Microsoft to kill off Kin phones

[maflynn]

I don't see how anyone could have bought it with a $30/month price tag. It's not a smart phone, I don't understand why Verizon would have treated it like one...

That I think is the crux of the failure. The concept was interesting and may have drawn the young crowd, but pricing it like a smart phone but having no smart phone abilities was absurd, besides. The crowd that they were marketing this for, does not have the deepest pockets, so charging them a lot and NOT giving them the same abilities of an iPhone/android phone was absurd.

 

[-Ryan-]

Most tech blogs who have previewed it were quite impressed.

Bollocks.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/05/kin-one-and-two-review/

http://www.mobileburn.com/gallery.jsp?Id=9380

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/13/microsoft-kin-review-phot_n_574697.html

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...-on-microsoft-kin-two-review-683598?artc_pg=3

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/05/05/microsoft-kin-two-preview/

http://gizmodo.com/5531082/microsoft-kin-review-the-best-cellphones-youll-never-buy

http://solution.allthingsd.com/20100504/microsoft-kin-phone-review/

Being impressed with the idea is different than being impressed with the device. Much can be said when the worlds biggest Microsoft fanboy, Paul Thurrott didn't even bother with a review.

 

[maflynn]

Being impressed with the idea is different than being impressed with the device. Much can be said when the worlds biggest Microsoft fanboy, Paul Thurrott didn't even bother with a review.

Agreed, the idea was unique and could have been succuessful if it wasn't for the failed execution of that idea.

No matter what you say about MS how much windows 7 and software has improved. They have a miserable hardware track record, they can develop software, but design, build and sell hardware - nope.

 

[chrmjenkins]

Bollocks.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/05/kin-one-and-two-review/

http://www.mobileburn.com/gallery.jsp?Id=9380

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/13/microsoft-kin-review-phot_n_574697.html

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...-on-microsoft-kin-two-review-683598?artc_pg=3

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/05/05/microsoft-kin-two-preview/

http://gizmodo.com/5531082/microsoft-kin-review-the-best-cellphones-youll-never-buy

http://solution.allthingsd.com/20100504/microsoft-kin-phone-review/

Being impressed with the idea is different than being impressed with the device. Much can be said when the worlds biggest Microsoft fanboy, Paul Thurrott didn't even bother with a review.

I'm not really surprised following the news last week that under 500 had been sold. It was doomed really --- especially after the poor reviews. Doesn't bode well for Windows Phone 7, which in my opinion looks equally as bad.

Most tech blogs who have previewed it were quite impressed.

Why would I have said previewed for a device already on the market?

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Bollocks.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/05/kin-one-and-two-review/

http://www.mobileburn.com/gallery.jsp?Id=9380

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/13/microsoft-kin-review-phot_n_574697.html

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...-on-microsoft-kin-two-review-683598?artc_pg=3

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/05/05/microsoft-kin-two-preview/

http://gizmodo.com/5531082/microsoft-kin-review-the-best-cellphones-youll-never-buy

http://solution.allthingsd.com/20100504/microsoft-kin-phone-review/

Being impressed with the idea is different than being impressed with the device. Much can be said when the worlds biggest Microsoft fanboy, Paul Thurrott didn't even bother with a review.

I have not read those reviews but something I did get from the ones that I did read was they though it was a great feature phone and that it was being prices wrong. A lot of them bashed Verizon for charging smartphone data prices for it. They agreed seem to think the idea was good and it was a great feature phone.

I think if it was priced as a feature phone it would of done a heck of a lot better.

Now WP7 could easily be great. We will find out in a few months. Personally I will stick with blackberry and Android.

 

[weckart]

Agreed, the idea was unique and could have been succuessful if it wasn't for the failed execution of that idea.

No matter what you say about MS how much windows 7 and software has improved. They have a miserable hardware track record, they can develop software, but design, build and sell hardware - nope.

Mice, keyboards, webcams and latterly also the Xbox. It doesn't do so bad. You might want to revise that nope because there is plenty Apple can learn from Microsoft when it comes to input devices.

 

[Alvi]

I actually liked them, never saw one, I'm not in the US but the problem is that they didn't sell it elsewhere, in the US the iPhone is not such a "high end" device as it is here or Europe, and the Kin is a cute little thing for kinds with social network obsessions

 

[maflynn]

Mice, keyboards, webcams and latterly also the Xbox. It doesn't do so bad. You might want to revise that nope because there is plenty Apple can learn from Microsoft when it comes to input devices.

Mice and keyboards, but not too much though goes into them.

xbox. They seem to have a lot of problems with the xbox, some sort of red eye failure of some sort.

So no need to revise my post. MS has an extremely poor track record when it comes to hardware.

 

[PerfSeeker]

Does anyone think MSFT can rebound back to being a growth company? Alot depends I think on revitalization of confidence in Windows as well as kick-ass WP7 devices and Kinect. The next 12 months is critical I think.

 

[Schtumple]

Does anyone think MSFT can rebound back to being a growth company? Alot depends I think on revitalization of confidence in Windows as well as kick-ass WP7 devices and Kinect. The next 12 months is critical I think.

They're doing it with 7, so I can't see why not, but they do need to act fast, they've lost so much ground in the mobile area.

 

[jsf8x]

Lol that was ridiculously short for a product lmao

 

[PerfSeeker]

Microsoft employees must be feeling mentally destroyed these days. It must be downright embarrassing to say "I'm a Microsoft employee" and everyone snickers. Contrast with , and everyone knows you work for a genius company.