KIN gets minor Twitter update

Microsoft has quietly updated its KIN phone software with minor functional changes to Twitter. No official changelog or acknowledgement has been provided by Microsoft at this time. So far I have noticed the following changes:

• Twitter avatars now show up in the KIN Loop.
• The way Twitter statuses appear when you select them has changed. They now appear similar to Facebook and Myspace statuses, complete with a comment form and feed. Nothing shows up in this feed, and if you comment using the form it posts to your Twitter feed but not as a Twitter reply.
• Although you still cannot retweet, if your Twitter contacts retweet it will show up in the Loop.
• If you select a Twitter contact you can now see their profile bio, i.e. website, about, hometown, nickname and real name.
• You can now link Twitter contacts to your KIN contacts like Facebook/Myspace/Windows Live.
• Not sure if you could do this before, but you can now pin Twitter contacts to your Favorites. If you select one that isn’t linked to any other contact, instead of giving you “Call, Text, Open” it will take you to their profile bio (see above).

The software version is 1.0 build 2814.0. I’ve not been able to find what the original ship build number was, for comparison purposes. It appears this update was solely Twitter-focused, as I’ve not been able to find any other changes in the system. Since I’ve just noticed this update in the last couple of hours I can’t really comment on whether performance has improved, but I’m guessing it has not.

Although KIN was discontinued earlier this month, Microsoft has indicated that updates are forthcoming, including one that adds the ability to Twitter reply/retweet and see more than 3 Facebook pictures at a time. There has also been talk of adding the much-talked-about calendar and social networking notifications. Earlier this week it was reported that Verizon was liquidating its KIN stock, either by sending the units back or offering a buy-one-get-one free. According to Facebook, KIN currently has 9,705 users.