Microsoft reveals Kin phones, due next month

[Matthew DeCarlo]

After much rumor and speculation, Microsoft finally revealed its self-branded handsets today. Called Kin, the series is comprised of those all-too-familiar phones formerly referred to as Turtle and Pure. Although they aren't attractive aesthetically, the phones have many social capabilities that could appeal to younger users.

Among the features is Kin Loop, which lets users monitor Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, along with other Web news and events. Kin Spot is a hub that facilitates the sharing of data such as media, sites, messages, and location information. Another function dubbed Kin Studio creates an online backup of your messages, photos, videos, and contacts.

Funky designs aside, the handsets' hardware isn't half bad. The Kin One has a 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen, a five-megapixel camera, 4GB of storage, Wi-Fi, GPS, FM radio, while the Kin Two boasts a larger 3.4-inch display, an eight-megapixel camera, and 8GB of storage. You can read their full specs after the break.

The phones should be available next month in the US through Verizon, and sometime later this year in Europe through Vodafone. Prices aren't yet clear.

Kin One

* Form factor: Vertical slide, QWERTY
* Display: 2.6" TFT, QVGA (320 x 240), capacitive touch screen
* Camera: 5.0MP CMOS anti-shake, autofocus, dual LED flash
* Speakers: Mono
* Memory: 256MB DDR RAM, 4GB storage
* Battery: 1240 mAh
* Connectivity: EV-DO Rev A, Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP, Hi-speed USB, 802.11b/g
* Other: Assisted GPS, FM radio, accelerometer

Kin Two

* Form Factor: Vertical slide, QWERTY
* Display: 3.4" TFT, QVGA (480 x 320), capacitive touch screen
* Camera: 8.0MP HDR CMOS from Omnivision with anti-shake, autofocus, Lumi LED flash
* Speakers: Stereo
* Memory: 256MB DDR RAM, 8GB storage
* Battery: 1390 mAh
* Connectivity: EV-DO Rev A, Bluetooth 2.1 w/A2DP, Hi-speed USB, 802.11b/g
* Other: Assisted GPS, FM radio, accelerometer

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/38554-microsoft-reveals-kin-phones-due-next-month.html

 

[thatguyandrew92]

Damn the Kin Two looks sexy to me....Pricing anyone?

 

[matrix86]

Man, they aren't joking about these being ugly, lol. But I guess whatever gets the job done, right?

If I had to get one, it would be the Kin Two. It looks better and has a larger screen which would be easier to use.

 

[natefalk]

What happened to Windows 7 Mobile?

 

[maestromasada]

That proves to me: facebook is here to stay. Kinbook the perfect gadget seems to be. I hope price to be affordable

 

[treeski]

Are these phones supposed to be considered smart phones... or are they just social phones? Are there going to be applications available?

 

[yukka]

8 megapixel camera is pretty damn nice. Not sure whether I would get one if the focus is so heavily on social networking but interesting nonetheless.

 

[9Nails]

Yukka - I don't know if those 8 mega pixels are worth a darn... My old digital camera is just 3 MP and it will probably take a much sharper and better focused picture than these phones. The total number of pixels doesn't count for quality.

Of the two, I kind of like Kin One. It's smaller (fits better into my pocket) and the screen is smaller too. That means it needs less power and probably lasts longer since the batteries are close to the same size. But I don't need a social media phone. I want the phone that can play MS Live games.

 

[DarkCobra]

I too like the form factor of the Kin One and I totally agree that the megapixel mania has too often resulted in noisier images. I think 5mp was the ideal number for small sensor digital cameras. Too bad MS didn't go the Android route.