Microsoft’s Kin. Not to be confused with the Kindle. (click thumnail to Awesome-size)

Today, Microsoft announced there latest phone offerings – the Kin 1 and Kin 2. Unlike most other tech we cover, the Kin brand is designed for teens. Which makes it obviously something of interest on this particular site.

To jump right in – hardware. As can be seen above, there are two models of Kin – the Kin 1 and Kin 2. Both have similar features, and run the same Kin version of WinPhone7, with touchscreens, slideout QWERTY keyboards, etc. Differences include size – the Kin 1 being the smaller, squarish one, with a 5.o megapixel camera/SD video, mono speaker, and 4 GB of memory built in, compared to the Kin 2′s larger screen and keyboard, stereo speakers, 8.0 megapixel camera/HD video and 8 GB of memory. Neither is expandable with microSD cards. Both have the same Tegra chips in the Zune HD, and are quite fast looking, at least in the demo videos.

So, software then. Before we get the the Kin specific stuff, first the basics – has a browser, Bing search, and Zune software built in – so it should be pretty nice for music. But it’s NOT a smartphone – Microsoft built the Kin for Social. So no Apps.

But, Kin does have some seriously slick stuff when talking social. First off, Kin Loop. It’s a real time feed from all your social sites – Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. as well RSS feeds showing you what’s going on. Social connectivity is huge – just drag and drop stuff to forward to your friends, using the Kin Spot – a little green dot on the bottom of the screen, choose contacts, and go. It works for pictures, videos, news articles – it’s highly cool looking, and looks like its actually getting how teens use phones. Contacts work akin to the Palm Pre – just log into your email, social networks, Twitter – and it combines them all into one contact, which is a cool and handy plus.

The camera software is similarly built, with social features built in – allowing you to upload straight from your phone to your social sites.

But coolest of all is Kin Studio. Kin Studio is, as Microsoft describes it, your Kin online. It’s everything from your phono, automatically synced to the Kin Studio site – allowing you to access, sort, and most importantly, backup everything on your phone – from Contacts, to texts, to pictures and videos, sorted with a cool timeline to manage it. Also has the same features as the phone, allowing updating all your statuses and the Kin Spot sharing. Studio also seems to help with keeping space free on your phone, which is a nice plus.

The Kin 1 and 2 will be Verizon exclusives, launching sometime in May. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but I’d expect it to be an the cheaper side, since they’re marketing to teens, and we tend to be rather cheap (aka broke). Also, I’d be betting on the 2 costing a bit more then the 1, but we’ll have to wait and see.

For more info, videos and shots of the devices, check out the Kin site here.

Oh, yeah. It also makes calls.

[Sources include Kin.com, Engadget hands-on]

The Barnes and Noble Nook eBook

We’ve all probably been to Barnes and Noble a couple of times over the past years– either by choice or for something for school reading. What if told you that soon those trips won’t be needed and you can have every book from there physical stores in your pocket? Interesting, yeah? Its true. Today, book giant Barnes and Noble have announced their entrance into the future for books with their new eBook called the Nook. This is ready to take on Amazon’s hit Kindle, and boy did Barnes and Noble do a great job with this device (case in point, look up at the pic– wow is right). And that top pic is only part of the story– read on to learn all about Barnes and Nobles new eBook and how they plan to continue to change books as we now know them.

Ok, so obviously this thing looks a whole lot nicer than Amazon’s Kindle 2. Like the Kindle, you got a nice 6 inch e-ink (aka electronic ink, or a screen that doesn’t use a lot of power and provides an experience that is similar to reading a book on paper), and a very thin, portable design (about the size of a paperback book). And while s the Kindle’s got that full QWERTY keyboard going for it under the screen for notes and searching for books, the Nook has a 3.5 color touchscreen to do all that and more. This acts as a keyboard when needed for the aforementioned tasks, and even does other cool tricks like letting you go through your book collection in a “Cover Flow” like way. I really like this design a whole lot better than the Kindle’s and pretty much any other eBook out there. Oh, and you can also buy a bunch of accessories and designer covers to customize this to your style.

The Nook in “Cover Flow”

Now let’s go to some of the more spec type details of the Nook. Like the Kindle, this also has built in 3G for downloading books, magazines and newspapers anywhere you are (thanks to AT&T), but unlike the Kindle, it even throws in built in WiFi, with free WiFi in all Barnes and Noble bookstores (no shock here).  There also is 2 GB of built in storage for about 1,500 eBooks (yeah, that’s a whole lot of books), and you can add up to 16 GB through the microSD slot to take a whopping 17,500 books where ever you go (there goes the library).You also get a built in Mp3 player, 3.5 mm (regular size) headphone jack and a speaker so you can put some music on here, and a PDF and image viewer where you can create your own screensavers and keep some pix on your Nook. All this powered by Google’s Android OS, which is interesting and cool at the same time (though no you can’t browse the web on here, which would look pretty bad on the current e-ink screens. Apps though are unknown at this point if you’ll be able to just load them on).The battery life is also said to be pretty good– 10 days with wireless off (though lower than the Kindle’s claim of 14 days with wireless off).

Pix on your Nook

Best of all is the bookstore for this beautiful device. Over a million books are ready in Barnes and Noble’s eBook store, with free samples available for trying out a little bit of the book and even 500,000 free eBooks available. Again, wow. You also get the previously mentioned ability to get magazines and newspapers on the device, so there should always be something new for you to read. The bestsellers and new release books will, like the Kindle’s bookstore, also be priced at $9.99. Throw all this with a built in Miriam Webster dictionary and your English class should become a lot easier and more interesting.

If that isnt enough to make this a solid device and Kindle rival, Barnes and Noble also makes free apps for PCs, Macs, BlackBerrys and iPhone/iPod touches (and soon Windows Mobile and possibly Android), that allow you to download and view your stuff on the go. Barnes and Noble decided to really tie that into the Nook experience, automatically syncing up your notes, highlights and where exactly you left off across all these devices (the Kindle also has a feature like this, but right now it only works with other Kindles you own, iPod touches and iPhones). But they even take this one step further using a new feature called “LendMe,” which let’s you actually lend out your digital book to someone else with either a Nook or another eBook device.  How long you’ll be able to lend the books out we don’t know, and this will only be with books that publishers allow to be shared (something Barnes and Noble is trying hard to push to get everyone on board).

This is a pretty sick eBook in my opinion (and I’m not even a big book reader– though this definitely makes me more interested in reading more often), and something I think has a lot of potential to really give Barnes and Noble a nice spot in this eBook race. The Nook will be available in November for $259, and you can pre-order it today from Barnes and Noble’s site.

Can you–bookworm or not–see yourself getting one of these? What do you think of its potential?

The Amazon Kindle 2

Some of you may have heard of Amazon’s digital book (called an e-book, and yes people do read books ). Believe it or not- and we know a lot of you probably won’t believe it , the first Kindle was really popular, and they were constantly sold out on Amazon’s site.

The original Kindle  let you read countless books on one small, thin device and let you download new books, magazines and newspapers straight to the Kindle using Sprint’s 3G network– all without charging you a monthly data price.

Now the Kindle, as we said, was really, really popular, and this past week Amazon announced the next generation version  of the device, cleverly named the Amazon Kindle 2. So what’s new in the Kindle 2 and why should you care? Well, read on to find out!

We’ll break this one down like we break down everything else- feature by feature.

• Thinner Design- This Kindle 2, is 1/3 of an inch thick (or should we say thin!); it’s as thick as a magazine or a pencil!

Ya, we’re talking pencil thin!

• Very Light- This is lighter than most paper back books, so not only do you get all those books, but you get them in something lighter than 1 physical book!
• Built-in Sprint 3G- The Kindle 2 keeps the same great 3G features that let you buy books, and view newspapers, blogs and magazines right on the device.

The New York Times on the Kindle 2

• Updated Screen- The screen on the Kindle 2 is updated, and now pages turn 20% faster!
• Over 230,000 books, available from the Kindle’s store– and counting!- Basically you can read A LOT!
• Better Battery- According to Amazon, you can go DAYS, yes DAYS, of use without charging.
• “Read-to-Me”- Probably the coolest feature on this device. This feature will, you guessed it, read the books to you- so not only can you read it, you can listen to it to! Let the laziness begin!
• Hold’s 1,500 books- Yup, a “library in your pocket.”

So there are the features, what are our own thoughts? Well, I think this is a really cool device. While my reading is more SI and ESPN magazine, online articles, as well as the daily newspaper, and usually not books, I’m not sure this device would be perfect for me (though who knows, maybe having a cool device like this would inspire me to read more ). But for someone who is a “bookworm”, and would love to be able to have 1,500 books in their pocket- this should fit the ticket.

The Kindle 2 can be pre-ordered now from Amazon.com for $359, and will be released on February 24th.

What do you think: you a bookworm and gonna get this? Interested, but don’t want to spend the $359? Not really into books at all and would rather just use that $359 and get yourself an iPod Touch and a book reading app? Let us know in the comments.