You know, the whole world has been waiting since... forever for Microsoft to launch its own phones, especially after Apple did so a couple of years ago, the result being… well, we all know what the result was, don't we? Anyway, it seems that the Redmond-based technology giant has finally decided to get its mobile game on (as far as hardware is concerned) and unveiled the KIN family of Windows Phones, designed specifically for social-networking addicts (and we all know that there are plenty out there).

According to Microsoft, the hardware design was developed in partnership with Sharp. There are two models called KIN ONE and KIN TWO. Both phones feature a touch screen and slide-out keyboard. ONE is small and compact, making it a perfect fit for a pocket and to operate with one hand. TWO has a larger screen and keyboard, in addition to more memory, a higher resolution camera, and the ability to record high-definition video. The 5 and 8-megapixel cameras in ONE and TWO, respectively, are designed for use in low light with image stabilization and a bright LumiLED flash.

Naturally, what really makes these things stand out from the crowd is the interface, which relies heavily on the social networking concept. The home screen of the phone is called the KIN Loop, which is always up to date and on, showing all the things happening in someone's social world. KIN automatically brings together feeds from leading Microsoft and third-party services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter all in one place, making it easier to stay connected. Customers can also select their favorite people, and KIN will automatically prioritize their status updates, messages, feeds and photos.

Another very special feature, the KIN Spot, is a new way for people to share what's going on in their world, letting them focus first on those and the stuff they want to share rather than the specific application they wish to use. Videos, photos, text messages, Web pages, location and status updates are shared by simply 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 consumer can choose how to share, and start broadcasting.

Since it's a social phone, the KIN relies heavily on the cloud concept via Kin Studio. Almost everything created on the handheld is available in the cloud from any Web browser, since the KIN Studio automatically backs up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts, and populates a personalized digital journal so it's easy to go back in time to relive a crazy weekend or recent birthday. And the KIN Studio gives customers tons of storage to keep all those photos, videos, contacts and texts so they'll never run out of space on their phone and lose precious memories.
Furthermore, the KIN will also be, by all respects, the first Windows Phone to feature a Zune experience — including music, video, FM radio and podcast playback. With a Zune Pass subscription, customers using Zune software on their PC can listen to millions of songs from Zune Marketplace on their KIN while on the go, or load their personal collection. KIN has other features customers want in a phone including a rich browser with the ability to share pieces of the Web, local and Web search by Bing, and an RSS feed reader to pull down information on people and stories from the Web.

Microsoft's KIN phones will be exclusively available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. beginning in May and from Vodafone this autumn in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, but pricing for either model is not yet known.


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