Tag Archives: Microsoft Kin

Microsoft’s Kin phones back from the grave

November 19, 2010Uncategorizedcell phones, Kin ONEm, Kin TWOm, Microsoft, Microsoft Kin, Verizon, Verizon Wireless, VZ, VZWScott Meisner

Just when you were started to think you’d never hear Microsoft Kin again, the failed smartphone duo found their way back to Verizon. The Kin devices haven’t changed physically since making their way back from the grave; they look the same on the outside and their sub-par specs are still in tact. What has changed is price. The Kin ONEm sells for $19.99 with a new two-year contract ($119.99 without), and it’s bigger brother Kin TWOm costs $49.99 on contract ($219.99 without). Monthly plans start at $39.99 for talk and $9.99 for 25MB of data. Definitely cheaper than what Verizon was offering before Microsoft shelved Kin after only three short months on the market. Don’t expect to see much a future for the Kin platform; reintroducing these phones on Verizon now is Microsoft’s plan to wipe out their warehouses of the device they killed.

[Via Engadget]

Microsoft Kin is no more, T-Mobile Sidekick discontinued

July 3, 2010News, Technologycancelled, cell phones, Danger, Kin, Kin One, Kin Two, Microsoft, Microsoft Kin, Project Kin, Sidekick, T-Mobile, T-Mobile Sidekick, Verizon Wireless, VZWScott Meisner

Remember Microsoft Kin, the little (smart)dumbphone that could? Well Microsoft has decided to scrap it and focus entirely on Windows Phone 7. Here’s the official statement:

“We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones.”

The major reason why Kin is being shut down is sales, or lack thereof. Though Microsoft never mentioned how many handsets were sold, they neither confirmed nor denied a rumor that a mere 500 Kin devices have sold thus far. Shortly after slashing the prices of Kin One and Kin Two to $29.99 and $49.99, respectively, Microsoft abruptly made the decision to cancel what was forever rumored as “Project Pink” for good.

Besides terrible sales figures, Engadget has a scoop that pretty much says Kin was doomed from the start. Internal bickering between two Microsoft employees who had differernt visions for the company’s place in the mobile space ultimately sparked the eventual fall of Kin. Here’s the short of it: In 2008 Microsoft bought Danger, the company behind the original Sidekick phone. In collaberation with Danger folk, Microsoft created what was then known as Project Pink. It was headed by now ex-Microsoft employee J Allard. Allard envisioned the Kin line of devices and services separate from Windows Mobile, but Windows Mobile head Andy Lees had different plans. Lees found Kin a distraction from what he believed was more important (the formation of Windows Phone 7), managed to take away Kin from Allard, and that’s when the phone was released into the wild. It was put out on the market under a Microsoft mobile head who was not one-hundred percent invested in the product. Hence, it was doomed from the start.

In the end, Microsoft (and Verizon) really didn’t do a great job at pricing and marketing the phone properly. Kin was aimed at what Microsoft called “generation upload” (aka tweens and teens) who are constantly texting and social networking on Facebook. The two devices were originally priced at $99 & $49 each, with monthly data plans costing $29.99/month (and that’s on top of a talk plan). These devices were way out of the price range for the phone’s target demographic. That’s no way to price a feature phone. And don’t get me started with that terrible fake hipster marketing campaign! Anyway, now that Kin is dead I hope that the custom software and services it introduced find their way into Windows Phone 7, as Microsoft promises. The Kin Loop and Kin Spot made for an interesting take on managing social networks, but it’s the Kin Studio that held the most promise. The ability to archive all of your phone’s content to the cloud and access it on any PC in a browser is a genius idea, one that I hope gets utilized with WP7 devices. Continue reading Microsoft Kin is no more, T-Mobile Sidekick discontinued →

Microsoft Kin now available online, in Verizon stores May 13

May 10, 2010News, Technology, Uncategorizedcell phones, Kin, Microsoft Kin, price & availability, Verizon WirelessScott Meisner

Generation Upload, listen here: Microsoft Kin devices are now available to purchase online and you can pick one up in a Verizon Wireless store near you come May 13. The Kin One goes for $49.99 and the Kin Two sits at $99.99, both after a $100 mail-in rebate and a new two-year customer agreement, of course. Big Red reminds us that “to get the most from Kin” you must subscribe to the Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk ($39.99) and an Email and Web for Smartphone($29.99) plans. A bit pricey for a smart dumbphone that’s limited in functionality if you ask me. But alas, it won’t be long until you can get your Kin Loop, Spot, & Studio on; it’s just a mere three days away! PR after the break.

[Via Verizon; Engadget] Continue reading Microsoft Kin now available online, in Verizon stores May 13 →

Microsoft Kin: the device for “Generation Upload”

April 13, 2010Images, News, Technology, Uncategorized, Videocell phones, Kin, Microsoft, Microsoft Kin, Project Pink, social networkingScott Meisner

On Monday Microsoft finally lifted the covers off ancient rumored devices dubbed “Microsoft Pink” by introducing their next foray into the mobile space called Microsoft Kin. Microsoft recently aquired Danger, the company behind the Sidekick; created with Sharp, the Kin devices are essentially next-generation Sidekicks. At its core, and well all around it, Kin is a social networking phone aimed at tweens. Microsoft is calling its target market “Generation Upload”, 15-30 year olds who are all about chatting, texting, taking and sharing photos, and constantly updating their favorite social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Note that Kin is not a smartphone; smart dumbphone is more like it. Although it’s built upon Windows Phone 7 and shares similar UI aesthetics, it can’t run apps and it’s closed off to many other WP7 features like Xbox Live. This is all by design, really, since Microsoft is really pushing it strcitly as a social networking device. Kin contains two family members, Kin One and Kin Two. Both devices contain three unique features: Kin Loop, Kin Spot, and Kin Studio.

Kin Loop: This is your home screen. It’s the place where all your social network content gets aggregated and displayed. Loop aggregates information from four selected services: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Windows Live. Information is updated in real time (well, every fifteen minutes unless you manually hit refresh). So what you need to understand is this: the device does not run apps for these services; they live on the phone at all times. Your profile picture and current status is visible at the top of the screen. The rest of Loop is covered in recently updated statuses from the friends you converse with most often. If you want to delve deeper into their page, simply tap their picture and you’ll be transported to their standard profile page.

Kin Spot: There’s a small green spot located at the bottom center of the screen at all times. This dot allows you to collate all kinds of stuff and share it all with your friends. For example, if there’s a picture, video website, status update, or map you want to share with one of your contacts, simply drag and drop the content into Spot and you’re one tap away from sending it off to your friends. Enter Spot by tapping it and select the contact and content you want to share. Content can be shared over SMS, email, or social networks.

Kin Studio: This is where all your device’s content is stored online. Everything that you have on your Kin (contacts, pictures, videos, etc.) is backed up to “the cloud.” In this case the cloud is Kin Studio, a website based on Silverlight that can be accessed on any computer. So if you lose your Kin, all the data that’s on it continues to thrive online at Studio. Also, Studio makes for a great way to watch and enjoy your Kin’s content on a larger display. Studio’s UI is impressive; it features a visual timeline and supports geotagging in a map, allowing you to pinpoint exactly when, say, a photo was taken, and where it was taken, respectively. It’s a very seamless experience; if you update something in Studio (for example, add a video), the change will take effect on your Kin device, and vice versa.

Kin also comes loaded with a custom IE web browser. The display is capacitive with multitouch support, enabling pinch-to-zoom in the browser, but there is no Flash or Silverlight functionality. Also included is a fully functional Zune player (hrm, minus Zune gaming), allowing for music,video, and radio playback. Zune on Kin will provide the same experience found on Zune HD players and (soon) WP7 devices. You can stream music over WiFi and 3G and there’s full support for Zune Pass, meaning you will always have access to your entire Zune library. For Mac users, Microsoft will be providing software to sideload your iTunes music and iPhoto pictures to a Kin device. Note, this is not a Zune client for Mac, it just a way to get a Mac user’s content from Mac to Kin; no Zune Marketplace access for you! Now let’s distinguish between the two members of the family. Continue reading Microsoft Kin: the device for “Generation Upload” →