Has anyone else honestly had GOOD luck with the Kin TwoM?

Question

I recently purchased a Refurb Kin TwoM off ebay...I havent yet activated it but I did want to pass this along to others (as I was curious about) that I WAS able to take my old Samsung Intensity to a VZW Store and they transferred all my contacts within about 5 minutes! I wanted to make sure that would work first before anything!  Also, I tested out the wifi @ home and Mcdonalds and it connected just fine!..its like a Wifi-Enable Mp3 player right now and it only cost me $40, so hopefully once i fully activate it the actual PHONE will work!  There are a few quirks Ive noticed like others have pointed out..such as the screen lock doesnt actually lock the volume controls on the side....and the browser is awesome for a basic phone but isnt quite as smooth or 'fluid' for webpages like our Ipod Touch is...(but you really shouldnt compare it to any smart' devices that like) Im not sure if its true for all Kin's but I havent been able to play videos offline like Youtube? anyone else have this issue? I also wish with there were some simple Apps like FB / Twitter/ Maps available but I suppose I cant expect too much!

Answer 1

I know I'm tempting fate by posting this, but yes, I've been quite happy with my KIN TWOm.
I got mine originally in June, 2011. A couple of weeks later, it dropped from the holster on a dirt path and must have hit a pebble or something, because a small section of the screen stopped working. VZW sent me a "Certified" replacement (cost me $99 because of the apparent physical damage), and it has been performing fine for the past 13 months.
Sure, there are some software quirks (It's Microsoft, remember?) but the benefits clearly outweigh those.  Probably the thing I miss most is the lack of any voice recording/command function.  But I love that it has WiFi, and the nice camera and 8GB memory let me take over 400 pictures when my normal camera was stolen on the second day of a trip to Europe.  The Zune music player is nice as well, and the e-mail client, while limited in function, is much nicer than the one on my previous phone.
As for the actual phone functions, I text more than I talk, and the physical keyboard is very nice for that. As for voice calls, I do that pretty seldom, but have not had any problem with dropped calls, volume, etc.
OK, the big elephant in the room is the "black screen" that seems to affect so many people. It's happened to me a few times as well. I think my background as a computer guy has helped me deal with this.  When this has happened to me, it's always been when the device was "sleeping", and just didn't want to wake up. Like maybe it wasn't recognizing the interrupt from the "back" button. In those cases, I've found that holding the button down a little longer, opening the keyboard, or briefly pressing the power button will get its attention. Or sometimes I just need to let the device rest for a minute or two and it manages to untie itself.  There have just been a very few times when I've had to do a cold boot (remove/replace the battery).
You also need to be careful as to how you put the device in your pocket or belt holster. Make sure that you don't position it in a way that the power button can be accidentally pressed when you sit down. There have been a few times when I take the phone out of my pocket and the little power off confirmation box is displayed. If that happens, be careful not to touch "OK" -- unless you want to power off.
Anyway, maybe mine is living on borrowed time, but overall I've been very happy with it so far.
I know there are others who have not had such a good experience, but this thread asked for people who were happy with their KINs, and I am.