Microsoft unveiled the two kin mobiles targeting the youth. You would wonder why Microsoft has designed such a phone especially in the time of Windows Phone 7. Kin Mobiles as clearly said by Microsoft are been targeted only towards youngsters and will not appeal to everyone as it is a social networking phone and by no means a business phone. You would have read about the Kin One in our list and here is the review on Kin Two.
It is possible to have immediate access to friends and family with the help of social networking integration. The Kin mobiles unlike other smart phones are different and are fun to use with. You might be wondering about the cost of the mobiles since they have been announced. When Microsoft first launched the mobiles with Verizon it was priced at $79.99 for Kin One and $149.99 for Kin Two with a 2-year contract. But now, we have no idea why but the cost is been reduced as $49.99 and $99.99 for Kin One and Two respectively. However there is no adjustment in the monthly plan.
Like other smart phones, Verizon offers these two mobiles with a $29.99 unlimited data plan. This might be a problem as the group targeted doesn’t seem to have much income. Of course they might change their mind towards fully loaded smart phones as they are available for much lower price. The Kin mobiles can be purchased through a pre order scheme that started May 6 in Verizon web site. Once ordered, the mobiles will be delivered within the next 48 hours.
Design:
The Kin Two has a similar design like any other touch screen slider mobiles that are around. Its design is contrast to that of the Kin One being bigger in size and is sure to occupy more space in your pant pockets. It measures 4.25 inches in length and 0.75 inch in thickness. It gives a solid feel when held as it weighs 4.7 ounces. As you wonder, despite big in size, it has the advantage of bigger screen. The phone features a 3.4 inch capacitive touch screen. Touch sensitivity is much more accurate than the Kin One and is possible to use in both portrait and landscape mode and it includes an internal accelerometer.
You cannot expect the scrolling experience as smooth as in an iPhone and you will definitely struggle when scrolling longer lists and pages. It is encouraging that the phone browser offers pinch zoom. You can find only one physical button on the bottom of the phone which will help you navigate to the previous screen. But we would have appreciated if Microsoft has included a home screen button which would have helped to get immediate access to main screen when you are deep into applications.
You can have access to the keyboard by sliding the screen to your right. Once slid the screen locks into its place. The keyboard much resembles the Sidekick LX but it is not surprising that Kin mobiles are manufactured by Sharp, the manufacturer of Sidekick LX. The circular keys might look a bit small but there is enough spacing that there will not be any chance of mispressing. There is a 3.5mm head phone jack on the top while the volume control and power button are on the right side of the phone. Along the bottom right side of the phone is the shutter button which look to a bit weird as it might be difficult to access. The phone includes a micro USB port at the bottom while the camera lens and flash are at the back which is pretty usual.
Features:
Some important features include the 3G support, Wi-Fi and stereo Bluetooth connectivity. E-mail support includes POP3 and IMAP accounts but this phone can never been considered as a business phone. The mobile doesn’t have any gaming capabilities and app store but we are sure you will be very much busy with other features all day. Microsoft regarding this said that it gave first preference to social networking features and hence some features have to be omitted.
One notable feature of the Kin Two is the media player it comes along. The mobile along with its brother are the first ever Windows phone to come with a Zune HD interface. Therefore for those are familiar with Zune HD will feel comfortable working with it. Navigation through the player is possible only using touch screen along with the only available back button. Multi media is also organized in a similar manner to the Zune HD with five categories in the main screen including video, music, radio, Zune Pass and their corresponding settings. Listening to music can be either opted through the integrated speaker or through the head phones which isn’t terrible either with clear sound. Overall the player offers decent performance. You could face problem when inserting the headset as you may not hear anything. Restarting the device would fix it.
The Kin Mobiles comes with a web based service called Kin Studio. It looks just like the My Phone service that comes along with Microsoft Windows Mobile which automatically backs up your contacts and important information to a secure website. The best thing is it is offered for free. All you need to do is sign up for it in the Kin Studio Web site. The Timeline feature it comes along is pretty interesting as it lists out all the photos and your contact messages for a specified period of time. Kin Two comes with an 8GB internal memory and an 8 MP camera which is capable of shooting HD videos.
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