I had the opportunity to go to the KIN launch today. My colleague Charles Golvin has a full take here.

I loved the social networking features on the phone (and the graphical interface with the "spot" though I'd need a change-up on noises). This isn't the first phone we've seen where  the experience is centered on my friends and my contacts, but they keep getting better. We argued (see report) long ago as many did that the cell phone should be the hub of one's social graph and not simply an application on the handset. The KIN comes close and does many things well including:

– Offers status updates inside of my contact profiles which are "live" on my homescreen
– Allows the user to post photos directly from the phone
– Tags photos with location
– Allows me to choose one of many communication channels within profile (many options, but not my full list)
– Builds an online journal of my photos, videos, messages and contacts (looks to me a lot like the concept Nokia tried with their life blog application a while back)

What it is missing, but I suspect is in development:

– Tags (meta data) that allow me to build a richer social graph by tagging my photos with contacts, groups, trips, etc.
– Ability to help me find my friends
– Location tags integrated into maps that connect me to my friends' favorite restaurants, bookstores, etc. – or more generally their content – could also be photos, videos and posts