My service contract is up and I'm ready to get a new phone. I want a touch screen phone with no data plan and I'm turn between the Lg cosmos touch and the KIN 2m. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on the 2m and mostly positive reviews for the cosmos touch. I have held the cosmos touch in the store and really liked the feel of the phone, seemed very solid and well built. The stores in my area do not carry the 2m and they almost scolded me when I asked about it.
My current phone uses are just talk with very light texting, the camera on my current phone is so bad that I don't use it and it's not an mp3 player either. I would like my new phone to be a good talk phone with a decent camera and mp3 player which the 2m seems to have covered, but I do have a few questioned for you as follows.
1. With only 8Gig of memory probably less usable about how many songs will the 2m hold?
2. Does the phone feel well built and solid like the cosmos touch?
3. Does the radio use up your minutes or is it free?
4. How would you rate the camera?
I've only tried a Kin Onem, and have only picked up a Twom in a Verizon store, but I will try to help. If the features you will mainly use are camera and music player, I think you would be happy with a Kin Two. The Cosmos Touch camera is only 1.3 mp, so you might be disappointed.
I don't know about the music player on the Cosmos, but the Zune player on the Kins is really nice. The controls are easy to use and the album art and other extras make it eye-pleasing. You can put a lot of songs on a Kin with 8GB of memory, close to 2,000, depending on what else you have stored on the device (contacts, photos, etc.). Using the FM radio is free, and it has a nice scan option and shows the station, song and artist you're listening to. And it's very easy to subscribe to free podcasts through Zune. Do you go to a gym? One thing I like about the Kin is you can listen to music or use the radio to tune into TV audio.
As far as build quality, both the Kin One and Two seemed solid enough. I did see a Cosmos Touch in the store, and while I didn't pick it up, it did look solidly built as well. I would definitely read some reviews and visit a store to try them both. Whatever you decide, you do have 30 days to exchange or return a device if you don't like it, with a $35 restocking fee of course.
Edited to add: I did read where a few users said it was hard to focus with the Kin Twom camera. Because the button is at an angle (you can use an on-screen button too), the top screen section tends to push up and make for a shaky photo. I would think you'd learn how to best hold it to avoid this, and maybe some actual users here will comment on this.
posted a review earlier you might want to read.was on the fence also from reviews and not being able to physically hold the phone.but have it 2 weeks and love it! the zune radio is great,shows song/artist on some stations.only draw back is having to use the headphones as an antenna.live in a kinda rural area and get some static.the radio part of zune is free and great.as for the feel,its a very solid phone.dropped it on a carpet,no issues.the back battery case is a little "cheap" and thin feeling,but ordered a cas from amazon that was talked about in other posts,get 2 different color cases and screen protectors foor around 5$.the camera is awsome.when u connect to zune it downloads pics/video to your laptop the stores then in your 2m in albums automatically.like the way it stores new pics,stores them as recent,earlier,last month.etc.very easy to find.can do the pinch to zoom on the pics also.the phone is worth the price alone.as for the 8mb memory,i doubt i will every need that much ffor my uses.can zune the pics to laptop then delete off phone for some xtra memory
Had this phone about two weeks and really like it very much. Great camera and video, excellent picture viewer and mp3/radio player. For me the built in WiFi (no data plan) is awesome. Can go to Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and get full internet access. Touch screen is very responsive and fast. Wish it had numeric keys but using the ALT button is not a real problem.
A typical mp3 song track is about 5 to 8 megs. so you should be able to get 500 - 600 tracks without a problem into the phone
The phone has a real solid feel to it also.
Hope this helps
One thing people don't mention too much is that the user interface is based on an early version of Windows phone 7. I like it a lot and it is somewhat customizable. I find it more user friendly than the usual Verizon feature phone UI's. Since this is an early Windows pone 7 the hardware also mostly conforms to the Windows phone 7. That is why you have so many megapixels in the camera. The biggest drawback is not being able to use Verizon's backup assistant on the phone.
As for physical quality of the phones, the cosmos touch is better. It has a more durable feel to it. However, i would still pick the Kin 2m. The front of the phone is very rigid and strong, the only drawback to the Kin's physical quality is its battery door. It is thin and feels cheap. However, i put a Skinomi 'Techskin' on my phone yesterday, and i am very satisfied with it. Along with a few rubber bumpers on the inside of the battery cover, it makes the phone feel as solid as any other. As mentioned, cases are available for this phone, too. Their quality is pretty good, the only drawback is the slightly added bulk. However, with the Techskin (similar to Zagg's invisibleshields..only better), i feel like i have adequate protection for the phone. It also fixes the slippery feeling of the battery door texture. The skinomi skins cost $10 for the screen only, and $18 for the full skin (front and back). It has a lifetime replacement warranty too, and from reviews i've read, their customer service is good enough to hold you to that.
I would recommend the Kin 2m. Your phone needs are very similar to what i was looking for about a month ago when i upgraded phones: calling/texting, and a camera (and in your case, an MP3 player). Its call quality is exceptional in my opinion, both the earpiece and speakerphone. The camera is top-notch, @ 8mp and HD video. You do have to hold the phone still while taking the picture, but that is the same with any phone camera (their shutter speeds are quite a bit slower than regular cameras). It has fully incorporated Zune player in it, along with FM radio (the radio is free, but you do have to plug in headphones to use it; it uses the headphones as an antenna). The 8 GB is plenty big for me. As for how many songs it can hold, it will vary from the quality of the music you have. Standard is 160 kbps, but for me personally, i can drop it all the way down to ~112 and still not notice the decrease in sound quality (i'm pretty sure the Zune software has a way to do this, i'm not familiar with it though, i know iTunes can do it though..). That allows me to add 1.5x more music to the same amount of storage space. Create a few playlists and add your favorite albums/artists, and you'll still have plenty of storage.
"Edited to add: I did read where a few users said it was hard to focus with the Kin Twom camera. Because the button is at an angle (you can use an on-screen button too), the top screen section tends to push up and make for a shaky photo. I would think you'd learn how to best hold it to avoid this, and maybe some actual users here will comment on this."
dont even bother using that horrible button.
load camera app from screen to view pictures.
swipe slide screen over to reveal camera, other way shows albums
use on screen button to take pictures.
tap screen to get menu to goto video or stills.
set pone to night mode to turn on flash for video in dark places.
records video in max of one minute blocks at 720p
I use the physical camera button all the time. Once you put a case on the phone, or a protective skin, the button is actually quite easy to push. You also have to 'learn' to hold the phone, but i can do it with one or both hands. It definitely could be a better design, but i would rather use the physical button than the touchscreen. You just have to make sure you are mainly holding the backing of the phone, not the screen half. Otherwise, yes, it will slide open like people have said, but i haven't had any problems with it. And the camera does have a burst mode, where it takes 3 successive pictures.
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