Microsoft Kin phones back on sale at Verizon

[zerocool84]

That's no typo, folks, Microsoft's own-brand pseudo-smartphones are back at Verizon, this time sporting an "m" appendage to their names and what looks like better pricing across the board. The Kin ONEm will set you back a cent under $20 with a two-year contract, whereas the TWOm costs just under $50 but is also subject to a Buy One Get One Free offer (the free phone being an LG Ally). Plans start at $39.99 for voice and $9.99 for 25MB of data, plus there's a $35 activation fee. Compared to the original pricing, which had the One asking for $50 in upfront costs and $70 as the minimum levy for voice plus data, we'd say this is a definite move in the right direction. A few months late, but better late than never, eh?

That's the pricing that it should have had in the beginning. They weren't bad phones at all but they were asking smartphone plan pricing when they shouldn't have. Much better pricing now.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/18/kin-onem-and-kin-twom-back-at-verizon/

 

[Crono]

Get the Kin One. Girls will comment on how cute it is, like it's a little pet

 

[gsaldivar]

get the kin one. Girls will comment on how cute it is, like it's a little pet :d

lol :d

 

[Bateluer]

Still don't think its going to move much volume, now that 'low density' data plans are readily available, and there's low end smart phones available. The T-Mobile Comet, for example, is a full blown Android smart phone and its free with contract. Can't see the monthly plans being too much more with a low density data plan.

 

[Oyeve]

Get the Kin One. Girls will comment on how cute it is, like it's a little pet

Does it come with a tomogatchi app?

 

[Stang289]

I am considering getting my daughter a kin one for christmas. Does anyone have any experience with it?

 

[Crono]

I am considering getting my daughter a kin one for christmas. Does anyone have any experience with it?

Yes, I have one (shameless plug: no for sale in FS/FT forum )

Excellent texting and email phone - even coming from a Blackberry, I wasn't disappointed. Voice/phone quality is about average. Battery life is good, though I charge it about once a day with frequent use.The phone itself is small but sturdy, have dropped it on more than one occasion with no damage. The OS on the phone is pretty light, and it doesn't take long to learn to use the tile home screen (which is what WP7 took and built on ) and to swipe. The camera isn't great in low light or with fast motion, you tend to get a lot of blurry shots even more so than most other modern cell phone cameras. Still, it's okay for the quick shot or 1 min video clip.

The browser on the phone is on the slower side and you need to do a lot of zooming (done by "pinching") on most pages; the Kin One screen isn't ideal for browsing, but it's good enough for Googling info. No flash support.

The Kin One excels at social networking. I haven't used it much myself for that purpose, but you can use message on Facebook pretty easily on the main screen and make status updates.

The Kin One is not an app-centric phone. There isn't an app store, no downloadable apps. The one feature (aside from alarm clock and feed reader) it has is Zune software, which means you can use a Zune Pass with it for unlimited streaming (works well enough in good service areas) and downloads. The only issue with that is there is only 4GB of storage on the device and it's not upgradeable.

One of the unique things about the phone is that it works with Microsoft's "cloud". All the pictures and videos taken on the phone automatically get backed up onto Microsoft's servers, and you can view them on a computer on Kin Studio, a Silverlight-based Microsoft site. This allows you to take an "unlimited" number of photos and clips with the Kin.

Overall, I recommend the phone if your daughter does a lot of texting, reading email (text, doesn't work well with HTML emails), using Facebook, and/or listening to a variety of music (assuming you pay for Zune Pass). Otherwise I would suggest getting a Windows 7 Phone (like the Surround), which have more features. Check the Anandtech review of the Kin One/Kin Two, as it's pretty much spot on.

EDIT: another thing to note is that you can't use customize the ringtone, you have to use one of the ones that comes with the phone

 

[AstroManLuca]

Verizon's 25 MB low-end data plan is insulting. It needs to be at least five times that. Because it's such a low cap, the Kin phones are still essentially saddled with the same problem they had before - not enough features and too high a monthly price. At least they're not as expensive up front. But with only $30 separating them, what real incentive is there to get the Kin One? I guess its small size and cute appearance?

 

[Stang289]

Yes, I have one (shameless plug: no for sale in FS/FT forum )

Excellent texting and email phone - even coming from a Blackberry, I wasn't disappointed. Voice/phone quality is about average. Battery life is good, though I charge it about once a day with frequent use.The phone itself is small but sturdy, have dropped it on more than one occasion with no damage. The OS on the phone is pretty light, and it doesn't take long to learn to use the tile home screen (which is what WP7 took and built on ) and to swipe. The camera isn't great in low light or with fast motion, you tend to get a lot of blurry shots even more so than most other modern cell phone cameras. Still, it's okay for the quick shot or 1 min video clip.

The browser on the phone is on the slower side and you need to do a lot of zooming (done by "pinching") on most pages; the Kin One screen isn't ideal for browsing, but it's good enough for Googling info. No flash support.

The Kin One excels at social networking. I haven't used it much myself for that purpose, but you can use message on Facebook pretty easily on the main screen and make status updates.

The Kin One is not an app-centric phone. There isn't an app store, no downloadable apps. The one feature (aside from alarm clock and feed reader) it has is Zune software, which means you can use a Zune Pass with it for unlimited streaming (works well enough in good service areas) and downloads. The only issue with that is there is only 4GB of storage on the device and it's not upgradeable.

One of the unique things about the phone is that it works with Microsoft's "cloud". All the pictures and videos taken on the phone automatically get backed up onto Microsoft's servers, and you can view them on a computer on Kin Studio, a Silverlight-based Microsoft site. This allows you to take an "unlimited" number of photos and clips with the Kin.

Overall, I recommend the phone if your daughter does a lot of texting, reading email (text, doesn't work well with HTML emails), using Facebook, and/or listening to a variety of music (assuming you pay for Zune Pass). Otherwise I would suggest getting a Windows 7 Phone (like the Surround), which have more features. Check the Anandtech review of the Kin One/Kin Two, as it's pretty much spot on.

EDIT: another thing to note is that you can't use customize the ringtone, you have to use one of the ones that comes with the phone

Thanks for the info!

 

[Soccerman06]

Don't let kt see this lol