Microsoft KIN Canned Seven Weeks After Launch

For those of you that don’t keep close tabs on the smartphone market, Microsoft recently released the KIN which was a watered down smart phone targeted at teenagers. When I say watered down, it was watered down to the point of becoming a feature phone (you couldn’t install apps on it and there was no app store either). Shockingly, Microsoft discontinued the device a mere 48 days after its US launch and cancelled its European release.

To further dampen the US release of the KIN, the plans released did nothing to encourage uptake of the device and many analysts were puzzled as to why someone, especially a teenager, would sign up pay more for a device that had very limited functionality compared to a mainstream smartphone. Most teenagers these days should take like a duck to water with top shelf smartphones – watering down a smartphone may be more sensible for the elders amongst us who find that a Nokia 1110 poses a bit of a challenge.

Embarrassingly, it was rumoured that Microsoft had only sold 500 units as of just under two weeks ago (yes, that’s five hundred). Of course, Microsoft has not confirmed nor denied this figure (or Verizon, the partner carrier in the US, for that matter). I guess Amazon is trying to get the bad smell out of its own house by offering the KIN for one penny on a mobile contract with Verizon.

In amongst all of this seemingly bad news, Microsoft has announced that it intends to absorb KIN resources into the development and launch of Windows Phone 7 due later this year. As to what influence this move will have upon what seems to be a highly polished mobile OS already remains to be seen.