 megapixel camera with LED Flash, shoots HD video, Stereo Speaker, a slide out keyboard (can be used for two handed texting) and it’s got 8 GB of inbuilt memory. Wifi, Bluetooth and 3G cellular radios come packed with the Phone.
The hardware is not of much talk over here because the main game changer is the software. Both the phones are Windows Phones, and are based on the Windows Phone 7 core but the most striking thing here is how it has been modified. You might find traces of the OS on the Kin’s in Zune too. The Kin’s are packed with three prominent features which will surely excite a lot of Social Media crazy teens, Kin Spot, Kin Loop and Kin Studio.
Kin Spot is a dot in the lower portion of the screen. You go to any web page, or check any photo or video, maps, statuses, contacts or anything. Just drag it into the Spot, and the spot will do the work of sharing it with your friends. Just drag it and drop it in the spot, then select the method to share – MMS or Email. Done! Quickest way to get share the stuff you want to.
This is something that resembles the Moto-Blur feature, Kin Loop drags all the content from your friends timeline from Facebook. Myspace, Windows Live and all other social networks into one single stream. You can make a favorites too to stay updated with what your favorites are doing. The Interface resembles a lot of Zune.
The stupendous feature that could be a major factor for Kin’s sale could be Kin Studio. All content on the phone can be synced with the cloud, all photos, videos, contacts, messages are crazily connected to the cloud. It’s like your phone’s online version which can be accessed from any browser and the online interface seriously rocks! You have a whole timeline of your phone online and you can scroll across the timeline to see your phone’s content exactly how it was on the selected date.
The Media player is zune powered, and so you can easily sync your library on your Windows with your Phone. Along with that we have also been promised that there will be a Mac Compatible software out too soon which will allow you to access and sync your iTunes library. The devices also support over the air updates for firmware like most other devices these days. The Worse part, no support for third party apps.
The thing to love about the device is the cloud storage. You don’t need to worry about storage on your cellphone because whatever you do, goes to the cloud which with the vast storage is a true game changer. Also the stylish interface for accessing the data is just ne plus ultra.
The devices will be available in May in US with Verizon and in UK with Vodafone. Regarding the pricing, we would be disappointed if they are priced above $150.
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