Microsoft Kin
Apr 12, 2010, 10:37 AM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Apr 12, 2010, 12:05 PM
Live from the San Francisco launch event for Microsoft's all-new mobile phone project. Phone Scoop gets some quality time with the Kin 1 and Kin 2. Picture galleries and video demos added!
Kin 1
First hands-on impressions of the Kin 1 from Microsoft!
The Kin 1 is a small, hockey-puck shaped device that is smooth and round. It is very small and features a capacitive display and slide-out QWERTY keyboard.
The Kin 1 is very comfortable to hold. It has a great feel in the hand both when open and closed. The plastics don't feel like they are made with super high-quality materials, but these are still prototype devices.
The slider opens easily, and the keyboard, though tight, feels pretty good. The buttons have a round shape and have good travel and feedback.
The camera button on the side of the phone is nice and large, making it very easy to find and use. The volume rocker is tucked into the top corner of the device, making it both hard to find and hard to use. Thankfully the device comes with a 3.5mm headset jack.
On the front of the device, there's only one button. Press it once to go back a screen, and press-and-hold to go all the way back to the main screen.
In general, the device feels a bit on the cheap side. We surely hope the production units are of much higher quality and build strength.
The operating system takes some time to get used to. The GUI is very jumbled, and has three main home screens.
The main screen delivers the content that comes in from all a user's friends, RSS feeds and social networking sites. Users can prioritize what content lands on this page, and it can come from all manner of different sources. If a user sees something he/she wants to share, they can drag it down to the Loop icon at the bottom of the screen. The Loop is a place where users store content that they intend to share.
Once you've dragged stuff into the Loop, press the Loop button to get at all the content. Users can then choose where and how to share that content, whether it be via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Email, MMS, SMS, etc. Everything in the Loop an be automatically shared with everything and everyone, or selectively.
The main home screen has links to all the usual things you expect to find on a phone, such as the phone, settings, music, the camera, etc. The user interface reminds me very much of the recently announced Windows Phone 7 user interface. The fonts and the way Microsoft has broken things down into boxes really feels familiar.
As for the basic usefulness of the UI, it is very speedy. Microsoft said that the Kin1 and Kin2 have Tegra chips in them, and I saw no hesitation when using either device.
Because of the way content is aggregated onto the home page, it takes some getting used to, especially when it comes to navigating between the three main screens, but you get used to it over time.
Kin 2
First hands-on impressions of the Kin 2 from Microsoft!
The Kin 2 is a much bigger, more well rounded device than the Kin1. It has a much larger screen than the Kin 1, and an equally larger keyboard. The slide mechanism works well, and the device pops open easily. The build quality of the slide feels strong.
The keyboard feels EXACTLY like you'd expect from a Sharp-made device. It very much reminds me of the first Danger HipTop devices from years ago. The buttons are small, round, but have a comfortable shape to them. Typing with the keyboard is a breeze. I especially liked the travel and feedback of the buttons, which was excellent.
The buttons on the exterior of the device are OK, though we found the same less-than-awesome build quality as we found on the Kin 1. The volume rocker was on the side of the Kin 2, which meant it was easy to find and use. The camera button was also in a slightly better location, making it easy to find and use. The travel and feedback of the two-stage button felt good.
On the front of the device, there's only one button. Press it once to go back a screen, and press-and-hold to go all the way back to the main screen.
In all, the hardware feels pretty good. Definitely in the prototype range, and not as well-made as something such as the Motorola Droid.
The operating system takes some time to get used to. The GUI is very jumbled, and has three main home screens.
The main screen delivers the content that comes in from all a user's friends, RSS fees and social networking sites. Users can prioritize what content lands on this page, and it can come from all manner of different sources. If a user sees something he/she wants to share, they can drag it down to the Loop icon at the bottom of the screen. The Loop is a place where users store content that they intend to share.
Once you've dragged stuff into the Loop, press the Loop button to get at all the content. Users can then choose where and how to share that content, whether it be via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Email, MMS, SMS, etc. Everything in the Loop an be automatically shared with everything and everyone, or selectively.
The main home screen has links to all the usual things you expect to find on a phone, such as the phone, settings, music, the camera, etc. The user interface reminds me very much of the recently announced Windows Phone 7 user interface. The fonts and the way Microsoft has broken things down into boxes really feels familiar.
As for the basic usefulness of the UI, it is very speedy. Microsoft said that the Kin1 and Kin2 have Tegra chips in them, and I saw no hesitation when using either device.
Because of the way content is aggregated onto the home page, it takes some getting used to, especially when it comes to navigating between the three main screens, but you get used to it over time.
Kin Studio
One of the neatest features of Kin is the Kin Studio. The Studio is an online repository where users can safely keep a backup of all their content, including calls, text messages, emails, contacts, photos, and more.
The neatest feature of the studio is the timeline, which lets users jump to any day, week, or month in the past to see what they shared and where they shared it. Neat!
Say you want to go back and see what you experience in March 12. Use the timeline tool to zoom back to that day, and Kin Studio automatically shows users everything they did with their phone on that day. That includes what calls they made/received, messages they sent/received, photos they uploaded (complete with location), and any of the content they shared through their phone.
Data is always being uploaded in the background, so users always have access to a full back-up of their device and settings should they lose or break their device.
This is how all online backup systems should work. It really is cool.
Video
Here is a an in-depth tour of how the Kin platform works, both on the phone and online.
Here's a video of the Kin 1:
Liveblog
About the author, Eric M. Zeman:Eric has been covering the mobile telecommunications industry for 17 years at various print and online publications. He studied at Rutgers Newark and University of Kentucky, and has a degree in writing. He likes playing guitar, attending concerts, listening to music, and driving sports cars.
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Comments
OS and media card support?
I'd like to test it
Over Internet Sync?
What will they talk about?
