In April 2010, Microsoft released the Kin 1 and 2. These phones, aimed at the sub 25 year-old demographic, are specifically designed to meet the social networking needs of young customers. Rather then focusing the extensive web and third party application features of today’s leading smart phones such as the Blackberry and iPhone, the Kin 1 and 2 are solely focused on a variety of social networking and media features.The Kin 1 and 2 highlights include an intuitive social-network focused OS, instant photo/video upload capability (Kin Studio), a 5 mega pixel (Kin 1) / 8 mega pixel (Kin 2) camera, built in 4 MB (Kin 1) / 8 MB (Kin 2) of memory and a compact, stylish exterior with touch screen navigation and a full keyboard (think next generation Sidekick).
What the Kin 1 and 2 lack are third party applications, upgradable memory, robust web-browsing capabilities and an user interface that doesn’t give the average adult a headache in under 30 seconds.
At relatively uncompetitive price points of $49.99 (Kin 1) and $99.99 (Kin 2) (with two-year contract) it will be very interesting to see if the demand from social networking and text obsessed teenagers is enough to give Microsoft a foothold in the mobile market.
What the Kin 1 and 2 lack are third party applications, upgradable memory, robust web-browsing capabilities and an user interface that doesn’t give the average adult a headache in under 30 seconds.
At relatively uncompetitive price points of $49.99 (Kin 1) and $99.99 (Kin 2) (with two-year contract) it will be very interesting to see if the demand from social networking and text obsessed teenagers is enough to give Microsoft a foothold in the mobile market.
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