Microsoft Kills the Kin

adeelarshad82 writes "The Microsoft Kin is dead, or at least it doesn't have a future as a standalone product. Microsoft released a statement suggesting that it's cutting bait on the Windows Phone 7 spinoff and folding the project's staff and technologies into the main body of Windows Phone 7. For now, it seems like Verizon Wireless will continue to sell Kin phones. But with the Kin team essentially disbanded, it's hard to see future updates and support for the line being a priority within Microsoft."

Comments

Not surprising

[Anonymous Coward]

The Kin can be summed up with the following:

a.) Name was horrible and made no sense.
b.) What was the point of the device again?
c.) Ads were annoying and made no sense

So in essence this is just another typical Microsoft device. le'sigh.

Re:Not surprising

[lgw]

So this was basically the Zune of phones?

Re:Not surprising

[LanceUppercut]

Yes. Except that it did not have the huge sales numbers of Zune.

Re:Not surprising

[Strudelkugel]

YABF - Yet Another Ballmer Flop.

When is the Microsoft board going to get a clue and send him off to pursue "personal interests"?

Then his kids will say "Can we get iPhones now?"

Re:Not surprising

[RazorSharp]

Yes. Except that it did not have the huge sales numbers of Zune.

Triple digits would be quite a feat.

Re:Not surprising

[Anonymusing]

If Kin is dead, would Windows Phone 7 be the next of kin?

Re:Not surprising

[suomynonAyletamitlU]

d.) The hardware is ugly as sin. What the hell were they thinking?
e.) Why were they making it a separate OS platform to begin with? Is that just an admission that they couldn't modify any of their existing or in-development mobile platforms enough to accommodate the new features?

Re:Not surprising

[UnknowingFool]

From what I know the Kin wasn't a good product missing social features despite being marketed as a social phone.

• No apps or app store
• No calendar or way to sync a calendar
• No IM client even though the ROM supported AOL IM, MS IM, and Yahoo IM
• No spelling correction or corrective text
• No expansion slots
• Only syncs contacts with Facebook and Hotmail directly but not Yahoo. Gmail is through a workaround

The Zune was a decent player but it was always behind the iPod. The original Zune was on par with the iPod Classic at the time but it didn't really differentiate itself. The only major advantage of the original Zune (squirting) was so crippled as to be useless as a feature. The 2nd gen Zune were much better than the iPod Classic. Unfortunately they were not better than the iPod Touch which released a month before them. With the Zune HD, MS finally has matched the iPod Touch. The problem is that in all the iterations of the Zune, MS never developed the Zune to be more than a media player whereas Apple has designed and marketed the iPod Touch as a media and app platform. Apps give the Touch much more functionality that the Zune can't match and it appears that MS is years away from even starting to match this.

Let me be the first

[Nova Express]

What the hell was the Kin? Never heard of it before.

And let me add insult to injury:

(Sent from my iPhone.)

Re:Let me be the first

[jaymz2k4]

It was microsofts attempt to woo the facebook generation. The fact you have never heard of it probably means the targeted marketing was done competently.

Re:Let me be the first

[JustOK]

what's wrong with courier?

Good

[GreatDrok]

It was a 'kin stupid name. I don't know what the 'kin 'ell they were 'kin thinking. 'kin idiots.

Well, that was fast

[wandazulu]

I can't think of any other product that Microsoft made that fell out of its graces so quickly. I think even Microsoft Bob got a year in the stores before it was "retired".

hate to be a hater but,

[Daneurysm]

...it is rather enjoyable to watch Microsoft these days...I understand that the new boss is probably same as the old boss. But, damn, it's down right fascinating to watch it all unfold.

Re:hate to be a hater but,

[Daneurysm]

To be honest, if Microsoft didn't exist until recently I bet they'd be a very innovative and nimble company.

...so much baggage in that company. Think of all of the windows tablets...it was the general consensus that tablets were an answer searching for a question. Someone else made that happen. Think of how long ago Windows phones started appearing. They tried so hard and perhaps succeeded very successfully to maintain their 'windows experience' across these three 3rd cousins platforms...to no avail.

Nearly 2 million Iphone4's sold in a few days time, over 100,000 Android activations a day, "blackberry" is now a verb...Hell, even the great-grandchild of the Palm Pilot made a more significant dent in the market years after schooling Microsoft in a different (but related) market years earlier.

...such interesting times.

But??? But???

[olsmeister]

How will I know when ?uestlove is having a free concert in the park?

Why did they release it?

[MrEricSir]

The real question here isn't so much why did they get rid of it -- that's pretty obvious -- but why they released this product in the first place? Is their management really so out of touch they thought this had potential?

Re:Why did they release it?

[iluvcapra]

why they released this product in the first place? Is their management really so out of touch they thought this had potential?

They paid a small fortune to buy Danger and the Sidekick platform, and couldn't admit that they got taken and bought something that was obsolete, if transiently popular at the time they bought it. Notice that Robbie Bach, MS VP of entertainment and devices, the guy who made the call to buy Danger, was eased out of the company a few weeks ago.

Re:Why did they release it?

[wickerprints]

Danger/Sidekick was a thriving platform long before MS bought it and ran it into the ground. Under the right management, it could have been THE dominant mobile device for the 15-25yo market. Problem is, neither Danger nor MS anticipated the impact of the iPhone. They had a good thing going--the Hiptop has been around since 2002; the platform was innovative and mature. The first iPhone came out, sans 3G, in 2007, and the App Store didn't even exist until mid-2008, a few months after MS acquired Danger. There was PLENTY of time to adapt and compete. And it didn't happen.

Then MS mismanagement caused the server failure and data loss in late 2009 that basically killed what little was left of the Sidekick. The real story here is not that MS got taken--it's that they not only failed to capitalize on their acquisition, but they actively fucked up what assets they acquired. They basically let the Sidekick wither on the vine by diverting resources to develop "Project Pink," which is--wait for it--the Kin. Worked out really well, didn't it?

MS *has no mobile strategy.* NONE. They are flailing desperately, and this latest debacle has only proven to the consumer that MS mobile products are NOT to be trusted. As a consumer, what does hearing this news tell you? MS might as well post a gigantic banner saying, "if you buy our phones today, don't count on them being supported tomorrow." Windows Phone is next to die.

People like to make fun of Steve Jobs and his "reality distortion field." I think the real RDF is around Ballmer, who has surrounded himself with lackeys and yes-men, executives who are in it for the money. There is this pervasive belief that MS can compete in any tech market by way of throwing money at every situation--that they can succeed simply because they are MS. Those tactics may have worked a decade ago, but times have changed.

Cutting Bait?

[frostfreek]

I don't understand fishing metaphors! Seriously. What is that supposed to mean?

Re:Cutting Bait?

[dangitman]

I don't understand fishing metaphors! Seriously. What is that supposed to mean?

I think it's when you realize you just slept with an underage girl (jailbait) and knife her to death so she can't tell anyone about it.

Re:Cutting Bait?

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

When you are fishing, sometimes the line gets snagged on a underground log or weeds. You can struggle for a while trying to get it free, but at some point to get on with fishing you have to cut the line and attach a new hook complete with new bait. Or sometimes your bait just isn't working for the conditions for what ever reason, to switch to new bait, you'd have to cut off the old bait. So basically it means one will be trying over again with a new approach by admitting a previous mistake.

Re:Cutting Bait?

[paiute]

When you are fishing, sometimes the line gets snagged on a underground log or weeds. You can struggle for a while trying to get it free, but at some point to get on with fishing you have to cut the line and attach a new hook complete with new bait. Or sometimes your bait just isn't working for the conditions for what ever reason, to switch to new bait, you'd have to cut off the old bait. So basically it means one will be trying over again with a new approach by admitting a previous mistake.

I always thought the metaphor of cutting bait was slicing up other fish to use as bait, so cutting bait was preparing to fish as opposed to actually fishing. In that sense, fish or cut bait is a polite equivalent to shit or get off the pot.

Next of Kin?

[BearRanger]

That would be Windows Phone 7. Thanks to Android it's likely to meet a similar fate.

Stop laughing, it's a serious mental illness

[straponego]

They just can't help themselves, especially in mobile. It's like, if they ever stick to a plan for a full year, we'll all know what they're up to! Can't have that. Call it the Sun syndrome...

But on the bright side, one of their employees has come to the conclusion that, in principle anyway, it would be good if their software worked. And was easy to use.

http://www.crn.com/software/225701869

So maybe they'll give that a shot soon.

Recurring was the death knell

[fermion]

When I saw the ads I thought the Kin was something that MS did right. I am surprised that they did not succeed. The massive ad campaign should have been enough to make a dent. What I did no realize is that to use the phone the way it is intended, with unlimited texting and such, the recurring billing from Verizon would be well over $100 a month.

This is a phone for kids and young adult. How many of these are able to afford more than $100 a month for a phone. My first mobile phone was $50 a month, and that was when I was working at higher than minimum wage. Sure the ads depict kids with unlimited resources who can afford to take cabs around the city and fly all over the country, but that is like a TV where people with no visible means of income can afford spacious NYC apartments. No one takes it seriously, or maybe they did.

I think this is another case of people worshiping verizon no matter how little sense it makes, thinking that if they can cut a deal they wil automatically become successful. I keep asking if one wants to sell phones to a market that does not already have smart phone saturation, why not go for Cricket or Boost? They could keep the recurring to something a young adult could have a chance of keeping up with.

Re:Recurring was the death knell

[Darkness404]

How are you surprised? What did the Kin do when compared to Android? For about the same price, someone could have gotten an Android phone, lets see here:

Apps, Android has a lot, Kin had none.

Flash, depending on the phone Flash could be possible on the Android phone, it was impossible on the Kin

Browser, I have no doubt that Android's browsers were better than what was on the Kin

Etc.

The only thing that would have saved the Kin would be a reduced price data plan which didn't happen. It wasn't Verizon that was the main problem it was a phone that did less than the comparable Android phones for the same required data plan. Yes, Verizon could have easily helped it work, but it was MS that created such a niche-less device in the first place.

As for the $100 statement, when you figure in all the things it can replace its probably cheaper today to get an "everything" plan than a home phone, cable and internet plan, plus, its a lot more convenient.

I've seen some Silmaril actions before

[The_mad_linguist]

Well, I suppose we'll be calling Ballmer "Fëanor" now.

Throw stuff at the wall. . .

[RazorSharp]

until something sticks. That seems to be their current strategy with cell phones, and unfortunately, despite this individual failure, with their money and resources, I have a feeling something will stick eventually. For every Clippy and Bob and ME and Vista there is an XP and 7. Hrmm, okay, no alternative to Clippy and Bob ever took off. But hell, Office is still raking in dough.

Re:Throw stuff at the wall. . .

[Darkness404]

Microsoft seems to be willingly blind to what their users want and what is out there though. It seems to take a financial failure before they will wake up. Simply doing a crap job copying an existing product isn't going to earn you any customers, you have to be better and that is where Microsoft's things fail in most cases. And yes, Office is making MS quite a bit of money, but once word gets out about Google Docs and OOo, the case to use Office keeps on becoming less and less for most users.

I don't see Microsoft making a decent phone anytime soon because it keeps trying to emulate BlackBerry, the iPhone, Android and WebOS and failing at all of them. Microsoft will never get the reliability of BlackBerry OS, Microsoft can never reach the cult-like status of Apple, it can't just decide not to include a major feature like Flash, Multitasking, copy/paste, etc. until a future software update and expect people to buy it, Microsoft can never reach the level of appeal of the Google cloud services nor the openness of a Linux-based OS, and Microsoft will try, but fail to reach the level of ease of use of WebOS just like they tried to copy OS X and failed.

Re:Maybe I'm just not in a cutting-edge market...

[Facegarden]

... but I've only been seeing ads on TV for the Kin for about 2-3 weeks....

That's the crazy thing... it's only been *on the market* for 2-3 weeks. They basically killed it right away.

Engadget covered this a bit better, but basically through bad project management, they delayed the whole thing by 18 months, and a LOT has changed in the smartphone space in that time. If they had come out with it 18 months ago, it might have made sense.

Now even microsoft is coming out with a new mobile OS, it really doesn't make sense to support two, and Verizon was pretty upset that microsoft delayed it so long, so they didn't give microsoft the low plan pricing they originally planned for.

All in all, it never made sense to anyone, and now its gone. Its like the palm Foleo all over again.

-Taylor

How could you..

[liber9]

Slashdot, how could you miss the chance for the headline, "Microsoft kills it's Kin"?

Re:How could you..

[Anonymous Coward]

Because that would be grammatically incorrect. You want its, not it's.

Re:How could you..

[revlayle]

... and that would stop Slashdot how?

Why bother trying anything else they offer?

[OgGreeb]

IMO Microsoft just made their mobile platform problems worse. They spent all that time, money and effort to roll Kin out,
made deals with other companies, blew out a huge advertising campaign, and then waited all of about a nanosecond to
kill it.

Every Kin cell phone buyer is now locked into a (usually) 2 year contract to use and pay for a phone with no future. Didn't
they do the same thing with OEMs and end-users of their DRM'ed PlaysForSure music?

Why in the world would anyone be stupid enough to skip over all that and buy into Windows 7 Phones? -- Because *this*
time they'll get it right and not drop the tech at the first sign of turbulence?

Re:Why bother trying anything else they offer?

[samkass]

Every Kin cell phone buyer is now locked into a (usually) 2 year contract to use and pay for a phone with no future.

I'm sure they'll both be pissed.

Was kin the phone where they had the ad where

[NotSoHeavyD3]

the guy was kind of stalking his ex-girlfriend or something? Wow, who'd imagine that would fail?

Something with a future?

[mcrbids]

Microsoft has a really tough time coming up with anything with a future outside of Windows Desktops. Even that was suspect for a while when Vista sucked so horribly badly for so godawfully long.

They've had OVER A DECADE to get Windows Mobile "right". I have a Winmo 6.0 phone, and while it's quite capable, it's also clear that a designer never got anywhere NEAR it. Buttons move randomly. It's slow. Some buttons (EG: green "call" button) work the same everywhere except where they do something else - a result that's immensely maddening. I could be looking at a number that I KNOW is a cell phone, but I have no way to simply send a text message to it without exiting everything and go back in through contacts... as one of too many examples to name.

Future?

Remember Plays4Sure? It was Microsoft's answer to the iTunes store, and it almost worked. Numerous music manufacturers were beginning to rally behind it, until Microsoft came out with their Zune, which didn't use PlaysForSure at all. Instead, it had its own marketplace!

How much louder of a vote of "no confidence" could Microsoft give their own product than to refuse to use it in their own development? To this day, you can't buy music with Microsoft's music store and have it work on their own player.

You can't make up this kind of ineptitude.

Verizon was the problem

[jonwil]

The moment Verizon decided that they would require a $30 per month data plan for the Kin, it was dead in the water.