Microsoft and Verizon Wireless have announced that the newest Windows phones, the Kin One and Kin Two, will be available for purchase online starting tomorrow and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Thursday, May 13.
Kin One is available for $49.99, and Kin Two is available for $99.99, both after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.
The Kin phones are mid-range smartphones with slider qwerty keyboards that have been pitched to appeal to the younger social networking and media set. The phones feature an aggregated social networking UI and beefed up cameras that can capture HD video. The Kin One features a 5-megapixel camera and the Kin Two has an 8-megapixel lens.
The services combine the phone, online services and the PC with new services called the Loop, Spot and Studio.
Kin Loop aggregates all of a user’s social networks in real time. Kin automatically brings together feeds from Microsoft and third-party services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Customers can also select their favorite people, and Kin will automatically prioritize their status updates, messages, feeds and photos.
Kin Spot allows users to focus on the people and stuff they want to share rather than the specific application they want to use. Videos, photos, text messages, Web pages, location and status updates are shared by dragging them to a single place on the phone called the Spot. Once all the people and content are in the Spot to share, the user can choose how to share and start broadcasting.
Kin Studio allows offline access to content via a desktop or laptop. Microsoft says that everything created on the phone is available in the cloud from any Web browser. Photos and videos are presented in an online visual timeline so they can be viewed and shared. The Kin Studio automatically backs up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts and populates a personalized digital journal.
Check out the Kin One and Two in the video below.
Filed Under: Carriers, Devices
