Review: Microsoft KIN, Part Two: Software

While the KIN is being marketed as a Windows Telephone, information technology doesn't run Windows Mobile or Windows Telephone 7.  The primary mission, if you lot will, of the KIN is to keep you in touch on with your friends and social networks.  While the KIN'south OS is a dramatic difference from the traditional appearance of a Windows Phone, information technology does a decent job of keeping you in impact with your social networks.

The KIN may too give united states a feel for the social networking abilities the upcoming Windows Phone 7 may have.

In Part One of this review we looked at the design of the KIN phones. While there are pattern differences between the KIN Ane and Ii, with respects to the software, I can only call back of one (the KIN Two has screen rotation).

Hit the break for more than on the software, some screen shots and to find out what's missing.

Set-upwards

Once yous ability up your KIN Windows Phone, yous are taken through a fix-up wizard. Y'all'll need a Windows Live I.D. and if you don't have one already, the wizard walks yous through that setup equally well. The KIN so walks you through setting up your social network feeds, contacts and electronic mail accounts.  I establish the process laid out rather nicely and it took near 10 minutes to get the KIN upwardly and running.

Features

Once set-upwards, y'all have iii main screens to the KIN; Network Feeds (the main screen), Contacts, and Apps/Settings. There is no directional pad and then your navigation is done solely by finger swipes.

The Contact Page is much like People Tab in HTC'south Sense/Touchflo. You can have 9 contacts (your favorites) featured on this folio as well as ane shortcut to all contacts. Tap on a contact and you pull upwardly that information too as options to call, email, text and their latest Facebook/Twitter status.

The Social Networking Feed page is the closest affair to a chief page on the KIN.  It updates automatically or manually and will brandish status/posts from your social networking friends. It likewise displays KIN Tips to help y'all in using your KIN. Borer on one of the posts pulls it up full screen, shows whatever comments to the post and a field where you can post a annotate.

The Apps Page is where you get to launch your email app, browser, camera gallery, search, phone dialer and various settings menus.

Apps

Browser

The Browser on the KIN takes a little getting used to. Y'all've got the traditional URL entry field but favorites are thumbnailed to a higher place the URL field. You also have a back, refresh and stop icons. Zooming is done past "pinch to zoom" touches.

There are a few browser settings available simply you take to go to the Settings App to access them. I could not detect a style to access these settings directly through the browser.

Zune

The KIN utilizes the Microsoft Zune software for music, radio and video playback. You also have access to Zune Market for songs (no apps even so).

Settings

While the Windows Phones running Windows Mobile has extensive settings, the KIN is rather restrictive in comparison. The KIN allows y'all admission to settings for wireless controls (turning on/off Bluetooth, Wifi, Airplane Mode), a few phone settings, themes, ringers, screen lock and language.

You also have access to setting up/modifying electronic mail, social networking feeds, and browser settings from the Settings App.

The residue of the apps

Along with the Browser and Zune, you also take an e-mail app, message center, alarm and camera apps. We'll affect base of operations on the camera app when we hash out the KIN's performance in Function 3.

The Email App allows you to pull your email not just from your Windows Live Account merely too other electronic mail sources (Pop, GMail, Yahoo Mail service, Exchange Server, etc.). Yous tin can add accounts and email settings directly from the Email App or from the Settings Carte du jour.

The Messaging App is where you tin find your voice mail, call history and view/create text messages.

The KIN Spot

The KIN Spot is a nice software feature on the KIN Windows Phones.  It's a que of sorts to elevate/drop links, photos, posts, etc. that you lot notice on your KIN that you lot'd similar to share via email, MMS messages or upload to a social networking site.

If you lot detect things from multiple sources (camera gallery, browser, social feed) y'all can tap/agree, then drag/drop these items into the KIN Spot.  They are held there until your prepare to transport them out.  In one case your drove is complete, tap the KIN Spot and you lot are given the pick to upload the items or ship them out via electronic mail or text bulletin.

It really helps when you want to share multiple items.

KIN Studio

Ane characteristic of the KIN that I hope the Windows Phone vii volition have is the online component, KIN Studio. It reminded me a lot of Best Buy'south mIQ or a scaled down Windows Live.

The KIN Studio is a little more user friendly than Windows Live in that navigation is more direct forward. I as well found the KIN Studio a little smoother to explore than Windows Live (pages loaded quicker).

The KIN Studio offers access to your phone's photos and videos, letters, contacts, and social networking feeds. Photos and videos can be sorted past date and time which in plow can be arranged by calendar month, week or day.

What's Missing?

The one glaring item missing from the KIN is a calendar.  Its absence screams at you when you showtime skim through the software.  You do have the power to set alarms but if your day to day activities total of appointments, you're likely to laissez passer on the KIN.

I'chiliad sure most teenagers wouldn't continue track of their date with diligence but many would and the older they became, the more useful a calendar would become. The lack of a calendar is a missing essential in my stance.

The other large ticket item that'south missing on the KIN is GPS. We've gotten spoiled with the Windows Phone of today in that just about every one of them has GPS. The KIN does have a-GPS for geo-tagging your photos and to satisfy 911 requirements.

I don't know if there's a infinite result simply a full-fledged GPS would have been nice.  Even though you can't load BING, Google Maps or other apps on the KIN that would make use of GPS, one day you might.

Lastly, the KIN does not have an on-screen keyboard.  While the KIN I doesn't have the screen real manor to adapt an on-screen keyboard, the KIN Two does.  An on-screen keyboard would let you to blazon in quick responses without the demand to extend the keyboard every time.  I think it would help better the efficiency of the KIN Two.

Overall Impression

I volition admit information technology took some time to get used to the KIN's software. Initially, the primary screen with the network feeds seemed cluttered but the software wasn't that hard to larn.  The very noticeable deviation from the traditional Windows Phone was what took getting used to.

It was disappointing to meet the lack of a calendar and on-screen keyboard. You can probably live without the on-screen keyboard just the KIN merely feels incomplete without a calendar.

For what the KIN's are designed for, to navigate your social life, the OS and installed apps exercise the job well. I like the mode the Contacts Page is laid out and the KIN Spot.  The Feed Reader pulls all your social networking under ane roof and once you get used to the appearance, it does aid y'all stay up to date with your friends.

Next up, the KIN's functioning. We've impact several operation issues while looking at the KIN'south design and software merely now we'll look to encounter how well the KIN cranks social up to 11 and allows yous to share life as you're living it.

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/review-microsoft-kin-part-two-software

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