Microsoft Kin One and Two

Microsoft, not to be left out of the party that was April, announced its first own-brand phones, the Kin One, a square slider and the Kin Two, a more traditional landscape slider. Microsoft's aiming the Kin brand as a separate device category from the recently announced Windows Phone 7, targeted at what Microsoft calls, 'Generation Upload', that's the youth of today apparently. Essentially, the Kin phones are smart-dumbphones, or should that be dumb-smartphones, either way, they've got smartphone like features running on a stripped out smartphone operating system that lacks critical features that define a true smartphone. There are no apps for the Kin; neither does the user have to worry about multitasking or device management. But what the Kin does provide is a streamlined way to get on the mobile web, life stream and connect with friends. The Kin is the product of the Danger purchase that Microsoft made a year or so ago and is the spiritual successor to the T-mobile SideKick.

Both Kin models feature social networking integration with direct pooling and access to Facebook and Twitter built-in. The phone limits automatic updates of your friend's statuses to every 15 minutes, which should allow the Kin to be sold with cheaper data plans. Limiting network access has also allowed Microsoft to give the Kin devices 'weekend battery-life'. Not as impressive as the standard cheap dumbphone week-long battery life, but certainly a lot better than the standard barely-a-day's usage you get out of the current generation of smartphones.

If either Kin pushes your buttons, look for them on Vodafone in the autumn.

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