The Story of the Kin Two: A Discontinued Feature Phone by Microsoft
In 2010, Microsoft announced their new line of smartphones, the Kin series. The Kin Two, the bigger and more advanced model, was set to be launched in April of the same year. However, due to poor sales and reception, the release of the Kin Two was ultimately cancelled. Let's take a closer look at this now-discontinued device.
Release Date and Dimensions
The Kin Two was scheduled to be released in April 2010 by Microsoft. It was a feature phone with a non-touchscreen display, compared to the other smartphones in the market at that time.
The phone's dimensions were 115.1 x 65.3 mm and it weighed around TBC grams. It featured a QWERTY keyboard, which was popular among users who preferred physical keyboards over touchscreens. The phone's SIM card slot only supported Mini-SIM cards.
Hardware and Operating System
The Kin Two was powered by a 600MHz ARM 11 processor and used the Nvidia Tegra chipset. It had 256MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, with no option for external memory expansion.
The operating system used by the Kin Two was a feature phone platform, unlike its competitors which were using more advanced operating systems like Android or iOS. This could have been one of the reasons for the device's lack of success.
Camera and Display
The Kin Two had an 8-megapixel main camera that featured autofocus and LED flash. It also had the capability to record videos in 720p resolution, which was considered high-quality at that time.
The device had a 3.4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. This resulted in a 3:2 aspect ratio and a pixel density of only 170 ppi. Compared to other smartphones at that time, the Kin Two's display was not as impressive.
Connectivity and Features
The Kin Two supported GSM and HSPA networks, with 2G bands for GSM 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 and 3G bands for HSDPA 900 and 2100. It also had Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, and a microUSB port for connectivity.
In terms of features, the Kin Two had an accelerometer and proximity sensors for better user experience. It also had a stereo FM radio with RDS, as well as a built-in MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ and MP4/WMV/H.264 player. Other notable features included Facebook and Twitter integration, YouTube client, and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, PDF viewer).
Battery Life and Price
The Kin Two was powered by a removable Li-Ion 1390 mAh battery, which could last up to 232 hours on standby mode. The phone came in only one color option, black, and was priced at around 330 EUR.
The End of the Kin Two
Despite its promising features and specifications, the Kin Two did not perform well in the market. It was initially targeted towards young adults and social media enthusiasts, but its outdated operating system and lack of app support led to its downfall. In the end, Microsoft decided to cancel the release of the Kin Two and focus on their other smartphone projects instead.
Today, the Kin Two may be considered a piece of technology from a different era. With the advancements in smartphone technology, it is easy to forget about this once highly-anticipated device. Nonetheless, the Kin Two remains a part of Microsoft's smartphone history and is a reminder that even big companies can have their share of failures.
