Whatever you think about the
Kin devices themselves, the one thing most folks can agree on is that their monthly pricing is more than a little out of step with their target audience -- except for Microsoft and Verizon, that is. Speaking to
Computerworld, Microsoft senior product manager Greg Sullivan and Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney both raised the issue of the Kin's ability to backup to the cloud when defending the high monthly price ($30 for data on top of a standard phone plan), with Sullivan saying that once customers "realize the value of this, they'll realize it's a great deal." On another note, Sullivan also used some interesting language when discussing the possibility of app downloads for the Kin, saying that "over the longer term" Microsoft will be "merging" the Kin and Windows Phone 7 platforms and adding downloadable apps. Now, that's not a radical departure from what we've
heard from Microsoft before, but "merge" is a curious choice of words, isn't it?
posted May 12th 2010 12:21PM
Sorry, I'd rather have a full featured smartphone for that price...
@Vdek I think Microsoft is smart to release a "stepping stone" of sorts for people that are not quite ready for a full featured smartphone. WM7 is right around the corner and it really seemed like MS was going to take the smartphone world by storm. Yet here they go again with their damn shenanigan. At the very least they should have charged 10 dollars for the data plan. I mean I feel like every time I see something really cool from Microsoft, they manage to mess it up somehow.
Anyway at these prices, if you're on Verizon, you might as well get the Droid.
@Vdek
Still waiting for the European pricing, which is always a bit more reasonable with phones. Still strikes me as a bit of a rip off though.
@Vdek That said, as soon as they stick apps on it it will be a smartphone and people will probably stop saying it's too expensive. And maybe they have that thought in mind.
@Vdek
compare it to the iPhone, which didn't have downloadable apps for the first year, which was $20/mo for unlimited data, and I would agree, $30 is too much.
No 13 year old twittering brat is gonna care about backup,to cloud or otherwise. And to think people like this "Brenda" actually get paid to be a spokeshole for a major company. Baffling.
@Levi its almost sad that downloadable apps is the only advantage the iPhone has over the kin dont you think?
@David Bailey Reasonable? Hello, an iPhone in the US costs 99$ + 100$ a month (for unlimited everything). Over 2 years that comes to 2500$.
An iPhone in France (where I live) costs 99 Euros + 120 a month. Over 2 years that comes to 3650 Euros.
Resonable, eh?
@lollerofhell I mean dollars for the second one. Sorry
@Vdek who wants this phone is the real question. this phone plan is expensive for what it does. the music player it sync with your zune, hardly no one uses zune this wont increase there music market share. you can get a droid, palm pre, blackberry or even a iphone 3g (at&t) or the same price, same plan, but better features. no one gonna get this its ridiclious & looks ridiclious
@lollerofhell an iPhone is £25 a month in Scotland, that's pretty reasonable.
@David Bailey And that's for unlimited data and texts and 100 minutes.
@NaeemTHM "Not quite ready"?
How can you be "not quite ready" for an iPhone? If you can use a computer, you can use an iPhone, and if you don't know how to use a computer, you probably don't participate much in "social media" websites.
This is Microsoft missing the boat again, trying to come up with some novel hardware and failing to present a competitive value proposition.
Perhaps they're aiming at clueless hipsters with too much money and lots of time to waste on tweets and wall updates?
@Leroysboy
I disagree with the "hardly no one uses a Zune" comment. The Zune Pass is an incredible way to get a ton of music legally (despite the occasional snafu), and it makes a ton of sense to have it on a phone and be able to download any and all music you want wherever you may be.
That being said, the $30 price + Verizon's normal higher rates doesn't quite mesh with the whole market they seem to be after. I was under the impression they were either going after either young social butterflies, or kids with enabling parents. The price is too high for the former, and the latter would have the resources to get a full on top of the line smartphone anyways.
@Levi
You can't compare a Kin in 2010 to an iPhone in 2007...
A Kin in 2010 has to be aware there's an iPhone a Droid, a Droid Incredible, etc etc.
If it can't compete today it will die, and with this pricing (the same as any other smart phone on VZW!!!) any other smart phone offered by Verizon kills it.
@Leroysboy
The Zune pass is actually the best value for music out there for anyone who buys at least 10 songs/month. MS needs a platform to leverage it, and the Kin could have been a great platform to so so if it had been priced correctly! The Zune Pass itself is $15!! If they were really interested in pushing Zune platform (the service, not the player) adoption they would have at least dropped that data plan by the $15 a Zune Pass costs.
I love my Zune and my Zue Pass, but sheesh! Freaking MS idiots...
No 13 year old twittering brat is gonna care about backup,to cloud or otherwise. And to think people like this "Brenda" actually get paid to be a spokeshole for a major company. Baffling.
@ka1axy
"How can you be "not quite ready" for an iPhone? If you can use a computer, you can use an iPhone......"
Or how about if you can use an iPod Touch, you can use an iPhone. Which is probably Apple's strategy anyway. Get the young hooked on an iPod Touch and they will be wanting an iPhone next. The true stepping stone for that demographic is going from the iPod Touch to the iPhone. They share the same OS, same apps, same screen size and same ecosystem. Yeah I know the iPod Touch is not a phone but lots and lots of teens are using them now, getting hooked on Apps.
The Kin and WP7 stepping stone right now is just a stated dream. Will the Kin ever get games and Apps that you can easily transfer to WP7?
@Vdek The target audience looks at what they get and what its worth where Verizon looks at what they're giving and what they want. My nephew is in their target audience and he's rather have Android, on Sprint where it costs him less. Wasn't that part of the charm of the original Sidekick? It was cool and on T-Mobile where service prices were cheaper?
@Vdek
While I think the pricing is too high, considering the alternatives, it really isn't totally crazy. The Sidekick data costs were in line with smartphone data plans (pricing from Nov 2008 at T-Mobile). The Sidekicks were wildly popular then.
I think the Kin will do alright at it's current pricing. The sad thing is that MS could have knocked it out of the park with a $50 device and $10 add-on data plan. At the current rates it will be just another device in a fairly crowded lineup.
@Vdek Agreed. $30 a month for what? To check the social networks that I already can with my Palm. Thanks Microsoft yet again for another laugh.
@NaeemTHM
not ready? I'd say an iPhone is more user friendly than these Kin phones honestly. In one of the demos I watched the person couldn't figure out the "loop" thing to upload the content.
Bottom line is they shouldve come out with a cheap social networking plan. Like $5 for unlimited access to facebook Twitter and myspace. Then they'd sell these by the bucket load.
@tikigawd MS cant market anythng. zune included. if it was such a great way to buy music how come it hasnt tooken off like some thought. i only see zune 5 times in my life. i pretty much live at the gym & i never see them. im not saying zune is horrible im just saying MS cant market anything good device, kin & kin 2 included. its see what happens with winphone 7
@Levi for terrible cingular service, if you can CALL it that
@Leroysboy The KIN marketing has been pretty great actually. Check the FB and Twitter accounts.
@Vdek oh god these phones are so gay! At least the windows phone is kind of cool and could achieve some success (I think not by the way)
@SteveyAyo
Are you actually stupid, or do you just play a stupid person on the internet?
@ka1axy
"Perhaps they're aiming at clueless hipsters with too much money and lots of time to waste on tweets and wall updates?"
They already have iPhones.
@Vdek
The reason why sidekicks did so well is because they sold in the hood. Believe it or not nobody in the hood is gonna buy this phone. Mos of the people you saw using sidekicks were people from the hood! We want to instant message who cares about facebook that much? MS show your homies in the hood some love. Make a better sidekick device because this aint cuttin it!!!
@tikigawd
Yeah, if that $30 a month included a Zunepass, there would probably be less ridicule.
@Vdek Perhaps, if you're hilton, but to a mediocre person its important. Hopefully they'll improve the pricing. Opinions. http://j.mp/microsoft-kin-opinions
@Vdek Come PC guys, you have to 'realize' the value here.
I thought about it, and it's still crazy.
@shishi
Think Microsoft is crazy, even if you think about it =D
@shishi I'm convinced the only time it isn't crazy is when you DON'T think about it.
... Especially when their touted advantage can be gotten through http://dropbox.com and http://one.ubuntu.com -- for free, but with a much better implementation.
@shishi
The most crazy part of this is the damn phone line itself. The market has grown beyond feature phones at smartphone pricing.
@shishi
Considering the evo 4g is coming to sprint for cheaper monthly rates than verizon its definitely crazy. I think that verizon and microsoft are completely screwing over the people that they are marketing this too, who are younger people with not a lot of money who are looking for a phone that can do the basics, if they want to pay those prices theyll buy a smartphone.
Yeaaaah, I own a real phone. I installed free apps that back all my stuff up to the cloud, and it doesn't cost me anything. No dice.
What's crazy is the thought that somebody will actually buy either of these.
Winphone 7 = galaxy of fail.
@psycros +1
Mweh, here where I live, 3G internet on a cellphone will cost you 25$ for a 500MB limit. :p
$30 on top of the phone plans, and some people complain about having to pay for the Hotspot with the HTC EVO.
Your Jedi mind tricks won't work with me!
@WYGUY
My Jedi mind tricks won't work with you.
Hey wait!
On another note, None of the target audience will ever realize the value of cloud storage. Furthermore most of them think clouds are the puffy things in the sky.
WHAT 20 year old crazy hipster is gonna THINK about it?
Wasn't the Sidekick's data plan $15/month?
If they're blubbering excuses, the blew it. How could the pricing be considered viable years into a down economy.
I don't think you could name one kid that wouldn't rather have an iPhone.
And if you could name one, that kid would want an android phone...lol