Microsoft Corp. announced KIN, a new Windows^® based Smartphone  targeting youth active in social networking. KIN will be available in the US in May through partnerships with Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and Sharp Corporation. KIN is designed to provide cutting edge social experience that blends the phone, online services and the PC with breakthrough new experiences called the Loop, Spot and Studio. It is not clear at present when the KIN will be available in India.

KIN will be available in 2 versions – KIN ONE and KIN TWO. Both these are touch-screen phones and KIN One is a short, square-shaped handset  and KIN Two, a longer, more rectangular phone.

Both KINs are black with multi touch. KIN One has a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the bottom, while the KIN Two has a full QWERTY keyboard that comes out from its side.

KINs include WiFi and higher-resolution cameras than most handsets.The Kin One will include a 5 mega pixel camera, while the Kin Two will have a 8 mega pixel camera with image stabilization. The Kin Two will also be capable of shooting HD video.These phones doesn’t have expandable memory; instead, the phones will upload content to the cloud an online storage service.

With the introduction of KIN, the smart phone space is getting more competitive with much greater choice for consumers.

Microsoft have not announced the price of KIN so far.