Given the amount of time people spend on social networking sites (91 percent use the mobile web just to socialize, see Twitter), it makes perfect sense to market phones that specialize in accessing social networks. Enter the Microsoft Kin One and Kin Two.

“(The new phones) allow users to keep closely synched with sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace,” wrote Ashlee Vance of the New York Times (April 12). “The start menu displays a montage of photographs from friends with notes about what they are doing rather than a more traditional menu that caters to phone functions.

“The Kins also have touch screens, links to Zune music service and high-powered cameras for capturing photographs and video.”

Robert J. Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment devices division, said in a news conference that the device is aimed at 15- to 30-year-olds who are social-networking enthusiasts. Verizon Wireless has an exclusive U.S. deal for the Kins, which are built by Sharp. The phones are scheduled for release in May for an undisclosed price, Vance wrote. Vodafone will carry them in Europe.

Vance quotes IDC analyst Kevin Restivo in saying Microsoft made a smart move in focusing on a particular market segment: “For years, Microsoft has tried to be all things to all people and it hasn’t worked. Microsoft has regrouped and decided to form a beachhead with the teens and tweens.”

JR Raphael of PC World is unconvinced of the device’s social network support. “Much has been made over what (the Kin) is missing: There are no apps, there’s no Flash, and there are no games. And all of that is a bit baffling. But there are other features even more core to the social networking experience that are even more conspicuously absent,” he wrote (April 14).

Raphael says the Kin is missing:

• The ability to remain always-connected. “The Kin revolves around a home screen setup known as ‘The Loop.’ It streams all your latest status updates and messages and makes it easy for you to reply. Here’s the problem: The Kin syncs those updates only once every 15 minutes.”
• An instant messaging client.
• An appointment calendar.
• A universal inbox.
• Photo or video editing.
• Photo or video uploading directly to Twitter.

He concludes that the Kin is not meant for diehard Microsoft fans, as they would be more inclined to buy a Windows Phone 7 device. Nor is it any better than Motorola’s Blur interface, which is pretty much the same thing as the Kin’s Loop. Finally, Raphael notes, even though the iPhone lacks a widget-based home screen option, it has plenty of feature-rich social networking applications.

“No matter how hard I try to summon my inner Justin Bieber, I can’t for the life of me figure out what Microsoft is thinking,” he writes.

- newsletter@iQmetrix.com

* To read more about Recent Handset Releases, check out the following articles from iQmetrix News & Views:

Verizon to Launch New Android Phone, the Devour

Google Launches First Branded Phone, Nexus One, Jan. 5

Verizon to Release Motorola Droid Nov. 6

T-Mobile Lands Motorola Cliq Android Phone

Sprint to Release HTC Hero Android Phone Oct. 11