Microsoft has withdrawn its social media focused phone “Kin” due to failing demand just two months after releasing it in the market.
Microsoft had launched the Kin One and Kin Two in May 2010, thinking it had found a niche among the younger crowd who were more absorbed with social networking sites and did not need business phones like Blackberry.
Microsoft curtailed Kin’s European launch and has moved its entire Kin workforce to focus on Windows Phone 7 due to be launched later in the year.
The product idea followed a much-hyped and secretive “Pink” project focused on the younger generation. As a result Microsoft decided to create a platform-neutral and cloud-centric phone. The plan came into motion after the acquisition of Sidekick maker Danger. But the product fell short of some basic features such as calendar.
The culprit that shortened its sales could actually be a faulty strategy. While the current smartphones are coming loaded with multiple features like entertainment, media and business features all rolled into one with options to further download applications to augment functionality, Microsoft focused on a specific feature – social networking – thus limiting the phone’s capacity. Also Kin barred any third-party applications.
The nail on the coffin could be the timing of the launch just a month before the launch of the much-touted iPhone 4G. Apple’s strategy to hook the younger crowd through its iPod and iTouch products could also be a hitch for Microsoft to break into the category – especially as the iPhone 4G is rich in multimedia features.
Also the pricing of the monthly data by Verizon could have killed the “download generation” kid’s phone. It was launched at a price tag of $49.99 and $99.99 for Kin One and Kin Two phones respectively at a discount of $100. Currently Kin One and Two are sold for $29.99 and $49.99, pretty affordable but Verizon, its carrier, was charging adult-sized price of around $85 for voice and data services, the same price its charges for regular smartphones.
The end of Kin though puts tremendous pressure on Microsoft to deliver a competitive product in the league of Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, it does seem the company is in a state of duress due to competition.
This article is copyrighted by International Business Times, the business news leader