Microsoft has unveiled its two new smartphones, the KIN ONE and KIN TWO, which are due to go on sale in the US next month.
The American software giant is marketing the devices as the "next generation of the social phone" for people who want to broadcast and share everyday moments.
The two models feature a touch screen and slide-out keyboard but the KIN ONE is pocket-sized and can be used with one hand.
The phones are less about catching up with individuals on a one-to-one basis and more about publishing aspects of your life to the masses.
Technology experts believe the products are part of Microsoft's aim to regain a position in the phone market as Apple and Google claim an increasingly large size of the share.
Social networking is key to the function of the phones as feeds from leading Microsoft and third-party services such as facebook, MySpace and twitter are all brought together in one place called the Loop.
People can then share what's happening to them by using something called the KIN Spot.
This lets them focus on the people and issues they want to share rather than the specific application they want to use.
The iPhone and Google Nexus One are stiff competition
Different types of data such as videos, photos, text messages, web pages and status updates are shared by dragging them to a single place on the phone called the Spot.
The phone will also feature a Studio for backing up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts which will be available at all times.
Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at microsoft said: "We built KIN for people who live to be connected, share, express and relate to their friends and family. This social generation wants and needs more from their phone.
"KIN is the one place to get the stuff you care about to the people you care about most."
The phones were unveiled at press conferences in San Francisco and New York and are clearly aimed at the younger, technology-savvy members of the population.
They will go on sale from Verizon Wireless in the US in May and from Vodafone in the UK this autumn.
The American software giant is marketing the devices as the "next generation of the social phone" for people who want to broadcast and share everyday moments.
The two models feature a touch screen and slide-out keyboard but the KIN ONE is pocket-sized and can be used with one hand.
The phones are less about catching up with individuals on a one-to-one basis and more about publishing aspects of your life to the masses.
Technology experts believe the products are part of Microsoft's aim to regain a position in the phone market as Apple and Google claim an increasingly large size of the share.
Social networking is key to the function of the phones as feeds from leading Microsoft and third-party services such as facebook, MySpace and twitter are all brought together in one place called the Loop.
People can then share what's happening to them by using something called the KIN Spot.
This lets them focus on the people and issues they want to share rather than the specific application they want to use.
The iPhone and Google Nexus One are stiff competitionDifferent types of data such as videos, photos, text messages, web pages and status updates are shared by dragging them to a single place on the phone called the Spot.
The phone will also feature a Studio for backing up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts which will be available at all times.
Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at microsoft said: "We built KIN for people who live to be connected, share, express and relate to their friends and family. This social generation wants and needs more from their phone.
"KIN is the one place to get the stuff you care about to the people you care about most."
The phones were unveiled at press conferences in San Francisco and New York and are clearly aimed at the younger, technology-savvy members of the population.
They will go on sale from Verizon Wireless in the US in May and from Vodafone in the UK this autumn.
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