Microsoft is gearing up to unleash their new KIN smartphones onto the Verizon Network next month and with it they are attempting to grab hold of the social networking youth, and while some seem excited over Microsoft’s KIN handsets, other are somewhat puzzled due to several missing features that may limit the KIN’s appear in the smartphone market.
When one considers just how many other smartphone are now available it’s somewhat of a debate as to whether Microsoft KIN handsets can appeal to the average mobile phone user when such smartphones as the iPhone, Nexus One, HTC EVO 4G, Verizon HTC Incredible and many others offer more in the way of features.
Therefore the guys over at eweek have come up with a list of ten missing features on the Microsoft KIN One and Microsoft KIN Two smartphones which could bring some disappointment once Microsoft launches the handsets.
So here they are; first up is Carrier Ubiquity; The KIN smartphone are to be launched on Verizon in the States and in Vodafone in the UK which could be a problem as although Apple has made a great success going with just one carrier, the iPhone is an exception in the mobile arena, and any other mobile phone company going with as many carriers as possible is the best strategy.
Next comes Lack of Uniqueness; basically the KIN phone simply aren’t unique, they have a slide out QWERTY keyboard, multitouch display, and an OS that lacks key features most users want, and for companies to gain success with a mobile phone it need to have some unique quality.
Moving on the next feature missing is Flash, Apple and the iPhone has taken some criticism over the lack of Flash from tech bods who say the iPhone should support Adobe Flash, so should Microsoft be treated the same as the KIN phone wont support Flash or even Microsoft’s own Silverlight.
Next is a growing thing in the mobile industry, mobile games. Microsoft is marketing the KIN phones as social networking handsets and as social networking sites usually have numerous games to play one would expect the KIN’s to support games, however they don’t, they do have access to music but not games.
After games comes an app store of course, something the KIN phones again won’t support which means 3rd party devs won’t be able to deliver applications to KIN phones and owners will only have use of any app bundles with the KIN out of the box.
Just over half way and the feature is Communication with IM: as you know social networking requires users to be able to communicate with each other, but for some strange reason Microsoft has opted to leave out instant messaging on the KIN handsets. So no instant messaging and as there is no app store either 3rd party devs can’t deliver clients to the handsets.
Next up is Innovation; where is it? Both KIN handsets are somewhat boring when compared to other smartphones and consumers expect innovation in their mobile phones. For example take the iPhone and Nexus One, both offer something innovative where other handsets don’t and Microsoft needed to be innovative with the KINs.
Moving along we come to the lack of data tethering, again something the KIN handsets don’t have which pushes enterprise out of the equation, although they do say the lack of data tethering shouldn’t be a deal breaker as there are several smartphones out there that don’t support data tethering as well.
Nearly there we move to Social but no Calendar; Microsoft states the KIN phones are targeted at the younger social network user but simply forget to add a key social component such as a calendar. Yep that’s right the KIN phones don’t have a built in calendar app.
Last but not least is the Cool Factor; Microsoft is hoping to market the KIN phones as the cool phone to have to the hipster 20-somethings who spend their time at clubs and social network with their friends. However to the hipster crowd their phone is an extension of who they are and thus they want a smartphone that is seen to be cool. Do the KIN phones seem a cool device to be seen with to you?