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The after taste of the Kin failure might still be lingering in Redmond and the hearts and minds of Verizon execs, but that does not mean that the boys responsible for the ill-fated platform launch are planning to totally ditch the idea of having all your social news and feeds as well as phone life managed from a single location online.

Probably the most compelling feature about the Kin launch was the Kin Studio which allowed you to manage contacts, messages, Facebook feeds and Twitter feeds as well as photos and videos from a centralized location that could be accessed by ones browser.

Thanks to a vague job posting by Redmond based technology giant Microsoft, we have reason to believe that Microsoft is not totally shelving the idea of Kin Studio. According to the job listing:

Help us change the way people think about mobile phones. The Mobile Studio will redefine the mobile phone for millions of everyday users around the world. We are looking for an intuitive and driven User Interface Designer with the ability to conceptualize and lead the design of features built for mobile phones. This is an exceptional opportunity for someone who is excited about making a real impact on future mobile products and experiences.

The candidate will be part of a team that is responsible for extending and evolving the functionality of Windows Phone. We’re looking for someone that is forward-thinking and willing to challenge & provoke new ways to connect with our consumers. This position requires strong design, communication, and organization skills, and the ability to work across teams. You’ll also be expected to quickly broaden your technical understanding as new technologies become available. A deep understand of our customers and creating great product experiences is a must!

The candidate will work closely with a team of UI designers, industrial designers, user researchers, design managers, brand marketers and software engineers in a highly collaborative environment.

Of course the listing is very generic and it could mean nothing, but thanks to ZDNet’s Mary-Jo Foley who has had a good success rate of predicting Microsoft product features and what not, this will definitely be Kin Studio minus the Kin name and disappointment.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed and we’re hoping to hear some more information about this at next Month’s MIX event, so stay tuned.

Source: ZDNet

September is just a few months away and so is the launch of Windows Phone 7 (if earlier rumors are to be believed). The new platform from Microsoft is quite different from the previous Windows Mobile operating system and so is the target user base.

WP7’s main focus is on social networking, and while some users might appreciate the new approach, other could say that Microsoft has taken it too far.

There is nothing wrong about social networking on a smart phone; in fact, one can pretty much expect it. Integrated features for Facebook and Twitter are so commonplace that some smart phone buyers already consider if a basic feature. However, Microsoft has taken it one step further by choosing to replace certain aspects of the handset with social networking features –namely, the contact list.

This is where Microsoft might have stepped on a proverbial landmine. For most people, the friends list on Facebook is a collection of friends, family and “random acquaintances that would really help boost the number of people you get to play with on Facebook’s gaming applications”. That said; it is common that a mobile phone would have a more personal list of contacts. Microsoft takes away that distinction by placing everyone in a linked Facebook account into the smart phone’s contacts page.

Since the process is automated and there is no way of preventing it, the only other thing that people can do is to not associate a Facebook account in the OS.

Still, the OS manages to shine in many other aspects. The new UI design is both unique and impressive. But most old school users might not be able to adapt to the bleeding effect of the cut off text on top of the pages. The large empty space on the side might also throw off some users –especially those who want to fill up the entire screen with content.

As impressive as the new Windows Phone 7 mobile platform may be, many gaming fans are still disappointed that there is still no announced lineup of games that the smart phone operating system will be supporting.

This is a major factor that many gamers are considering. For the most part, the hardcore market of gamers are not always too keen on spending money for mobile phones, many would be happy with basic GSM handsets and simply allocate their money for great games or updates to the console. And with Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360 announced to be pretty pricey (as well as the new Xbox 360 “slim” type), they will need a very good reason as to why a gamer should also get a WP7 handset.

The integration of the Xbox Live Games service on the new OS did not really come as a surprise for the gaming industry; though many appreciated that existing accounts are reportedly useable in the new mobile platform. Despite this, there are some gamers concerned about the accumulation of gamer points and in game achievements as many still view the mobile app gaming industry as a casual gaming market. For points and achievements earned there to be counted along a player’s console rating is considered by some to be an affront to their skills.

As stated, there is still no announced lineup of games for the WP7 operating system. While it has already been demonstrated by Microsoft that games can be transferred from the phone to a computer or to a console, there are not titles that would be making use of the feature.

According to reports, Microsoft is offering various incentives to developers to create games for WP7 but with the production details becoming too complex for some independent creators, they still turned down the offer.

Microsoft is trying to drum up more hype for their upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform. Not only are they giving the public a few well-placed tidbits of information, they are also giving developers more of an incentive to work on projects for their upcoming entry.

In line with this, they have released new and improved policies for the Windows Phone Marketplace. This includes guidelines for the certification and application submission that will cover the upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform. Windows wants to open their doors (no pun intended) to independent developers, hobbyists and, possibly, new talent coming from schools.

Since the first Marketplace was introduced around eight months ago, the app store has shown promise in terms of customer base and reasonable terms for developers. They amped up the package with policies for an unlimited number of paid app submission, an annual registration fee of about 70 GBP that includes 5 free premium app submissions (14 GBP for succeeding apps) as well as a push notification service which is an optional asset for the developers.

To encourage students to try their hand on making their own apps, there is a free registration system for DreamSpark students which also has the 5 free premium app package.

For the benefit of both developers and consumers, a trial API is an optional inclusion in the package. This would mean that users would have to avenue to check whether they really want to buy an app after trying it out.

For a better market reach, Microsoft is also giving developers the means to publish their apps through a new “worldwide distribution” system which only has to be paid once.

Speaking of payment, a 70/30 scheme will be used in favor of the developers. It does seem like a hefty sum but at least Microsoft is transparent and reasonable about the policies. Hopefully they will not get Apple’s habit of spontaneous revisions.