Teen impressions of the KIN One and Two

Matt Miller has handed a KIN One and Two to two teens and asked them to record their impressions.  We have linked to the video earlier, but his blog post now also contains a more detailed write up by the girls. 

In contrast to the rather negative impression we had garnered from reviews earlier, the girls, 14 and 16, appear to take quite well to the devices.

One complains of some set-up issues…

“After putting in the battery and starting it up the set up and main operating was very confusing because it wouldn’t recognize my Gmail password. My dad had to help reset my password on my Windows Live account so I could login. I think they can make it a little more user friendly.”

and the other complained that the interface was confusing.

“After I turned it on started exploring it I was very confused at first. It was hard to navigate it and get used to, but after awhile I got the hang of it.”

They however soon found much to like about the devices.

I do enjoy the unlock screen when you have to flip a virtual page with a welcome message reading “Nice to meet you.” Under settings they have a very personalizable feature of color schemes including my favorite blue also green, red, and pink. Texting on the keyboard is very easy to text with and also I love the fact that it shows it as a conversation. I think the texting features will be very teenage friendly. But the music you have to have a Zune Pass to get music so I will need my dad to help me set that up on the computer. The volume button on the side is very handy and easy to operate. The camera seems to also be very high quality, compared to my other phones! After using the phone for a couple of hours I have started to really like this phone and have gotten used to the form factor and keyboard. The speed is quite brilliant compared to the HTC Touch Diamond since it doesn’t take as long of a time to get from place to place.

and

I like how when you update your status, you can upload the same status to all communities at once. The keyboard is easy to use and little pressure is required. The texting is in conversation bubbles which is my favourite feature so far. On the keyboard there is a button with a on it, upon clicking it a small menu pops up with quite a few different smiley face options, which is really cool and convenient. The camera is very nice and clear. It makes me want to take pictures and upload them because its so much easier then off the computer. When texting or calling someone you can get their phone number right off Facebook, avoiding the entering of all your contacts. The Myspace and Facebook parts of the phone are mainly about status updates and such, theres no really viewing of your profile or picture of others. It has few similarities to the website itself. And lastly, when you receive a text message it pops up on your screen as a bubbles shaped sticky note that you can click on immediately or ignore and exit out of. Overall my first impressions of the Kin 2 have been mostly positive and it seems to be a very teen friendly phone.

Read more at at Matt Miller’s ZDNet blog here.

Are the devices more suited to their intended demographic than we expect? Let us know your thoughts below.