Kenenter: Think Pink - First take on Microsoft's Kin

Think Pink - First take on Microsoft's Kin

4/14/2010 11:56:00 AM

It has been a project shrouded in mystery and speculation that sparked imaginations about just what Microsoft was doing. Its codename was Pink, referring to the premium mobile experience group, and yesterday Microsoft finally revealed its Pink story. It's called Kin and it's pretty impressive. At its heart, Kin is centered around two devices called Kin One and Kin Two. Both the hardware and software were designed by Microsoft, and while Kin is a Microsoft brand, Microsoft is still not getting into the phone business. Built in conjunction with carrier partner Verizon, Pink is an extension of the company's mobile strategy, something that complements and co-exists with its larger ambitions with Windows Phone 7.

In many ways, Kin is the extension and spiritual descendant of the Sidekick (which was a product of Danger, founded by the father of Android, Andy Rubin, and later acquired by Microsoft). At its core, the Kin philosophy is guided by the proposition that one size device doesn't fit all, and specific demographics have different mobile needs.

Kin is not designed as a horizontal platform like Android, iPhone or even Windows Phone 7. It's targeted at a younger demographic with an emphasis on social communicators. Its feature set isn't designed for the mass market and that's exactly what might make it a success. To me, there are three important take aways.

First, mature platforms and markets fragment. This is true of just about all markets. There are features, designs and other factors that all target different users and demographics. It's something that's just starting to happen in the mobile space and Microsoft is wise to get ahead of this curve. If one-size-fit all, and the only focus was on utilitarian functions we'd all drive Honda Civics, wear Timex watches and use BIC pens. We don't -- and the reasons that we don't are what make Kin look very attractive.

Second: telling this story will be hard. I've already seen comments talking about what's "missing" from the Kin platform. While I usually tend to make faces at vendors who tell me I "don't get their products," in this case, Microsoft is correct. Kin is designed and targeted for a specific set of users, and if you don't "get it," it might just not be for you. That said, lots of folks looking at it, commenting on it and reviewing it are going to be looking at Kin through their personal lenses. That's a mistake, but it's something Microsoft will need to deal with as they tell their story to their target audience.

Finally, the intersection of mobile and social networks is here. Few devices embody the intersection of mobile and social networks as well as Kin One and Kin Two do. The ability to tie networks together into a cohesive universal view in a way that's not cluttered or look like a user experience suffering from attention deficit disorder is a breakthrough. The result is a new type of user that's able to move from communication to collaboration, and extend that conversation from one-to-one to one-to-many. The implications are huge as the social interactions create trusted and real time information flows that are contextually relevant. The net result? A new type of user that is empowered to make fewer mistakes, creating a larger global and social memory that can be tapped into anytime and anywhere.

Kin shows Microsoft is taking mobile seriously. As a complement to Windows Phone 7, it's a bold move to capture the thought and leadership for an important demographic. By creating a new user experience centered around social communication and interaction beyond voice or even text messages, Microsoft has upped the stakes in mobility and raised the bar for the next generation of devices and leveraged platforms.

Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner Inc., said in an e-mail that the Kin Studio best epitomizes the Kin's social network usability. "Kin Studio is impressive, basically giving you a magazine of your life as you use the device," he wrote. "Being able to know that everything is backed up [in the cloud] and that you can go back to any time period and look at what you [did] eliminates the family album, so to speak."

The Kin Studio, as good as it sounds, is also an insight into how Microsoft could make serious money, as the Studio is backed up in the cloud with Microsoft's Live services, Gold noted. "Kin is a locked-down OS [and] Microsoft controls the ecosystem for Kin as effectively as Apples does for the iPhone," he said. As a result, Kin users have limited ability to run applications locally and are "virtually reliant on the cloud."

That reliance means the Verizon network has to be rock solid and that Microsoft must not be perceived as heavy-handed in deciding what applications and services can run on the device, Gold said.

Pricing, yet to be announced, will play a big role in how young users respond and could lure in those likely to be largely indifferent about how much control Microsoft exerts over its Kin Studio.

"The whole thing comes down to pricing," Dulaney said, noting that if the Kin is priced at $199 and $30 for monthly data service, it won't appear to have much advantage over the iPhone. But if the device is perhaps $49 with a $5 to $15 a month data plan, "it should do well at Verizon."

Analysts took note of how all the U.S. carriers have tried to expand on sales of texting/messaging devices to younger users, seeing some limits on growth in smartphone sales but no end to texting and MMS demand. At AT&T, a big push is on for "quick messaging devices" that are less expensive than smartphones, and Verizon might have picked up on that theme with the Kin.

Analysts have compared some of the Kin's social networking features to the Motoblur service from Motorola. It's built on Android running on a the Cliq phone sold by T-Mobile USA and on the Motorola BackFlip sold by AT&T.

"Kin is the next step up for the devices that were once listed as features phones in the slider classification used by texters," Dulaney noted. "This is way beyond SMS or MMS and into social collaboration. It is a much more focused product than the iPhone."

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