Report: Verizon Set To Launch Microsoft Kin Devices

Verizon Wireless customers will be able to pre-order Microsoft's Kin One and Kin Two devices online on May 6, and the devices will be available through all channels on May 13, according to a purported internal Verizon Wireless document posted over the weekend by the mobile tech blog Slashphone.

Last month at the Kin launch event in San Francisco, Microsoft said Verizon would start selling the devices this month, and a Microsoft spokesperson contacted by Channelweb.com Monday declined to offer additional information.

Verizon Wireless couldn't be reached for comment.

Kin One and Kin Two are curious products: In addition to the Windows Phone brand, Kin devices are also emblazoned with Verizon's and Sharp's brands. They're the first mobile devices to carry Microsoft's branding, but because they're targeting at younger folks -- Microsoft says 15 to 30 is the official age range -- handset makers haven't been complaining about Microsoft getting into hardware.

Still, Kin is a risky bet given that Windows Phone 7 devices will start arriving on new devices this fall with support for third party apps and a broader range of functionality. Kin devices won't have the ability to run third party mobile apps from Windows Phone Marketplace, which Microsoft says is due to the deep integration of Kin's core social networking apps.

The underlying OS for Kin devices, called Windows Phone OS for Kin, is a separate entity from Windows Phone 7, although Microsoft says the two operating systems share "some common foundational element OS components, software and services."

Microsoft appears to have done a lot of research on the usage behavior of younger mobile users, and it's confident that Kin devices will find a market niche. But we still don't know what Kin devices will cost, and that's obviously going to be a huge factor in how quickly younger mobile users embrace them.

Kin devices are believed to represent the fruits of Microsoft's $500 million acquisition of Danger and Microsoft's oft-delayed "Pink" mobile development project. Danger developed the software and services stack for the T-Mobile Sidekick, and Kin devices employ the same cloud-based storage model as the Sidekick.

This is important because the Kin One features a 5 megapixel camera and the Kin Tow comes with an 8 megapixel version, which means there will be plenty of digital content being created and piped up to the cloud. If Kin devices end up selling like hotcakes, Microsoft will not only have a mobile contender, it'll also be able to add a mobile element to its Software Plus Service mantra.

Verizon, Microsoft's exclusive U.S. partner for Kin, will be the first carrier to find out if there's a market for Kin, and Vodaphone will start selling devices in Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. this fall.