Microsoft's Kin: Does the World Really Need a 'Social' Phone?

If you're a Facebook-addicted, text-loving teenage girl, you might, maybe, like this phone. If not, look elsewhere. Microsoft's Kin isn't a smartphone, but a cell designed for social media. Is it any good?

• Gizmodo calls it "the most seamlessly connected phone on the planet," but doesn't love the look, function or feel. Kin is "the gawky teenage offspring of Windows Phone 7 and the Sidekick," concludes Matt Buchanan.

• The interface is "intuitive" and "visually-pleasing," says PCWorld. That will keep teens happy, but more demanding users will miss having a universal inbox and calendar support, writes Ginny Mies.
• "What on earth is Microsoft thinking here?" asks Henry Blodgett on Business Insider. The phone is targeted at "young people"—a demographic that has "phones coming out of their ears." Besides, he says, by emphasizing social networking, they've already dated themselves (circa 2004).