Redmond-based software giant Microsoft released a few months ago a new type of mobile phone, one aimed mainly at those users who live active socially connected lives, namely the Microsoft KIN handsets. Two such phones were brought to the market in the US, KIN One and KIN Two, available via Verizon Wireless, with a promise that European users would also be able to benefit from their features starting this autumn. However, it seems that there would be no European KIN after all.
Although Microsoft hopped that KIN would appeal a lot to a young audience, one that likes being connected to social networking sites at all times, it seems that things did not go as planned. Whether the capabilities of the two devices or the price tag (and the required service plan, of course) are the reason, the bottom line is that
KIN One and KIN Two are not selling as good as previsioned. Verizon lowered their price tags recently, and it seems that Microsoft decided it was high time to kill the project and move on to a more promising option, Windows Phone 7.
“We have made the decision to focus exclusively on
Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship Kin in Europe this fall as planned,” the company said in a recent statement, an
article on BGR notes. “Additionally, we are integrating our Kin team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from Kin into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the US to sell current Kin phones.”
One of the main issues with the purchase of a
KIN device from Verizon seems to be the monthly plan requirements. Over all, cost of the ownership of a KIN would equal the one for a handset in the carrier's DROID series. Since the latter devices are much more powerful and pack expanded functionality, it makes sense why users would rather go for an Android device instead of a KIN. However, things might change in Microsoft's favor as soon as KIN's relatives,
Windows Phone 7 handsets, arrive on shelves.
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