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?

Last May I finally decided to buy a laptop so I could be more productive while on the move. My initial thought was to buy a Windows based laptop since all my design and developer software is Windows based. After researching a bunch of Windows laptops I was not impressed by the bulkiness of many of the cases out there, it was important to me to have a laptop which was sleek and easy to carry around. One nice aspect about these laptops was that the price point was in a nice range; however, by wanting something sleek there were really only two viable options, the Dell Adamo and VooDoos’ Envy but the price rocketed upward and the other hardware specs dropped.

The third option that was available to me was to change OS platforms and open up the possibility of owning an Apple MacBook, I knew that it was possible to run Bootcamp which would allow me to get both Mac OS and Windows on the same machine thus opening up a bit of flexibility but also brings in another set of issues such as using a Mac keyboard with a Windows OS.

In the end I weighed my options, the MacBook had almost everything I was looking for in a laptop: sleek, lightweight, quality hardware, good technical specs and portability. The only down fall was the same with the Adamo and Envy, the price, the only difference this time was that the specs remained high despite the expense.

For nearly 3 months now I have been using my new Macbook Pro and have discovered a few things that I was not expecting when I purchased it. I will admit that I setup bootcamp and  have been running the RC of Windows 7 pretty much since I got the laptop, and have only actually used OSX a little bit, but the the OS doesn’t really matter in my reasons, that could be a whole other blog post.

Lets move on to the 5 reasons I dislike my MacBook:

1. The Keyboard
   • While looking for a laptop it never even crossed my mind that a keyboard would not come with some of the most important keys for doing everyday tasks, all laptops I have ever used have had these keys: Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, Delete & Backspace, Insert. However, it turns out the MacBook does NOT, intstead you must know know keyboard shortcuts for these tasks. I am all about shortcuts and use them all time for various tasks, but sometimes you just want a button, using more than two or three keys in a shortcut ends up becoming more of a hassle than a convenience. As a programmer life is much easier when you have these keys as you need to jump around code, select large blocks of text, etc. Running Windows with a Mac keyboard brings in a whole other set of issues, but I was expecting this when I made my decision to buy a Mac and run Windows, turns out it there were more issues than I was expecting.
2. Glossy Screen
   • Glossy screens was one of my original concerns with many of the laptops I was looking at and was really looking for a laptop that did not have a glossy screen as it reflects everything from behind you back into your face. MacBook’s are basically all glossy screens and Apple has shown little interest in offering matte screens in it’s new set of laptops. At the end of the day I decided it was something I could put up with since the MacBook screen quality was the best compared to other laptops. The glossiness however is often frustrating, if sitting outside I cannot see a single thing on my screen other than everything from behind me, the laptop is pretty much useless in outdoor settings from my experience. While working inside, the issue is significantly better but at times it can still be frustrating having to move my head in several directions just to be able to see areas once in a while. On a brighter note though my son loves looking at himself in the “mirror”.
3. Screen Positioning
   • My wifes’ laptop allows for the screen to be tilted backwards almost the entire way, on my MacBook the screen does not. The screen should really be able to tilt back at least another inch. I understand this is kind of a goofy complaint but if you are every sitting in a reclined position at all, the screen will fall forward because the hinge isn’t quite tight enough to maintain the lack of tilt needed to hold the position on its own. Imagine a toilet seat that when lifted up doesn’t quite stay up on it’s own, which can be super frustrating, especially if you are a guy. If you turn the laptop around it looks as if there is plenty of room around the hinge that it would be more than possible to design the screen to be tilted back further, possibly even all the way down to horizontal position.
4. Hardware
   • One big factor in choosing to buy a MacBook was for its reputation in hardware quality, this is probably what sealed the deal in my decision to make the purchase. The problem, constant shutdowns. The first time it shutdown unexpectedly I thought I had just set it down to hard and it caused the drive to shut down. But over the following few weeks I noticed it happening quite frequently despite cautiously setting it down. I finally realized and discovered that it was because when I set it down, I’d hold it with only my left hand, which in return would flex the back of the case causing some sort of short-circuit and instantly shutting itself down. Not being able to hold a laptop with just one hand is surprisingly quite annoying. In the end I had to take it back, get it replaced and then reinstall everything, quite the waste of time.
5. Apple Ecosystem
   • Many people find the apple ecosystem to be the best service and support in the tech industry. In part I would agree, but overall it’s a bit ridiculous. When I had to get my Mac checked out in regards to it shutting down, I drove an hour and half to go to the only Apple store near me. I brought my laptop to the ‘Genius’ bar, set it on the counter and waited, several times I received some glances from the geniuses behind the counter but not a single one talked to me, not even to say “I’ll be with you in a moment”. I waited over ten minutes before realizing that no one was going to help me because apparently you have to sign-up ahead of time to receive support. WHAT? Are you kidding me? Finally I asked how to sign-up to get some support, they directed me to one of their in-house machines to set an appointment. To expand my frustration, the earliest I could get in was more than two hours away.
   • Now keep in mind, I bought a Mac in part because of the “outstanding quality” of their hardware and software. So now I’m sitting here with a broken laptop (the first computer I have ever had to take in to get fixed) within two months of purchasing it and I have to wait hours because the Genius bar is extremely overwhelmed with numerous hardware and software issues from other people apparently experiencing issues as well. Apparently these issues can only be fixed by someone who needs to be a ‘Genious’ to make a computer work. I thought Macs were so much more user friendly than Windows, so why am I suddenly in need of a genius to fix my computer, ridiculous. So much for higher quality hardware and software if I have to wait hours just to get someone to look at my machine and give me an answer in less than 10 min that it needs to be replaced.
   • Now, I’m not saying that services like the Geek Squad are better, but at least you can walk-in, tell them you have an issue, and leave your computer (which thankfully I have not had to do) or simply get a quick answer. Personally, I think places like the Geek Squad are a rip-off and should be avoided if at all possible, but with Apple computers, your options for service outside of an Apple store is more rare than finding an Apple store.

Despite the issues above, there are a few things I do like about my MacBook:

1. Design�
   • MacBooks and Apple in general are known for their minimal appearance and overall simplicity in their designs. An important element in my laptop requirements was to have a laptop that was truly portable and wasn’t big and bulky. The MacBook, Dell Adamo and VooDoo Envy all meet this requirement in my mind. When closed my MacBook takes up very little space, it lays flat, no knobs or buttons or misc. pieces of hardware sticking out anywhere. Overall the edges are crisp and properly beveled (though they could be a tad bit softer in the wrist area), the weight is reasonable for a 15″ laptop and it’s comfortable to carry around with our without a travel bag.
2. Flexibility
   • Having owned only Windows machines I was skeptical and nervous about bringing in another platform to my Windows environment. With the ability to use Bootcamp on the laptop helped calm some of my concerns. Immediately after I got my laptop I setup Bootcamp and installed the RC of Windows 7 and haven’t looked back. The fact that I have essentially been running windows non-stop since I got it makes me happy that I don’t have to deal with the Mac OS interface and issues with using my existing design and development software.
3. The Case
   • The MacBook case is one of the best out there, it’s sleek, lightweight and best of all not plastic. The case is one of the best aspects of the entire machine. Despite the nasty glowing Apple logo on the lid, gotta find a great sticker yet to cover that thing up.
4. Power Plug
   • The magnetic connection for the power adapter to the laptop has been mostly fantastic. There have been so many times that I have caught the cord with my foot, hand or any part of my 20 month old body as he runs by. The biggest issue I have with it though is that it isn’t quite strong enough, sometimes just barely catching the cord makes it pop off.
5. Reliability
   • The fact that I have been running an early un-finished copy of Windows 7 nearly non-stop for 3 months with very little issues or crashes is quite impressive in my book. The fact that the Mac hardware works pretty much out of the box with Windows is great news for people like me who need both Windows and Mac platforms. This may be more of a sign of the quality of Windows 7 rather than of the laptop itself but the fact that they both work together quite well is testament to both Microsoft and Apple. I have yet to have any kind of hardware crash because of software issues that I am aware of.

Despite having a pretty positive experience with my MacBook overall, I do not picture myself buying another one when this one ends up getting to old or broken down. The frustrations I have listed above are enough to prevent me from considering an Apple laptop in the future unless they are able to overcome these issues in a elegant way, otherwise I think I’ll jump back to a Windows laptop next.