KIN will be up for pre-order on Verizon’s website on 7th May

 

Alright people, we’re not sure if you’re waiting for this one or not, but Microsoft’s much hyped KIN, aka the “pink phone” will be available for pre-order on Verizon’s website starting tomorrow and will hit the Verizon store shelves on May 13th.

Now if you’re wondering if we’re excited about the KIN phones? To be quite honest, not that much. The phone isn’t that special, we’ve seen other phones around us do the same thing but the fact that the KIN One and Two are dedicated completely to social networking, it does send chills down the spine to some. Will it be an iPhone killer? Some people might say maybe, but we think it’s a straight forward NO. The KIN’s software is a cross between Windows Phone 7 and the Zune HD’s software, which turns out to be something really unique.

The phones are aimed at the youth, hence the funky and unique form factors. The data charges on Verizon for the KIN are $30 a month, that’s not that bad if you’re really going to shake the hell out of Facebook with the KIN, but it’s expensive if you’re just going to keep the phone in your pocket. KIN One will sell for $49.99 and the Kin Two for $99.99 after a $100 mail in rebate, that’s quite fair if you do receive your $100 rebate on time. In case if you’re feeling too lazy to order it online, you can get your hands on both these devices on Verizon stores May 13th onwards.

Nokia transfers Symbian development and 3,000 employees to Accenture, will downsize workforce by further 4,000

 

Nokia's already done quite a bit to cut ties with last year's big push for Symbian and Qt development, though this is perhaps the biggest step yet.
The Finnish company has announced it's transferring responsibility for Symbian development to consulting and outsourcing firm Accenture, which sounds odd given the latter outfit's inexperience in delivering mobile OS updates, but the good news is that the 3,000 devs Nokia had working on Symbian will continue their jobs under the new employer. That basically means that Nokia will live up to its unhappy promise that there'll be "substantial reductions in employment" within its own ranks, while still keeping the men and women responsible for updating Symbian employed. Unfortunately, there will still be a further 4,000 job cuts in the company's global workforce, primarily in Finland, Denmark and the UK, which will "occur in phases" between the beginning and end of next year. Nokia's agreement with Accenture also involves continued collaboration on delivering mobility software and services on the Windows Phone platform. You can read more about that in the PR after the break

HTC Arrive Now Available For $200 From Sprint, $150 At Amazon

 

HTC Arrive, previously known as HTC 7 Pro CDMA is set for orders by Sprint for $200. The phone is the first Windows Phone 7 device from HTC and was announced in October last year. A huge speculation is awaited for this handset too in response to outstanding record of HTC in smartphone manufacturing.

The $200 price is set for the HTC Arrive against a two-year contract with Sprint. However, Amazon, as usual, has placed the device on the shelves tagging a $150 price which undercuts the carrier’s official prices. And for other online retailers, there is no other option except to follow Amazon to stay in the business, if they want to.

If you are wondering that whether your money is going to bring a worthy device then be sure about it. For more satisfaction, checkout the key specs of HTC Arrive:

HTC ARRIVE SPECIFICATIONS
1. 3.6 inch 480×80 resolution touchscreen
2. 1GHz Scorpion processorhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
3. QWERTY Keyboard
4. 8GB (or 16GB) internal storage with no card slot
5. 576MB RAM
6. 512MB ROM
7. Microsoft Windows Phone 7
8. 5MP camera capable of HD video recording @ 720p

The price listed at Amazon does really worth far less than the above specs. So grab it at the earliest and let us know your first experience.

[VIDEO] Android vs. Windows Phone 7 vs. iPhone 4… in a grilling contest

WARNING: Do not try this at home. This video by EZGrill (YouTube) shows which smartphones can withstand the heat from a barbecue grill and last longest in the fire? Let’s take a look at the contenders, T-Mobile G2, HTC Surround and iPhone 4. And the winner is…? Source: EZGrill