Kin available online starting tomorrow, in Verizon stores on May 13
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 5th 2010 11:49AM
posted May 5th 2010 11:49AM
SHARE LIFE AS YOU LIVE IT – KIN NOW AVAILABLE ON VERIZON WIRELESS NETWORK
Broadcast and Share Everyday Moments on the Nation's Most Reliable Network
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and REDMOND, Wash. – For people who want to keep up and share everything going on in their lives with the people who matter most, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft Corp. will make KIN available online on May 6. Designed specifically for people who are actively navigating their social lives, KIN blends the phone, online services and the PC. Both KIN phones feature a touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, making it easy to:
· Always stay in the loop: With the KIN Loop, all of your favorite people and things you love are right on your home screen in real time. You tell KIN who and what is important, and it delivers the latest updates from your favorite websites and social networks such as Facebook®, MySpace and Twitter. You can discover and share, all from one place.
· Share your story with the world: The KIN Spot is the new way to share. Share almost anything – photos, texts, Web pages – with almost anyone. Since the Spot is always on your screen, it's unbelievably easy to drop stuff into the Spot and send by text, e-mail or social network update.
· Your phone, on the Web: With the KIN Studio, almost everything on your phone – messages, contacts, photos and videos – are backed up to a private, password-protected website where you can visit all of your memories anywhere there is a computer. And with virtually unlimited storage, there's almost no limit to what you can keep.
· Capture and share all your memories: The KIN Camera captures all the moments that matter most, and makes it easy to share them. The KIN ONE has a 5 MP lens while the KIN TWO has an 8 MP lens and shoots video in HD. With anti-shake, autofocus and an LED flash, KIN lets you take amazing pictures, even in low light, and post or share them with just one touch. And all your memories are backed up with tons of storage in the KIN Studio.
· Tunes and info – at your fingertips: Find what you need on the go:
o Zune – KIN is the first Windows Phone to feature a Zune experience – including music, video, FM radio and podcast playback. With a Zune Pass subscription and Zune software on your PC, you can listen to millions of songs from Zune Marketplace on your KIN while on the go or load from your personal collection.
o Bing – Web and Near Me (location-based) search.
o E-mail – Support for all popular Web-based mail, POP/IMAP services, as well as Exchange for business e-mail and contact sync. Each e-mail account has its own screen so it's easy to navigate.
o Browser – With KIN, you get full, rich PC-like browsing. You can pan, scan and zoom in and out using touch gestures. And browsing is social; it's easy to share a snapshot of the website you're viewing by dragging it to the Spot.
Pricing and availability
· Starting May 6, KIN is available online at www.verizonwireless.com and will be available 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. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
· To get the most from KIN, Verizon Wireless customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access. Email and Web for Smartphone plans start at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.
· For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
· For more information and a specification sheet, please visit www.KIN.com.
Broadcast and Share Everyday Moments on the Nation's Most Reliable Network
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and REDMOND, Wash. – For people who want to keep up and share everything going on in their lives with the people who matter most, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft Corp. will make KIN available online on May 6. Designed specifically for people who are actively navigating their social lives, KIN blends the phone, online services and the PC. Both KIN phones feature a touch screen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard, making it easy to:
· Always stay in the loop: With the KIN Loop, all of your favorite people and things you love are right on your home screen in real time. You tell KIN who and what is important, and it delivers the latest updates from your favorite websites and social networks such as Facebook®, MySpace and Twitter. You can discover and share, all from one place.
· Share your story with the world: The KIN Spot is the new way to share. Share almost anything – photos, texts, Web pages – with almost anyone. Since the Spot is always on your screen, it's unbelievably easy to drop stuff into the Spot and send by text, e-mail or social network update.
· Your phone, on the Web: With the KIN Studio, almost everything on your phone – messages, contacts, photos and videos – are backed up to a private, password-protected website where you can visit all of your memories anywhere there is a computer. And with virtually unlimited storage, there's almost no limit to what you can keep.
· Capture and share all your memories: The KIN Camera captures all the moments that matter most, and makes it easy to share them. The KIN ONE has a 5 MP lens while the KIN TWO has an 8 MP lens and shoots video in HD. With anti-shake, autofocus and an LED flash, KIN lets you take amazing pictures, even in low light, and post or share them with just one touch. And all your memories are backed up with tons of storage in the KIN Studio.
· Tunes and info – at your fingertips: Find what you need on the go:
o Zune – KIN is the first Windows Phone to feature a Zune experience – including music, video, FM radio and podcast playback. With a Zune Pass subscription and Zune software on your PC, you can listen to millions of songs from Zune Marketplace on your KIN while on the go or load from your personal collection.
o Bing – Web and Near Me (location-based) search.
o E-mail – Support for all popular Web-based mail, POP/IMAP services, as well as Exchange for business e-mail and contact sync. Each e-mail account has its own screen so it's easy to navigate.
o Browser – With KIN, you get full, rich PC-like browsing. You can pan, scan and zoom in and out using touch gestures. And browsing is social; it's easy to share a snapshot of the website you're viewing by dragging it to the Spot.
Pricing and availability
· Starting May 6, KIN is available online at www.verizonwireless.com and will be available 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. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
· To get the most from KIN, Verizon Wireless customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan. Nationwide Talk plans begin at $39.99 monthly access. Email and Web for Smartphone plans start at $29.99 for unlimited monthly access.
· For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
· For more information and a specification sheet, please visit www.KIN.com.
Those pricing points. They make me sad. =(
@N900
So Laura got the more radical one while josh played it safe.
@who said what A lot of people think the One is cute. I however need a bigger screen than 2.6", but that's just me.
@N900
I don't think it's cute...
But then again, they are targeting the teen population and I don't belong there.
But if they want to do so successfully, they need to reevaluate the pricing! $100 for Two when iPhone 3G is available for $50? I don't know... maybe MS is hoping for the mandatory data plans on ATT to be the deterrents for the 3G, but in that case they underestimate the influence teens wield in the household purchasing decisions nowadays!
@N900 They will drop the price in two or three months or they will fail. I can't believe they thought that was a fair price for them. Great phones, massively overpriced.
lack of a proper data plan/texting package is the deal breaker. when you're already paying $30 a month, i don't see why anyone would get this over an android device.
@who said what
No, MS is hoping that people know that Big Red's call coverage is far superior than the spotty crap that is spewin' out of big striped Blue. Oh, and that Verizon has better 3G coverage.
@N900
Verizon is the reason this will fail, make no mistake. They needed to introduce an intermediate pricing scheme to mirror the phone's intermediate market segment. Reduce the contract price for both by $50 and cut the data plan charges in half. Otherwise there's no logical reason for Microsoft to restrict updates to 15min intervals.
What the heck happened to LAY? He used to be all over these Microsoft posts. I haven't seen him since the Courier got canceled.
@Peter Church, suicide? I know a few of my friends were worried about me when they read the Courier news.
I am of course waiting for WP7, but still want to try this thing out.
@Peter Church Kin I buy it yet?
@N900
I don't understand why everyone thinks these phones should be priced any less than any smartphone. It sounds to me like they will be using the data service more than most smartphones. If they automaticly upload pictures and videos to studio, they're going to use way more 3g than any feature phone.
@Spacekadet lp I see your logic, but look at it this way. Why would someone pay $150-$250 out the door price for an unproven, borderline "dumbphone" (its def not a "smartphone") when they could get an iPhone 3GS for $200, or a 3G for $100 ($50 refurbished)? Or a cheaper Droid/Droid Incredible for that matter??
Thats why a lot of these types of phone fail. They get greedy & price them way too high right outta the gate, hoping to get some suckers stuck with one of these for 2 years. By the time they wise up & drop the price, its too late. The whole thing is stupid.
Verizon/Microsoft: These aren't smartphones & are meant for the teen segment. Price them accordingly, jackasses.
Well, the kin one is clearly only for Ring agents...
@shadowj0 verizon actually is wayy better than ATT's service. Agreed
@10nisman94
i see what you did there..
@10nisman94 As the post before said, "Few devices embody the intersection of mobile and social networks as well as Kin One and Kin Two do." Probably yes. http://bit.ly/microsoft-kin-impressions
Any one care to predict how long it will take to sell 1 million Kins?
@N900 Good luck with those microsoft, you'll need it. I'd rather have a Nokia.
I wonder how many they will sell on the first day? 5 or 6?
@mukatuna
You underestimate the teenage population purchasing popular!
@Almo
power, not popular, d'oh!... -_-
@Almo No you got it right, it's popular; look at those many likes on Facebook; like almost 200k. However, a good 1/5 of those people are a little skeptical on those Verizon data plans.
@N900: If they only sell 200k of these, its still a failure. This is in a category that can push out Millions in half a year.
I think its very generous if these phones sell 200k in their first year as long as they keep these insane prices.
@mukatuna you think they can actually sell that much I was thinking between 0 and never going to happen.
@mukatuna
Given the success of the Sidekick, this could be huge BUT I don't think Verizon is pricing it appropriately for what it does and the market. Seeing as how you might as well just buy the Pre Plus or Pixi Plus for less and have a real OS, this thing is a waste.
$15 data and $50 max with no rebate or this fails. This is a glorified dumbphone/featurephone, not a smartphone.
@kives343
You just need 1 pretty girl in any random hollywood tv show/movie to be seen with one and it'll sell in droves. The usual gimmicks.
@Almo, yep. I just feel bad for the person that gets credit for the tip to Engadget. "Kin featured in Disney show, tipster says he was channel surfing".
@JohnnyRocketpants
exactly.
Garbage....
@young hov 718
I must agree. The Kin is fail. Sorry, MS, try again.
That does it. AT&T not getting this for their service.
nice feature phones, but smartphone pricing will kill this. $50 plan that included voice and unlimited data would've been perfect
@Rajivsri: Still too much.
30 bucks. Max.
I would easily pick any smartphone over this if I had to pay 50 bucks a month. In fact, I pay $45 now for my Pre on Bell. $50 for 1/8th the phone?
you're sad? I'm... in... AUSTRALIA!
*walks away*
Nice name - crappy product - insane pricing.
@peterjohndean You forgot awesome packaging. Coolest phone packaging I've ever seen, not that it really influences any decisions.
wow and Verzion really is proud to be selling these LOL
"in Verizon stores on May 13"
and on May, 14th, 15th, 16th etc.
Who would buy this when they can get a palm pre plus for $30?
@dds1043 i couldn't agree more !! WebOS rocks. I really hope HP will make it shine on a lot of new products (can't wait for a tablet) !
Pit
Good lord that thing's fugly!!!!!
it is really sad the software doesn't play better. Those bugs and complexity were not required and KIN would have been great if it was a specific skin for Windows Phone 7 (which implies some apps compatibility even if the hardware is slower !) and offered with no specific data plan. Let users refresh the thing when they want, and pay in consequence !
Pit
What were they thinking throwing this thing on Verizon? It belongs on T-mobile, along with all those other flash-in-the-pan limited-appeal devices, because at least then it would have been affordable.
@Leindurstit
Not so true. T-Mobile wants $30 for their data plans on a 2 year contract as well. But for that money you could be sporting an HD2. The HD2 is a hot phone, along with the TP2. and they got a couple of decent Android phones. They surely didn't need to add this crap to the table. There's no value in this from a customers perspective at all. Imagine paying $30 a month for data on a Motorola Razor. "?"
@shaundh
At least T-Mobile had the foresight to offer a "Lite" data plan for $10(?) a month for the sake of their feature-phones. If Verizon expects these to sell under a one-size-fits-all expensive data plan structure, they're in for a surprise.
Who came up with the idea of rebates on debate credits that person needs to be b***h slapped several hundred times
I don't see how this phone is going to be successful with those prices. I know plenty of spoiled younger teens, my 14 year old brother and my girlfriend's 13 year old brother both have iPhones. How in the world are these Kin phones going to convinced those two boys to give up their app-rich phones for these?
Why in God's name would someone get these over a Pre/Pixi?... I mean its actually disingenuous to push something so gimped and needing a full data plan before pushing out one of the best Smartphone/ OS's that availiable (esp @the current $30 w/ free Mifi).... IMO....
@mrkalel What's sad is when I take my Pre out at the coffee shop and someone asks ,"Hey, is that the new Kin 2?!" I will spew projectile vomit upon the end of their insult.