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Microsoft Unveils Kin Social Networking Platform

Apr 12, 2010, 12:05 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Apr 12, 2010, 12:06 PM

Today at an event in San Francisco, Microsoft showed off two new handsets that will be sold under the new "Kin" brand. Both phones run the same platform that shares its base DNA with Windows Phone 7. It is based entirely on Silverlight and uses many of the same web technologies seen in Windows Phone 7, including the browser and media software. Kin is aimed squarely at heavy social network users, and features a graphical user interface meant to make sharing via Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace as easy as possible. It uses a central icon called a "Loop" that lets users drag-and-drop content and feeds into the Loop for sharing via social networks. Kin has deep integration with Zune, and users will be able to search for and download music from the Zune market. Kin is also supported with a browser-based dashboard for interacting with and controlling user content. All user content is automatically synced with the browser-based client, including music, phones, contacts, pictures, videos, messages and feeds. The service will be free to use with the phones. Other features supported by Kin include email, MMS, SMS, and video capture. IM is not supported, according to Microsoft. Microsoft called Kin "the next chapter in the Windows Mobile story", but the way Kin works is different from Windows Phone 7, and is more for consumers than for business users.

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