Kin One Is Great for Rich Tweens

This is the Kin One

and this is the Kin Two.

The Kin One is cute, adorable.

Because it's so small,

for some reason you don't expect very much of it,

other than what it delivers.

It's a little window into your social media universe.

It shows all your Twitter and Facebook updates here,

in Windows Live, if you're involved in that,

and even news feeds that you pick.

It's got a really basic browser

and a sort of kludgy email app, but it works.

And it only costs $50 bucks.

The catch is, you have to sign up

for a $40 dollar a month voice plan

and a $30 dollar a month data plan.

And a two-year contract from Verizon,

which means over the long-term,

you're looking at over $3,400

for this cute, little guy.

The Kin Two has a bigger keyboard obviously,

so it's a little easier to type on.

And it's got an eight megapixel camera,

instead of the five megapixel camera on the Kin One.

And honestly, whereas the Kin One takes terrible pictures,

this one takes, slightly better pictures.

I wouldn't exactly recommend the Kin Two,

because with a phone like this,

it's basically inviting comparison

to much smarter phones.

Like the Motorola Droid, The Backflip,

all of which are much smarter Android based phones

that have full-sized keyboards like this.

But, also can do things like run apps,

they've got much better web browsing capabilities,

much better email,

and in particular, Gmail Integration,

and a lot of other things.

So, the Kin platform's shortcomings become

really apparent on this phone.

Whereas, on the Kin One, it's just so cute.

That pretty much, what you see is what you get

and you don't expect anymore from it,

other than keeping you in touch with your friends.

Would I recommend either of these phones?

Not really.

There're other much better phones out there

that aren't gonna saddle you,

with a $70 a month Verizon contract for two years.

But, if you're a rich parent

and you've got a twin in your house,

I'd say the Kin One might be a nice present,

because it's a great way for them to keep in touch

with their friends on Facebook.

And, who knows, maybe they'll send you an email

once in a great while.

[upbeat music]