On Wednesday, Microsoft put the kibosh on its Kin phone. The software giant said it would turn its attention to Windows Phone 7, the company’s smartphone operating system planned for release later this year.
Microsoft’s touchscreen phone offered a compact form factor with software that aimed to help users discover, share and interact with friends and family online. It targeted younger demographics with capabilities such as allowing users to organize and view their social-media feeds, video, messages and other content.
With the Kin, Microsoft pushed a multimedia experience, including a built-in Zune player. What was missing from the Kin that’s available on the iPhone and Android-powered devices is the ability to run third-party apps. In the age of app mania, analysts said that missing feature could have contributed to lower sales. The phone sold through Verizon Wireless in the U.S. — albeit only for 48 days.
“We are integrating our Kin team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from Kin into future Windows Phone releases,” the company said. Microsoft will continue working with Verizon Wireless to sell out the stock of Kins.
Bad Timing, Bad Pricing
Michael Gartenberg, a partner at Altimeter Group, said we may never hear the whole story about why Microsoft killed Kin. As he sees it, the product was conceptually sound for its target demographic. The timing, execution and the service price point, however, made it difficult for the Kin to compete in what is becoming an overcrowded smartphone market.
“Tagging Kin with a full smartphone service price point for a product aimed at a youth market is ultimately what did it in,” Gartenberg said. “The Kin needed to have feature-phone pricing to be effectively competitive in that space. The fact that Microsoft and Verizon couldn’t get to that price point made it a…