Microsoft introduces the Kin social phone

SteveW · Apr 12, 2010

Microsoft introduces the Kin social phone

Verizon will be the exclusive US carrier; Vodafone will sell the phones in Europe

By Robert McMillan | IDG News Service
April 12, 2010

Hoping to lure the Facebook and Twitter crowds, Microsoft introduced its Kin mobile phones Monday.

With hardware built by Sharp, the Kin will come in two models: the Kin One, and a wider, more powerful model called Kin Two. The devices will be sold exclusively in the U.S. by Verizon, starting next month. In Europe, Vodafone will be the exclusive provider, starting around October.

Speaking at a San Francisco launch event Monday, Microsoft's Robbie Bach billed the devices as smartphones designed for social-networking and video-obsessed users. "We knew we had created something very special for people when we saw the reactions to people from our prototype," said Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division.

Both versions of the phone come with a slide-out keyboard, but the Kin Two has a wider keyboard, more memory and a better camera that can shoot high-resolution video. The Kin One comes with a 5-megapixel camera and the Kin 2 with an 8-megapixel camera.

Looking to leverage its software expertise, Microsoft is adding a number of features designed to help the phones integrate with social media Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The Kin's homepage can weave together different social media feeds and using a feature called Kin Spot, users can zoom in on specific people in their networks.

Another feature, called Kin Studio, will give users a simple way to organize their photos, text messages and data, in what Microsoft calls a "personalized digital journal," and then store all of this information online.

Kin will also be integrated with Microsoft's Zune digital media marketplace.

Microsoft and Verizon are not saying what the first Kin devices will cost when they are released next month.

Vodafone will initially sell the devices in Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

Original...

SW

SteveW · Apr 12, 2010

Here's the Engadget article with video:

Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two announced: Windows Phone roots with a social slant (updated with video)

SW

JFB · Apr 12, 2010

Here is the press release. The link at the bottom has more pictures and videos:

Microsoft Ushers in the Next Generation of the Social Phone With KIN, a New Windows Phone

Microsoft, Sharp, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone unveil KIN, a new Windows Phone designed for broadcasting and sharing everyday moments.

REDMOND, Wash. — April 12, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today announced KIN, a new Windows® Phone designed specifically for people who are actively navigating their social lives. 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. KIN 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.

“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.”

A New Kind of Social Phone

With KIN, social networking is built into the fabric of the phone. KIN has a fun, simple interface, which is designed to help people publish the magazine of their life by making the people and stuff they love the focus rather than menus and icons. The unique hardware design was developed in partnership with Sharp to create a new kind of social phone. There are two models called KIN ONE and KIN TWO. Both phones feature a touch screen and slide-out keyboard. ONE is small and compact, making it a perfect fit for a pocket and to operate with one hand. TWO has a larger screen and keyboard, in addition to more memory, a higher resolution camera, and the ability to record high-definition video. The 5 and 8 megapixel cameras in ONE and TWO, respectively, are designed for use in low light with image stabilization and a bright LumiLED flash.

The New Way to Share

The home screen of the phone is called the KIN Loop, which is always up to date and always on, showing all the things happening in someone’s social world. 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. Customers can also select their favorite people, and KIN will automatically prioritize their status updates, messages, feeds and photos. Another unique feature, the KIN Spot is a new way for people to share what’s going on in their world. It lets them focus first on the people and stuff they want to share rather than the specific application they want to use. Videos, photos, text messages, Web pages, location and status updates are shared by simply dragging them to a single place on the phone called the Spot. Once all the people and content are in the Spot to share, the consumer can choose how to share, and start broadcasting.

Your Phone, on the Web

KIN Studio is your phone online. Almost everything created on the phone is available in the cloud from any Web browser. Photos and videos are freed from the confines of the phone and presented in an online visual timeline so they are easy to view and share. The KIN Studio automatically backs up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts, and populates a personalized digital journal so it’s easy to go back in time to relive a crazy weekend or recent birthday. And the KIN Studio gives customers tons of storage to keep all those photos, videos, contacts and texts so they’ll never run out of space on their phone and lose a memory.

Music and More

KIN will be the first Windows Phone to feature a Zune experience — including music, video, FM radio and podcast playback. With a Zune Pass subscription, customers using Zune software on their PC can listen to millions of songs from Zune Marketplace on their KIN while on the go, or load their personal collection. KIN also has other features customers want in a phone including a rich browser with the ability to share pieces of the Web, local and Web search by Bing, and an RSS feed reader to pull down information on people and stories from the Web.
More information and a complete fact sheet on KIN are in the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/KIN .

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Click to expand...

Yankees368 · Apr 12, 2010

Man, that bigger one looks a LOT like the pre when closed.

charlyee · Apr 14, 2010

KIN Is No Windows Phone 7

Microsoft exec Robbie Bach says KIN is aimed specifically at social networkers who don't need all the features planned for the company's next mobile device.

By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek
April 13, 2010 10:24 AM

Microsoft wants to make clear that its new KIN line of phones isn't for users who want a fully functional smartphone—and that's on purpose.

The company designed KIN phones for younger users who emphasize social networking above all else, knowing that it's got another offering in the works, Windows Phone 7, that's aimed at a broader customer base that includes business professionals and more mature consumers.

M in LA · Apr 14, 2010

A Microsoft KIN on Verizon. If this isn't a match made in draconian hell, I don't know what is...

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