We all thought the Wii was going to be a failure and although in its case it took motion tracking/gaming to new heights, much can be said with how social networking has become a core part of the industry/society and why the Kin is Microsoft's platform for this so called "niche".
Maybe Microsoft truly feels their is an untap market with the young crowd as Nintendo gave birth to mainstream casual gaming and in the process got minted even more.
Its all about pricing, marketing, and support for the platform that will determine its success.
@StewieGriffin just to add to the comment, at the moment the price plan seems ridiculous but ultimately I'm sure verizon and Microsoft will be watching the public's reponse to sales to figure out the sweet spot that will make it afordable and profitable. They obviously are forgetting the point of such device and looking at it from a smartphone perspective which is completely stupid on their part.
If Verizon and Microsoft knew what was best for them, they would have released this with either free data (I can't imagine especially with the 15 min update it uses too much) or the $10 "multimedia phone" plan. This phone does nothing a real smartphone does and yet costs the same. Their is an argument that people pay for simplicity and look to apple as the example. But people are only willing to pay more for less features if it does those features better than anything else, and the kin does nothing better than anything.
@StewieGriffin It's just the thing is that they failed at even the pricing. I would rather a Droid Incredible at that price. Also the fact that it can't really receive any support. MS has blocked third party support. However, the marketing seems alright, but the plainness of the phone will probably cause most people's eyes to skim over it. All in all, it is too early to judge whether or not it is a failure financially, but it is certainly a failure in hardware at the moment. An app program may be able to save it but right now things are not looking up.
@Radukk I imagine they need a standard plan because for all the things it is missing, it has a browser, uploads hi-res photos, surfs the web and up/downloads social net content and zune tunes, which is probably the majority of bandwidth of most real smartphones. A cheap plan would expose the carrier to risk in case unimaginably this POS were to be successful. Which they kind of ensured it won't be..
@StewieGriffin yeah but the thing no one believed about the wii was the concept...the motion controller worked. This review makes it sound like the concept is iffy...but it doesn't matter because the hardware and software don't even function in a usable way.
@NYNY Wii is great because of the games which are just gamecube remakes, most popular being all the marios. Those games could play without stupid notion control
@StewieGriffin I dont think the Wii and Kin can be compared in similar ways.... Will brought something new to the market which people never thought would be possible. Kin brings a few new 'features' but nothing thats mind blowing. Don't you think? I was waiting to buy this phone with a cheap data plan, but i guess microsoft and verizon will never understand the market. They had their chance with this and just threw it away.
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FAIL
for smartphone plan.
@Radukk
METAFAIL
@Spaceshipped
Ok this is my last comment...
A Pre plus is cheaper than a kin one, on contract with the same required monthly data plan and FREE mobile hotspot.
ALPHAFAIL
@Radukk
We all thought the Wii was going to be a failure and although in its case it took motion tracking/gaming to new heights, much can be said with how social networking has become a core part of the industry/society and why the Kin is Microsoft's platform for this so called "niche".
Maybe Microsoft truly feels their is an untap market with the young crowd as Nintendo gave birth to mainstream casual gaming and in the process got minted even more.
Its all about pricing, marketing, and support for the platform that will determine its success.
@StewieGriffin just to add to the comment, at the moment the price plan seems ridiculous but ultimately I'm sure verizon and Microsoft will be watching the public's reponse to sales to figure out the sweet spot that will make it afordable and profitable.
They obviously are forgetting the point of such device and looking at it from a smartphone perspective which is completely stupid on their part.
@Radukk
If Verizon and Microsoft knew what was best for them, they would have released this with either free data (I can't imagine especially with the 15 min update it uses too much) or the $10 "multimedia phone" plan. This phone does nothing a real smartphone does and yet costs the same. Their is an argument that people pay for simplicity and look to apple as the example. But people are only willing to pay more for less features if it does those features better than anything else, and the kin does nothing better than anything.
@StewieGriffin It's just the thing is that they failed at even the pricing. I would rather a Droid Incredible at that price. Also the fact that it can't really receive any support. MS has blocked third party support. However, the marketing seems alright, but the plainness of the phone will probably cause most people's eyes to skim over it. All in all, it is too early to judge whether or not it is a failure financially, but it is certainly a failure in hardware at the moment. An app program may be able to save it but right now things are not looking up.
@Radukk
they shoulda gone sprint or t-mo, someone who can do something outside the norm for pricing.
@Spaceshipped
Its a tragedy that this makes it and the Courier gets killed.
@Radukk I imagine they need a standard plan because for all the things it is missing, it has a browser, uploads hi-res photos, surfs the web and up/downloads social net content and zune tunes, which is probably the majority of bandwidth of most real smartphones. A cheap plan would expose the carrier to risk in case unimaginably this POS were to be successful. Which they kind of ensured it won't be..
@StewieGriffin yeah but the thing no one believed about the wii was the concept...the motion controller worked. This review makes it sound like the concept is iffy...but it doesn't matter because the hardware and software don't even function in a usable way.
@Radukk
Price point fail.
Oh well.
@JW
I know! I'm still sobbing periodically at the loss of the Courier.
@Radukk This is what happens when uncreative minds are put to work on a situation that needs creative thinking. Fail indeed.
@NYNY Wii is great because of the games which are just gamecube remakes,
most popular being all the marios. Those games could play without stupid notion control
@StewieGriffin I dont think the Wii and Kin can be compared in similar ways.... Will brought something new to the market which people never thought would be possible. Kin brings a few new 'features' but nothing thats mind blowing. Don't you think?
I was waiting to buy this phone with a cheap data plan, but i guess microsoft and verizon will never understand the market. They had their chance with this and just threw it away.