A few weeks ago (April 12) Microsoft announced the KIN and it has received much dissension on the internet on tech blogs on user forums. Honestly though what were they expecting? For a long time we have been hearing rumors about Project Pink (Codename for KIN) and they were extremely accurate: a social networking phone targeted at youth.

The KIN is not a useless paperweight, as others would have you believe, but a relatively powerful feature phone. Engadget posted an article confirming that KIN is extremely similar to Zune HD specs wise. The processer is underclocked to 600MHz, which sounds like dial-up compared to the abundance of 1GHz smartphones launching. The iPhone 3GS runs a 600MHz processor as well, so I do not think that anybody will experience speed issues on the KIN.

Microsoft worked very hard to give KIN a good battery life. Their goal was to have it last a weekend on one charge with average use. They claim to have accomplished this. I find this very hard to believe, but I hope that it is true.

MicroSD support is nonexistent. GOOD! I hate removable memory. I do not see the point of it. The argument is that you can upgrade your MicroSD card for more space. Unless the company packages a card with the device, it is just another fee. In addition, removable storage is slower than internal flash storage. Microsoft also wants to keep a lot of your content on the web rendering local storage obsolete.

Have you ever heard of Zune? Well you probably had not before the launch of the Zune HD. KIN has the exact same user experience as the Zune HD for music and videos. Microsoft also shows the KIN as one of the Zune products on the Zune website.

What I love about modern day is the fact that people always have a camera in their pocket. If you do not then your phone is probably five years old… Anyway, the KIN boasts an impressive 5 and 8 MP camera, on the KIN One and KIN Two respectively. Now MPs are not everything, but 8MP means that the KIN Two shoots HD video that can be uploaded to their friends in minutes.

The naysayers’ most logical argument though is very simple… why? Why launch another phone/OS just after announcing the revamped Windows Phone 7? Why not just have KIN be a subset of Windows Phone 7 instead of a different user experience? Why fragment your users before the devices even launch? I do not have answers to any of these questions. Microsoft addressed these questions partly by claiming that they are working on integrating Windows Phone 7 services into the KIN.

There is so much more to be said about these devices, but I think that this is enough for now.

KIN is a bold move by Microsoft. Do you think that it will be a hit or a miss?

Related posts:

1. Why I Was Wrong About The Microsoft Kin
2. Windows Phone 7 Series Announced at Mobile World Congress Today
3. Zune HD confirmed to have Tegra Processor

Who would have guessed that Microsoft could make a good web browser? Well apparently they did according to people who got their hands on it early like CNET. It is said to be as good as Apple’s Mobile Safari. This is quite a compliment because Mobile Safari is one of the best mobile web browsers out there. One thing possibly worth mentioning is the default search provider is Bing. No word on if its possible to change it, but truly it will be nearly identical results to the other major search engines.

I have mixed feelings about the keyboard though. As you can see on the picture below, the portrait keyboard has a bubble effect when your finger is on a key. Personally I am not into that. Also the keys are not positioned like they are on a keyboard, but instead the rows are all aligned. This might not be a big deal for some, but it is something to keep in mind. There is a .com key which is a time saver when typing in urls, as well as a period and a backslash key.

Overall the keyboard is acceptable and the web browser looks superb. Definitely check this out when looking for your new mp3 player with up to 32 GB of storage.

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New peak at the Zune HD’s interface. The OLED screen looks very impressive and extremely responsive. Microsoft might just have a chance in the MP3 market now. Looks like we will see what the new iPod Touches will be like later this year. Continue for the video.

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Related posts:

1. Zune HD confirmed to have Tegra Processor
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3. What Puts The HD In Zune HD?

On paper they seem pretty fairly matched with a slight edge to Zune, but in reality iPod has many many times over as many sales. Which one is better for you?

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1. Zune Review
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In the official Zune Insider podcast, the speaker, Matt Akers, confirms the use of a Tegra processor. “So sick, so much better battery life, graphics acceleration. This thing is like a mini laptop in your hand, right, it’s so awesome.” I’m am excited by this news, and I can’t wait to get this in the fall.

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Ever since the first iPod was released in 2001 Apple has dominated the portable media player market. Microsoft sat back and watched until 2006 when they released their own PMP, Zune. The first generation of Zune only came in one configuration, a hard drive based 30GB player. It had didn’t have a scroll wheel like the iPod, but instead it had a circular D-Pad. The hardware was not exceptionally pretty, especially the brown Zune. The website Hide-a-Pod captures this idea quite well.

The second generation was a major improvement. It came in 3 configurations: Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 80. The Zune 4 and Zune 8 had a 1.8 inch screen and the Zune 80 had a 3.2 inch screen that was not surpassed by Apple until the iPod Touch. These all featured the same wireless technology the first Zune had but offered a better method for navigating and controlling your Zune. You can either control it through the touch bad button or by clicking with the D-Pad like before. The third generation only offered larger memory for the two existing devices.

Zune makes music Social. This is the name of their community for all Zune users. One your online profile it shows your play count, recent songs, and other bits of information. The more practical use of the Zune Social is sending pictures and music wirelessly. Zunes within a proximity of around 30 feet of each other actually transfer these files. Music files can be listened to 3 times and pictures can be kept forever. I personally use this feature all the time. The wireless feature can also be used to play multiplayer games with your friend who is within that 30 foot proximity.

Zune’s user interface is very simple and effective. The home screen is a list of all the things you can do on it, music, videos, pictures, social, ect. To choose one of those just go over it and click in with the touch pad. To go back you press the back button. It really could not be simpler.

One feature that sets the Zune apart from the iPod is FM radio. You can add presets to it for faster selection. The radio works in North America, Europe and Japan. It is too bad the device isn’t available in most countries outside the United States.

Software is an important thing to consider when you are looking for a new mp3 player. The most famous of course is iTunes. No doubt you have used it and formed an opinion of it. If you haven’t let me tell you, it sucks. Seriously iPods are great but iTunes software is really subpar. Zune software is simple and much faster than iTunes. Plus you can sync your Zune to more than one computer without it deleting all your files.

Purchasing music is important for some users. Apple’s iTunes has with out a doubt the largest store but the music you buy from there does not work on your Zune. Zune has a store that is almost as big. Also they are heavily advertising their Zune Pass which gives you unlimited music for $15 a month. They compare it to the $30,000 you would spend otherwise to fill up your iPod. You also get to keep 10 songs forever each month. The only problem with this service is not all songs are available to download with the Zune Pass. Artists sometimes choose to not make one or two of their songs available on the Zune Pass. Honestly though most users use get their music other ways so it isn’t that big of a deal.

Overall though, Zune is a great product even though its name may have been tarnished a little after its first generation. If you care more about software and features than looks then the Zune 4, 8, and 16 are for you rather than the iPod Nano. If you are in the market for a hard drive based mp3 player with lots of space the Zune 80 and 120 are a great choice over the iPod classic with its large 3.2 inch screen and premium headphones. Though if you are looking for a touchscreen device you have to go with the iPod Touch, at least until Zune HD releases in September.

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Related posts:

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An Amazon listing for the ZuneHD was recently put up and swiftly taken down, but before it was, all the goodies were written down.

• Bright 3.3-inch OLED touch screen with (480 x 272 resolution) 16:9 widescreen format display
• Integration with the Xbox LIVE network gives you access to millions of videos, TV shows, and games from Xbox LIVE 720p HD video output to your HDTV with optional docking station
• 720p HD video output to your HDTV with optional docking station
• Full-screen Internet browser with multitouch functionality
• Built-in HD Radio receiver; Wi-Fi enabled so you can instantly stream millions of music tracks from the Zune music store

The release date was set for September 8th, 2008. Obviously a typo occured somewhere, but September 8th of 2009 is a Tuesday. Microsoft likes releasing stuff on that special day.

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Related posts:

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