Company's social networking phones discontinued after just two months.
July 1, 2010
Remember back in April when Microsoft introduced KIN One and KIN Two, two mobile phones designed specifically for social networking-minded Generation Y-ers? Yeah, neither do we, which is why this week the company announced that they would be discontinuing the production, sale, and promotion of the devices, just forty-eight days after they were originally introduced.
The KIN had been development for two years under the codename Project Pink, rumors of which had been kicking around the enthusiast tech community for months as Microsoft's possible answer to the iPhone. When the products were finally revealed, reactions were unsurprisingly lackluster, as both devices were perceived to be under featured and outdated in terms of design. These opinions, it would seem, were shared by consumers, as the alleged reasoning behind Microsoft's discontinuation was poor sales momentum.
The death knell for the KIN began to sound when Verizon, the exclusive carrier of the phones in the United States, slashed the prices of the devices from $149.99 and $129.99 to $49.99 and $29.99 respectively earlier this month.
Microsoft has canceled their plans to ship the KIN phones to Europe and intends to work with Verizon to clear out existing stock.
For all the latest on smartphone technology and more, stay tuned to IGN.com.
MovieMiguel.com
