Microsoft and Verizon say Kin's monthly pricing isn't crazy, when you think about it
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 12th 2010 12:21PM
posted May 12th 2010 12:21PM
posted May 12th 2010 12:21PM
Microsoft KIN TWO
Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5
Microsoft Windows Phone 7
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this is verizon's greed not microsoft ... the carriers set the prices to whatever they want because they know we are forced to pay it if we want the service.
T-mobile is the only one i have seen price things better with their web+text+voice bundled plans ... i get 450 mins with unlimited text and web on my Moto Cliq for less than $68 including tax. T-mobile just needs some cool phones. Not to mention i have NO contract.
THE US is one of few countries that do not offer tiered pricing. On such I device, I might need 1 gig. The one fits all approach to data is ridiculous.
How this plays out...
1. Teen & Parents walk into store.
2. Looking for phone to get kids.
3. All new phones have 30$/mo data.
4. Play with kin2, pre plus, curve, ally, droid, eris, tour, stom2
5. Disregard kin2.
@supraped69
*only mentioned those phones because they are all equal or less than kin2.
a lot of people will be suckered into this, not knowing the difference between kin and winphone 7. Feel bad for those people. Shame on microsoft and verizon.
@krosref
But surely the people who don't know the difference were never going to get full value from a Windows 7 phone in the first place? No point having a phone that can do X,Y and Z when you're only ever going to do Y
@krosref - some people will get suckered into this but not because the think it's WM7. Really, who beyond techies (who would never buy a kin anyway) knows anything about WM7?
People will get suckered into this because Verizon's sleazy used-car-like sales force (which is par for the course with cell phone companies) will mislead them - "This is Microsoft's latest and greatest," "Appstore? Yes, it comes with apps already installed," "smartphone? this phone is plenty smart," etc.
That's a great marketing headline. I see big numbers for this product
/sarcasm.
Isn't asking potential Kin users to "think about it" asking a wee bit too much?
I was considering the Kin for my 2 kids if the data price was around $10 a month, but no way for $30 each.
$30 is still not worth it. Especially when a few months ago Microsoft lost the data of sidekick owners that was on the "cloud." Microsoft bought Danger for clarification.
@derekdevine You seem to forget that they managed to get the data back.
Verizon is so fucking high.
Microsoft, go fly a kite. And tell VZW to take a long walk off a short pier while you're at it. Wackjobs.
I think for all the data you actually get it's quite cheap, but it all comes down to what people want to spend on their kids phonebills.
I was seriously considering one of these if the data plan pricing was right. It wasn't for me, and it won't be for a hell of a lot of people. I hate calling a device DOA because as we've all seen, anything can happen, but I highly doubt this phone makes it 6 months with the current price point for data.
Since when does Microsoft or Verizon have any credibility on what is considered "crazy pricing"?
Would that be the same 'quality' cloud security blanket that MS provided to Sidekick users?
The one that completely screwed them when all their data was 'lost'?
No thanks...
Microsoft = Delusional + Idiots
Sony tried to say the same thing with the Playstation 3 with the "its a better value" talk but in the end they lagged in sales because it was too expensive. I bet you Verizon didn't cave in on data plan pricing, which isn't surprising since its Verizon...they love to be expensive. Now Microsoft's PR team is trying to put out the fires.
MS continually amazes me - and not in a good way.
What did they get right? Windows 7 might just be their crowning achievement before Google floods the market with their own OS. HP dropped W7 for their upcoming Slate product because it was seen as too slow and will release Slate sporting Palm's (now HP's) Web OS. Office 2010 will probably not be adopted as quickly as they're hoping. The Xbox is in a class by itself but that class has seen a LOT of hardware problems (mine went RROD after a year).
What have they gotten wrong? Hotmail goes by 3 different names now and all of them "feature" such annoying, flashy ad banners that I was practically forced into the arms of Gmail and Google Talk. Heck, even Pidgin is better at IM than MS. MS seems to be in love with flashy, trashy ads and peppers every web-based app or site with them. Their web developer tools are useless toys when compared to the Google webmaster tools and measuring metrics - all of which are free. The IE8 browser doesn't adhere to standards and can't compete with the speed and stability of Webkit rivals (such as Chrome). Not even the new Windows 7 sidebar can compete with the Google alternative. There is no Hotmail or Live Mail or Live Calendar widget at all!
Everywhere I look, the MS giant is sagging!
These would have been really awesome phones ... if they had been released five years ago.
I have yet to meet a single person that "has to have" one of these phones ... usually the universal reaction is a blank stare, and this look of "are you serious?!?!"
this is what I don't understand... Why every one talks Shi@@ about sprint.. Everything your phone can do for 70 bucks... Data, gps, unlimited txt.. Everything! And the coverage is just as good as VZ dub. Some say the 3g quality is even better with
sprint. Why turn your cell phone bill into a car payment when you don't have to. Go w. Sprint. My
2 cents. Peace.
The Microsoft Kin is a dumb phone. The pricing is dumb. And it seems any users would also have to be dumb for buying it.
@cherryboom
But the old Sidekick was better than Kin. Sidekick had 2 Instant Message apps (MSN & Yahoo) you could download and install. Kin has no IM apps. In fact, Kin has no apps at all :(
Terrible.
Get a Pre for $30 and no stupid "15 minute sync" only.
Microsoft, who are you selling this product to? The limited features are more appealing to teenagers and most of them have their parents pay for it. If they haven't gotten a $30 iPhone data plan they're likely not going to pay for your limited $30 Kin data plan. Drop the price dummies.
these things are ugly as hell.
$30 a month for Unlimited Data is a deal! Most companies put a cap on data! Also, android tethering gives me free mobile broadband wherever I go!
@UnderscoreHero it's called an "UNLIMITED DATA PLAN" but it's not. It's 5GB per month.
@iPaul I've gone way over 5gb, I download a lot of stuff, this week I've used maybe 1gb so far. Its also stated in my plan info, as unlimited. My Mifi is limited to 5gb though, my parents and sis use that.
This crap is going to suck worse than jamarcus Russell from the raiders. Also, it is going to fail just like Tim Tebow will.
Im really just disgusted with microsoft and all their crap at this point. The whole Kin thing is so diluted by all the PR clutter that its totally lost its appeal. This is a featureless phone, in a world asking for more features.