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Microsoft has just launched a new mobile phone which has social networking at its core.
Microsoft’s Derek Snyder said: “Social is the DNA of this phone. Social is the fabric of this experience.”
Hoping to compete with rivals Apple, RIM and Google, the new Microsoft phone, the Kin, is designed for younger users.
The Kin features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a touchscreen – similar to the Palm Pre model. Manufactured by Sharp, each phone will come with a camera and access to Microsoft’s music service, Zune.
The handset focuses on effortless communication. And the device will have a so-called “spot”, which lets users drag content onto this “spot” before deciding how and who to share this information with.
President of the entertainment and devices division at Microsoft, Robbie Bach said: “This is a phone that knits together a tight community of kindred spirits…the phone personifies true kinship between people, technology, friends and customers.”
Microsoft is not new to the mobile phone market, although to-date it has not experienced the same levels of success that it has had in the computer sector. Canalys, the research firm, state Microsoft currently has about 9% of the smartphone market – making it fourth, behind Symbian, RIM and Apple.
The latest version of Microsoft’s mobile OS was launched in February in the shape of Windows Phone 7. But Microsoft is keen to play an even bigger part in the mobile phone market, with a new line of handsets as well as software.
Similar to Google and its Nexus One handset, which was made by HTC but with Google’s stamp on it, Microsoft’s Kin range (Kin One & Kin Two) is made by Sharp but the software, services and hardware are controlled by Microsoft.
US consumers can get hold of the Kin in May but the phone will not be released in the UK until the autumn, when it will be offered on Vodafone.
You can read more on Microsoft’s Kin range over on BBC News.
Tags: Apple, Google, Google-Nexus-One, HTC, Kin, Microsoft, Palm-Pre, RIM, Sharp, Vodafone News
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