The Microsoft Kin One

The Microsoft Kin One cell phone is not one of those multi-purpose devices aimed at a broad-audience base. It has been creates dedicatedly for ‘the Gen Y’. Social networking tools have been emphasized, even at the expense of the most defining cell-phone functions and applications. However, considering just how social minded young people are nowadays, Microsoft has reason to be optimistic about this one.

Looks are certainly important, especially for youngsters, and the Microsoft Kin one definitely scores over here. It is a black, touch screen, ‘slide’ phone, with a silver base for its key pad, and black keys: a simple yet attractive color code. It’s shape is rectangular, and its edges are curved, giving it a ‘built-for-the-future’ look, like something from a Jetsons cartoon. All in all, it looks fun to hold and use and its appearance should be a hit with its target audience.

However, there are downsides of fitting a large OS in a 2.6 inch screen, and Microsoft seems to have done it without enough concern for organizational needs and a neat, uncluttered display. With three home-screens jostling for space and their individual functions cramming up every millimeter of space, it is very straining on the eye. It’s primary home screen has been called ‘The loop’, and it consists of the latest updates from your Twitter, Myspace and Facebook accounts. Posting your own updates and sending text, images or videos is a breeze.

To the right of The Loop is the ‘favorites’ screen, which has a list of the people who represent your favorite contacts, arranged in a collage of irregularly shaped rectangles. The third screen is the ‘apps’ screen. It is the most de-emphasized, and the Kin One doesn’t offer anything new over here. Navigation is not easy either. In fact, there isn’t any home key and neither is there a send key to quickly initiate voice calls from the apps screen. If you want to activate regular phone functions, you have to choose ‘phone’, which is one of many options on this screen, and then activate a voice call. On the whole, the ease of using social networking media is counter-balanced by the difficulty in finding even basic cell functions.

One of the coolest features of buying this phone is Microsoft’s mirroring website known as Kin Studio. All you need to do is log in to kin.com for a mirror-image of your phone memory. It has all the data stored on your phone, and anything you upload or send using this web-page reflects on your phone too. The memory on your phone, however, is limited. You get 4 GB and that is not expandable.

If you’re interested in music and videos, the kin one is a mixed bag. It has a reasonable good music player, but its screen is too small to enjoy videos. The web browsing experience is clean, though slightly on the slower side and the phone comes equipped with a 5 megapixel camera.

On the whole, in spite of an OS that this tiny phone can barely handle and de-emphasis of non-social-networking tools, this phone seems to offer enough to score a hit with its target 15-25 age group audience.

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