{"id":525595,"date":"2010-04-12T17:26:25","date_gmt":"2010-04-12T21:26:25","guid":{"rendered":"9194 at http:\/\/www.androidcentral.com"},"modified":"2010-04-12T17:26:25","modified_gmt":"2010-04-12T21:26:25","slug":"should-android-be-worried-about-microsofts-kin-one-and-kin-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/525595","title":{"rendered":"Should Android be worried about Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Microsoft<\/a><\/p>\n

For a fleeting second — but not much more than that — I was worried. Here’s Microsoft, unveiling its new "Kin"<\/a> (or KIN, if you ask them) dumber-than-a-smartphone, smarter-than-a-dumbphone pair of devices for Verizon and Vodafone. And here’s me, imagining the following conversation:<\/p>\n

\n

MOM: OK, All I want is to get my daughter something that can take pictures, text, post to her Facebook and maybe that Twitter thing.<\/p>\n

VERIZON DUDE: Sure thing, ma’am. Here’s the Kin One. It’s new. It’s hip. It’s perfect for someone your daughter’s age. Facebook? No problem. Surf the Web Sure thing. She texts a lot? Well, this one (Kin Two) has a bigger keyboard, and<\/em> a better camera, with a whopping 8 megapixels. Couple of swipes, and she’s sharing with all her friends.<\/p>\n

MOM: Sounds great! And it can download apps, right?<\/p>\n

VERIZON DUDE: Oh.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And therein lies the problem. Taking the operating system out of the equation — be it Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, whatever — is fine. HTC’s Sense<\/a> does a pretty good job of that with Android (and a really good job in Windows Mobile). Motoblur<\/a> we’re not nearly as smitten with, but the principle’s the same. Same with Samsung’s Touchwiz 3.0<\/a>. Make the phone do the social networking work for you.<\/p>\n

But take the heart out of a platform — and these days, easily downloadable applications are the heart of any smartphone experience — and you’re left with a less-than-capable platform. Kin One and Kin Two might well be priced less than every Android phone available on Verizon. But they also will be capable of<\/em> less<\/em>, and that will be their downfall.<\/p>\n