Kin One (photos)

Verizon is prepping to release the Microsoft Kin One and Two. CNET got an early hands-on look. Check out the Kin One photo gallery here.

Bonnie Cha

May 5, 2010 9:44 a.m. PT

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Microsoft Kin One (Verizon Wireless)

The Kin One offers younger users a unique and fun social networking experience on a phone. It will be available in Verizon stores starting May 13 for $49.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate, but be aware you will also be required to sign up for a $29.99 per month unlimited data plan.

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Unique design

Of the Kin devices, the Kin One definitely has the more interesting design with its squarish shape.

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Keyboard

The phone's smaller size makes the keyboard a bit cramped, so users with larger thumbs might have some problem. Overall, however, we thought it was quite usable. The buttons are a good size and there's decent spacing between each one.

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Top view

The top of the device holds a 3.5mm headphone jack, a camera activation/capture button, and a volume rocker. The camera key and volume buttons are in an awkward position, however, so they're hard to use.

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Left side

The left side has a single Micro-USB port.

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Back view

On back, you'll find the Kin One's 5-megapixel camera and flash.

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Picture quality

The photo quality of the Kin One's camera wasn't very impressive. The awkward placement of the camera button made it hard to hold the phone steady and get a steady shot. Also, colors were washed out.