Microsoft’s Kin One and Kin Two, Smart Move?

In the age of the iPhone and other smart phone devices like Blackberries and the Android platform it’s easy to gloss over the significance of the recently announced phones from Microsoft called Kin One and Kin Two. The entrance of the Kin phones and ecosystem is a surprising move considering Microsoft also just announced their other new phone platform called Windows Phone 7, a completely new experience and platform which essentially replaces the old Windows Mobile platform.

I have seen a lot of blogs/bloggers exclaiming that the Kin devices will fail, they just can’t seem to understand who would buy these phones, especially when there are so many smart phones on the market which can do so much more.

Personally I think this is a brilliant move by Microsoft.

1. Target Audience
Microsoft has a very specific market they are aiming for with these phones, it’s not aiming for the business person or the people who want a lot of power and applications and who have money to throw around on expensive devices and service/data plans.

Instead these devices are aimed directly at young adults, kids in middle school, high school who are heavy into social interactions with their friends, who use Facebook and text message a 100+ times a day. Kids who have part time jobs and have limited budgets, big into music, photos, videos and social networks.

2. Devices
The Kin devices are not smart phones, most people would probably call them dumb phones. I however, refer to them as “dumb smart phones”.

Dumb phones are basically your standard, cheap and basic functionality phones that you can find in every phone store. Dumb phones can’t really do much, they can make calls, send text messages, maybe have a calendar, calculator and a few low level games. The interfaces are lists of text menus.

Smart phones like the iPhone are much more expensive, come with a service plan and a data plan in many cases, They have internet access, music, high quality games, thousands of applications for just about anything you can imagine. The interface has nice icons, smooth transitions/animations and sometimes customizable.

Dumb smart phones such as the Kin falls somewhere in the middle, which is one reason I think it will be highly successful. The interface is something we have never seen before (even on a smart phone and especially not on a dumb phone), it has slick animations, vibrant images, and a dynamic/interactive experience which makes the phone “fun” to use again.

3. Experience
I touched just briefly on the user experience in bullet two but I feel it needs more explanation since I think it’s the experience which is really going to drive the sales of these devices.

The user experience on the Kin devices is crucial to the success of these phones, all these kids who want a “cool” phone at an affordable price and still does everything they need it to do will jump at the chance to get a Kin. Think about it, would you get a phone with static boring list based navigation system or something with fluid, dynamic animations/effects, dynamic content and a unique interface? I’d choose the latter of the two in a heartbeat, which is exactly why the iPhone has been so successful.

The Kin is a “step up” in the phone experience while staying within a price point (I expect) that young adults can afford with little hesitation.

In addition to the phone itself having a great experience, you also will have a great experience with it on the web. You’ll be able to view all your photos, your profile, various information in a structured, fun, interactive and dynamic and unique environment.

4. Price
Price will play an important role as well, I expect these phones will be priced between $75-$200 plus a small monthly service fee. Personally I think the phones should be priced between $50-$125 with a small monthly fee.

My guess is that Microsoft won’t make a lot of money on these devices anyway, so if they price them as low as possible, make it so that kids won’t have to hesitate because of price. A low price also makes it an affordable second phone to people with iPhones or other smart phones who want something small and easy to use when they go out to a party, or someplace where they are afraid their smart phone may get damaged or even stolen.

Low price often times means a lot of sales, if they go for quantity of users instead of high profit then they have quickly and easily guided people into their ecosystem, 1-3 years later when the kids are ready for a something more powerful they will likely consider other Microsoft phones since they are familiar with the experience and all their data is already in that system, I expect it will be quite hard to port over the data to some other system like the iPhone.

Final Thoughts
Microsoft has of blindsided the dumb phone competition, they re-evaluated the dumb phone experience and made it into something that is fun and cool. So many companies are focused on building smart phones while ignoring the huge potential of lower cost, lesser functionality phones which still outsell smart phones and will continue to outsell for a while yet. Dumb phone companies are so focused on low cost that the experience gets even worse for the end user. The Kin should provides both a great experience and a great price.

What are your thoughts, will you get a Kin? Do you know someone who would fit the Kin target audience? Will it be successful?