News · 13 Apr 2010 · MTW Editorial Team
I asked Microsoft if they could tell me which Tegra chipset was used in the KIN handsets and finally got an answer: it’s the Tegra APX 2600. I basically wanted to make sure that it was not the 2500 version (see full KIN specs here). The APX 2600 is indeed the same SoC used in the Zune HD so it should be pretty clear now that the underlying OS used on the KIN handset is closer to the Zune OS than it is to WP7 (which doesn’t use the same Kernel). One has to wonder why Microsoft didn’t announce some kind of A/V connector for the KIN Phones to output HD content bought in the Zune Marketplace orsShot with the 8Mpix camera of the KIN TWO. It would be great if their was a HDMI dock similar to the Zune HD one IMO.
When it comes to world wide availability of the handsets, Microsoft has already announced that Vodafone is set to launch them in Germany,Spain, italy and the UK. Microsoft didn’t ink a deal yet with French operators yet, but they expect/hope to release them this fall. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft is going to deal with the nearly simultaneous launch of Windows Phone 7 and KIN in Europe. The Zune Pass/Marketplace will also officially launch in Europe at the same time. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean the Bing is going out of beta in those countries (expect in the UK where it’s already out of beta), Microsoft told me that the Bing roadmap isn’t tide to the Windows Phone 7 and Kin launch in Europe.
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