Microsoft Kin phones dumped after failing to make friends

Social phone struggled to gain mates

Microsoft Kin phones dumped after failing to make friends

30 June 2010 22:42 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Microsoft has pulled the plug on its range of "social" handsets the Microsoft Kin One and Microsoft Kin Two.

"Microsoft has made the decision to focus on the Windows Phone 7 launch and will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. 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 U.S. to sell current KIN phones”, Microsoft said in a statement sent to Pocket-lint.

Although the statement doesn't give a reason as to why the company has pulled the plug on the phones that it only launched in April, it would be easy to draw poor sales as the overriding conclusion for the decision.

In April, the situation was very different. Microsoft launched the handsets with a glitzy press launch for the devices, teaming up with Verizon in the US and Vodafone in UK, telling the world that this was the perfect social phone for the 20-something hipster keen to keep in touch with their mates.

However, in the real world that vision hasn't translated into reality and like the Palm Pixi, Verizon has struggled to sell to that elusive "20-something hip crowd" it was designed for.

As Microsoft says in the statement, it means the handsets will not be making it to the UK as was originally planned.

The Kin is dead, long live the Kin. 

Do you think Microsoft was right to can the handsets? Were you looking forward to getting one later this year? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Full tags
Phones, Microsoft, Microsoft Kin, Microsoft Kin One, Microsoft Kin Two, Mobile phones, Windows Phone 7

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