Microsoft has unleashed a pair of promising youth-oriented handsets that go completely against type. The Kin One and Kin Two phones are neither staid nor corporate. They have built-in Zune music players. And they elegantly back up nearly everything you do on them online.
The phones, which are made by Sharp and in the U.S. run exclusively on the Verizon Wireless network, are Microsoft’s attempt to be hip and social. In the end, the Kins leave you wanting more, but Microsoft is well on the right path.
The two devices are available online now and hit stores next week. They have touch-screens, slide out keyboards, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and attractive prices, at least on the hardware side. The hockey-rink-shaped Kin One, $49.99 after $100 rebate and two-year contract, is cheaper, smaller and cuter, though it has a more cramped 2.6-inch display, less memory and less-capable digital camera. Kin Two, $99.99 after the same rebate, is more conventional looking. It has a 3.6-inch screen and can shoot HD video.
Verizon’s monthly voice plans start at $39.99 for 450 minutes; data plans go for $29.99. European versions on the Vodafone network are scheduled for fall.
The Kins represent phase one of Microsoft’s bold two-prong attempt to reinvent itself in mobile. The second stage begins later in the year, when handsets based on Microsoft’s newly hatched Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system start to appear. My reaction to the Kins is decidedly mixed. Consider:
*Living it up in the cloud. Nearly everything you do on the Kin phones — texts, photos, call history — is uploaded onto a companion Web site called Kin Studio. It’s a cool new direction for Microsoft.
If there’s a killer app here, this is it: A timeline view lets you see what you were doing and who you were communicating with on any given day,…