Microsoft Kin Discontinued After 48 Days

[madjr]

Another ms phone failure




That didn’t take long.

Just 48 days after Microsoft began selling the Kin, a smartphone for the younger set, the company discontinued it because of disappointing sales.

The swift turnabout for the Kin, which Microsoft took two years to develop and whose release was backed with a hefty ad budget, is the latest sign of disarray for Microsoft’s recently reorganized consumer product unit.

It’s an absolute failure,” said Charles S. Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research

Microsoft said it would cancel the pending release of the Kin in Europe and would work with Verizon Wireless to sell existing inventories. Brenda Raney, a Verizon spokeswoman

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/technology/01phone.html?_r=1

another one bites the dust, go team android! woohoo :)

[madjr]

weird the thread didnt show up..

[Nano Geek]

It never had a chance really. It cost only a little less than the iPhone or Android phones, and it had a ton less features. Plus Microsoft did a horrible job advertising it.

[KiwiNZ]

We had Database issues .
Now fixed.

[tgalati4]

I'm disappointed. I expected MS to drop a couple of billion dollars to make Kin successful.

[Timmer1240]

Android is the way to go a friend of mine has one he loves it its like having a pc in your pocket simply amazing the technology these days!

[Simian Man]

I never even heard of it until now.

[dragos240]

I liked the shape and size TBH. But as for the phone, no thanks.

[tgalati4]

"Windows 7 on a phone. That's my Idea."

[Legendary_Bibo]

Did anyone besides me think the design looked kind of like those makeup things that women use? A compact I believe it's called. I thought it looked retarded and kind of uncomfortable.

[JDShu]

I was surprised by how fast it got axed too.

[Theft42]

Yeah it did kinda resemble a make up case thing haha... I thought it was a bad idea when i first seen it... I would def prefer the droid series of phones.

[McRat]

??? bounce

[McRat]

I hope somebody notified the next of kin. ;)

Problem was, it was already last week's fish by the time it hit the market. Zero innovation.
The market is flooded with very nice smartphones, and for a newcomer to hit it big, it's got to have something that the others don't.

The next 3 years will be pretty amazing. The phones sold today have better specs than many notebooks did in 2000. Who would have guessed?

[tgalati4]

MS should stick to what it does best: mice and keyboards.

[sudoer541]

Microsoft is starting to fail, i think they better just focus on Windows, their phones are getting dominated, and the xbox just had those pathetic breakdowns. Enough hardware and more software MS!
i think the phone market is just not for them


I know!!!!:p The Xbox has the highest failure rate compared to Nintendo and Sony PlayStation. :o

[sandyd]

We had Database issues .
Now fixed.

oh, THATS why I couldnt browse the forums properly on my phone this morning.... it showed that I was the only user online lol.

[Theft42]

My x-box was a paper weight after 2 months ha then I went to buy a PS3... MS = crap for hardware.

[JDShu]

MS should stick to what it does best: mice and keyboards.

I was told that Microsoft mice and keyboards are actually Logitech underneath.

[McRat]

I do know that Microsoft has their own mechanical engineering dept that does initial design. I've worked with them on various projects. The B/P's are Microsoft.

[Legendary_Bibo]

Hmmmm...what does MS do right? This isn't bashing, it's actually a logical question. Their game consoles have a high failure rate, their mice and keyboard are actually logitech's, their phone was a complete flop, and their OS is as functional as a wheel on your car made out of duct tape bound twigs. WHY DO THEY SUCCEED?!!!

[KiraLexi]

How is that not bashing? Can you tell me the major architectural flaws in the WinNT operating system? It seems like a pretty straightforward and decent RSX-11/VMS derivative to me.

[themarker0]

MS should stick to what it does best: mice and keyboards.

They do make nice mice....

[JDShu]

I do know that Microsoft has their own mechanical engineering dept that does initial design. I've worked with them on various projects. The B/P's are Microsoft.

I honestly don't know. The person who told me appeared to know what he was talking about.

[McRat]

I honestly don't know. The person who told me appeared to know what he was talking about.

Microsoft probably does outsource a lot of manufacturing, most large companies do. But they do have their own engineering design dept at a minimum. It's not like they just rebrand other products.

[amitabhishek]

This phone was nothing more than a distraction for Microsoft. They have redeployed the resources from Kin to their Mobile OS project (Can't recollect the name of that OS). IMHO good riddance!

[CJ Master]

I'm not surprised it failed. I haven't even heard of it until now, and I'm usually semi up-to-date with the latest gadget news. I never even saw an ad.

[madjr]

Hmmmm...what does MS do right? This isn't bashing, it's actually a logical question. Their game consoles have a high failure rate, their mice and keyboard are actually logitech's, their phone was a complete flop, and their OS is as functional as a wheel on your car made out of duct tape bound twigs. WHY DO THEY SUCCEED?!!!

if you are the first , you succeed in this industry, even with mid-low quality product

the first xbox failed, then the xbox360 was out 1 year before ps3, so it became much more popular than if it had launched later date.

sony was a bit too greedy with the blu-ray thing, but i guess that's where's the moneys at for them.

anyway, as long as msft competes fairly, copies less and innovates more and doesnt monopolize/imposes their will , then i can actually give them some support

just play nice and support open standards and you got my vote

[Giant Speck]

I had no idea the Kin phone was already a tangible product.

[Georgia boy]

You mean that it was for real? A real phone? Didn't look like it to me. Wow. I thought it was some kind of gimmick for one of those social sites.

Tom

[hansdown]

Excuse me sir,

Could ya' spare a penny?

http://thegadgets.net/technology-news/gadget-deals-microsoft-kin-one-now-available-for-a-only-penny/

[Legendary_Bibo]

Excuse me sir,

Could ya' spare a penny?

http://thegadgets.net/technology-news/gadget-deals-microsoft-kin-one-now-available-for-a-only-penny/

There's several phones being sold for only a cent on Amazon, but I think they're older phones, I think they do that with their phones.

For instance the Droid A855 is also only a cent.

[hansdown]

There's several phones being sold for only a cent on Amazon, but I think they're older phones, I think they do that with their phones.

For instance the Droid A855 is also only a cent.

The fees may make you wince.

Just sayin'.

[Giant Speck]

There's several phones being sold for only a cent on Amazon, but I think they're older phones, I think they do that with their phones.

For instance the Droid A855 is also only a cent.

It doesn't actually cost a penny. That's the subsidized cost after purchasing it with a Verizon contract. You end up paying the $500+ actual cost over time.

[Siph0n]

Not to resurrect an old thread, but the KIN is back. You can view it on Verizon Wireless's website. It actually has one nice feature, of wifi. It also does not require a data package, so from what I can tell it is the only wifi enabled feature phone that Verizon has.

[CJ Master]

I wonder how much longer it'll take for it to be discontinued again..

[earthpigg]

i love the official commercial on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHlN21ebeak).


Really: New Windows Phone 7 Official Ad

That "Really" can be read in several ways. The entire commercial, in fact, can be interpreted in a very fun(ny) way.