Colorware jazzes up your new Xbox 360

No need for a fanciful new HDTV? Not even a new Segway? There’s some colorful home entertainment gear for you yet. The famed gadget painting company just announced that Microsoft’s shiny new Xbox 360 is the next to go under the gun, with near limitless color options waiting to be splashed onto each and every panel. If you managed to already pick one up, Colorware’s charging $175 for the send-in option; if you’re looking to buy new, that’ll cost you at least five Benjamins. But hey, that’s nothing for the satisfaction of owning a game console that’s part orange, part lime green and part purple, right?

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Colorware jazzes up your new Xbox 360 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Life and death of Microsoft Kin: the inside story

Since our piece on Wednesday, we’ve had more trusted sources step forward to fill in some blanks and clarify the story behind the amazingly swift fall from grace that Microsoft’s Kin phones have experienced since their launch just a few weeks ago. It’s a fascinating tale, and we wanted to share everything we’ve learned.

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Life and death of Microsoft Kin: the inside story originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gadget Lab Podcast: The Death of Kin and Other Wireless Drama

In this episode of the Gadget Lab video podcast, the usual nerds talk about all things mobile. First, they mourn over the death of the Kin while reflecting on what Microsoft did wrong. They also talk about what Apple apparently did wrong with the iPhone 4 antenna, which loses signal when held the “wrong” way.

          

Elsewhere in the mobile world, Intel says it’s hoping to ship its first mobile chips in phones starting next year. We’ll see if that ever happens — and if their efforts will even matter by then. On the other hand, something we’ve wanted on mobiles devices for a long time has finally arrived: Hulu. Unfortunately it comes at a price.

You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our mugs, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

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Microsoft prepping Magic Mouse-like Arc Touch Mouse?

Microsoft isn’t saying anything about this one just yet, but there’s a growing amount of evidence that the company is set to take on Apple’s Magic Mouse with its own Arc Touch Mouse. As istartedsomething reports, that includes a product listing for an “Arc Touch Mouse” at several European retailers (with a $70 price tag), an arctouchmouse.com domain registered to Microsoft in late March, and some Microsoft Research projects that show that the company has indeed been working on multitouch mice since at least late last year (one of those prototypes is pictured above). Just one big coincidence? Probably not, but we’ll have to wait to hear from Microsoft to know for sure.

Microsoft prepping Magic Mouse-like Arc Touch Mouse? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile Axes Sidekicks, Promises Fresh Experience

sidekicklx.jpg

Maybe buying a company called “Danger” wasn’t the brightest idea. Microsoft received the second half of a one-two blow yesterday when T-Mobile killed the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008, the last handsets built on Microsoft’s Danger software.
The death of the Sidekick comes just after Microsoft announced they had killed the KIN, which is the phone Microsoft created in part using Danger’s staff and software after they acquired the company. The KIN technology and team are now part of the Windows Phone 7 group, Microsoft said.
T-Mobile owns the Sidekick brand, so they can slap that name onto any phone they want. For their part, here’s what they have to say:
“As T-Mobile looks to further innovate and raise the bar for the next generation of the T-Mobile Sidekick, as of July 2, the Sidekick LX and Sidekick 2008 will no longer be available through T-Mobile, including retail stores, care, telesales and online. While we work on the next chapter of our storied Sidekick franchise, T-Mobile will continue to provide our loyal Sidekick customers with product service and support. Stay tuned for exciting updates in the months ahead, which we expect will provide customers with a new and fresh experience.”
Notice that T-Mobile is promising a “new and fresh experience.” This may imply that future Sidekicks will be designed by a different company, or run a different operating system. What would you want to see in a new Sidekick? Tell us in the comments.

New Xbox 360 250GB review

When we first saw its face in a Italian ad, more than one Engadget editor called its bluff: “The top half doesn’t line up with the bottom,” some said, “that’s got to be Photoshopped.” While that early image was indeed CG, the form factor was certainly not — the new Xbox 360 sports enough sleek angles and disappearing curves we’ve taken to calling it the Stealthbox. As mother always told you, though, it’s what’s inside that counts; does that glossy exterior house any improvements, or is it hiding just another Xbox? Find out after the break.

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New Xbox 360 250GB review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft announces InstaLoad battery technology: never insert a battery the wrong way again

Microsoft has certainly had some ups and downs with its products over the years, but we’re pretty sure the company’s new InstaLoad technology falls somewhere between a home run and the best thing it’s ever done. It promises to do nothing short of redefine the way you insert batteries, and let you shove ’em into devices without any regard for positive or negative polarity. That’s apparently possible thanks to a patented battery contact design, which Microsoft says “simply works,” and is compatible with a whole range of battery sizes (both standard and rechargeable). What’s more, Microsoft is now already licensing the technology to third party device suppliers, and is even offering a royalty-free license for suppliers and manufacturers of accessibility products. Still no word on when the first devices using the technology will be available, but Microsoft already counts Duracell and flashlight-manufacturer AE Light among its partners. Head on past the break for the complete press release.

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Microsoft announces InstaLoad battery technology: never insert a battery the wrong way again originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What killed the Kin?

While the news today that Microsoft has killed its troubled Kin line didn’t come as the craziest of surprises, it’s definitely left a lot of lingering questions about just what happened. Now we may have a little insight into what went wrong — and what might be in store down the road — thanks to a reliable source of ours who’s shared some news on Redmond’s inner turmoil.

Apparently, the troubles started long before the swirling Pink phone rumors (and way before the name Kin was ringing in our ears). According to our source, the birth of these devices began with a decision at Microsoft to create a platform agnostic, cloud-centric featurephone. A featurephone that could be had at a relatively low cost, and sold to a burgeoning market of teens and young adults who had little need for a BlackBerry-level device (or pricing). The first step in the project was acquiring Danger to leverage the work it had done with the Sidekick platform, and aligning with Verizon as a launch partner who could offer attractive pricing plans for the devices to a big pool… and here’s where the trouble begins.

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What killed the Kin? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Kills Kin Line of Semi-Smartphones

MS kin.jpg

The Microsoft Kin, Microsoft’s widely panned line of semi-smartphones for text-happy teenagers, is dead – or at least it doesn’t have a future as a standalone product.

Microsoft on Wednesday released a statement suggesting that it’s cutting bait on the Windows Phone 7 spinoff and folding the project’s staff and technologies into the main body of Windows Phone 7.

Here’s the official word from Microsoft:

“We have made the decision to focus on our Windows Phone 7 launch and we will not ship Kin in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our Kin team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from Kin into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current Kin phones.”

4 Reasons Why Microsoft’s Kin Phones Failed

Microsoft’s attempt to be hip and cool in mobile is a bust. The company has decided to stop introducing new Kin-branded phones and will scrap the device’s European launch. Instead it plans to integrate Kin into its existing Windows 7 Phone team.

It will continue Kin sales in the United States, Microsoft said in a statement.

The move comes just two months after Microsoft introduced two phones under a new brand called Kin. The devices, called Kin One and Kin Two, were built with social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter at their core. Manufactured by Sharp for Microsoft, and available exclusively on Verizon Wireless, the phones were targeted at teens and social networking addicts.

But, from the start, Kin devices seemed doomed. The phones got tepid reviews and were plagued by reports of extremely poor sales.

Here are four reasons why we think the Kin failed:

Fuzzy Kin OS Creates Confusion

Microsoft has been pouring resources into beefing up Windows Mobile and seems poised to introduce Windows Phone 7 in time for holiday season this year. But in a surprise move, Kin made its debut in April running a flavor of the new operating system.

Kin’s OS isn’t exactly Windows 7 Phone but it’s not entirely a new operating system either, Microsoft executives attempted to explain. Call it a fork in the road of Windows Phone 7, they said at launch.

Kin had features such as easy sharing and automated backup that didn’t seem part of the announced Windows Phone 7 OS.  But that only confused mobile phone enthusiasts. Now Microsoft seems to realize splitting its OS brand could be a problem.

Microsoft executive Roz Ho who headed the Kin project, will “oversee” her team’s move into the Windows Phone 7 fold, and then move to another role in the company, says Engadget.

Expensive for an Incomplete Smartphone

The Kin isn’t a smartphone, but it sure had a monthly cellphone plan priced like one.

At launch, the palm-sized Kin One — which had a 2.7-inch screen — cost $50 with a two-year Verizon contract, while the Kin Two with its 3.5-inch display cost $100. A few weeks later, Verizon dropped the price on the two phones to $80 and $30 respectively.

Sounds cheap right? Not really. The fine print is in the monthly cellphone plan for the device. All Kin phones require a data plan. That means a $70 a month minimum on the bill.

For someone flipping burgers at McDonald’s for their summer job, that’s a lot of money to be handing over to a cellphone company.

If only Microsoft had offered all those social networking features on the Kin without requiring a data plan, Kin might have had a better shot at survival.

Microsoft executive Robbie Bach was confident enough to wear a pink shirt to the unveiling of the Kin, but it didn't save the phone — or his job.

No Apps, No Games

Though Kin forced a data plan on its users, they’re not really smartphones.

Kin phones have a browser and can access social networking sites through widgets. But Microsoft crippled the overall functionality of the device by not allowing apps or games on the phone.

That means users ended up paying for a smartphone but got an amped-up feature phone instead.

Consumers, even teens, are smarter than that. Many just gave the Kin a pass.

Lack of Cool Factor

Kin made a bold move into an extremely competitive cellphone market. But the devices lacked the cool factor and never really made it clear why a user would want a Kin over a Motorola Cliq or a HTC Hero.

Microsoft’s marketing of the Kin seemed to make it worse. The company focused on projecting a faux hipster vibe for the product.

Kin would be a device that would make it easy to share photos, videos and access social networking feeds, promised Microsoft’s ads.

However, almost every smartphone today can do that, and at times better than the Kin. At launch, Kin’s Twitter client, for instance, was half-baked. Users couldn’t view @ replies, search, or post photos. Similarly, Facebook features were limited to showing or posting status updates, though you could post photos.

What Microsoft failed to drive home were the truly innovative features of the phone — mainly the automated cloud backup. The Kin backs up the entire device, including photos, videos, message history and call log into a free online storage area that can be accessed from any browser — all without the user doing anything to trigger it. It’s a feature that can come in handy when the phone is dead or missing.

But you wouldn’t have known that from Microsoft’s Kin ads.

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Top photo: Kin One and Kin Two

Photos: Jim Merithew/Wired.com