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Microsoft Makes More Mobile Moves
(13 Apr 2010, BWCS Staff)Software powerhouse and would-be mobile industry giant, Microsoft, has reportedly launched two Windows-based smart phones in the US, both targeting social network users. The Kin handsets will, initially at least only be available in via Verizon Wireless, which is part-owned by Vodafone. However, the Seattle-based technology giant has said that the phones should be on sale in the third quarter in Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Vodafone will sell them in each market.
Both phones, imaginatively called the Kin One and the Kin Two, feature touch-screens and slide-out keyboards. The Kin One is said to be more compact in form, while the Kin Two is larger with an enhanced memory - 8Gb instead of the 4Gb available on the Kin One. It also boasts a higher resolution camera (8 megapixels instead of 5), and the ability to record HD video.
Microsoft is battling hard to make more of an impact on the mobile sector. According to Gartner Research, sales of the Apple iPhone overtook those of smart-phones using Windows Mobile, last year. Symbian phones and Research in Motion's Blackberry handsets still retain their lead in this market, the research company reported.
Gartner also reported less encouraging news for Microsoft and its mobile operating system which fell to fourth place in the market for smart phones, its market share falling to 8.7% down from 11.8% the year before. The research company noted that the launch of a new mobile platform, Windows Phones 7 Series, should make it more competitive, though this will not affect sales figures until later this year.
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