http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/ Engadget Comments for Life and death of Microsoft Kin: the inside story http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
Indeed. This could have been something very, very different and even good if it was executed better -- and finished earlier.

The competition outclassed it consistently at release.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 4:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
Stupid concept, followed with lame marketing and poor execution = FAIL.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 4:36PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
it's not real: http://www.wmexperts.com/wp7-rumor-htc-hd3]]>Jul 2nd 2010 4:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
fake. just looking at the specs makes u scream fake. And anyway if MS really want WP7 to succeed they need some really good 3.7 inch phones. Anything above 4 inches is not for the average consumer.

and yeah i know.. thats what she said. so just save it.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 4:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/You read the whole thing in a minute? Oh wait, you probably wanted to be first, poor thing...]]>Jul 2nd 2010 4:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/every bit as lame as kin
they should call the phone Oblivion]]>Jul 2nd 2010 4:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 5:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 5:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 5:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/i fucking hate politics in the workplace, especially when asshats like Lees are more interested in stoking their ego, then a good product actually be released by their company. "if a good product gets released by my company, and my name isn't attached to it, its a win for MS, but more importantly a lose for me" can't stand people like this. ]]>Jul 2nd 2010 5:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
Amen. I was thinking the same thing. I've seen kindergarteners be more mature and less moronic. ]]>Jul 2nd 2010 6:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/

It's kind of sad, especially that ugly square monstrosity of a phone. Let us all listen to the "Life and Death" theme from lost as we read the story of the death of kin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hre5fkdq-0

To live and die, to try and fail. But life will go on, and so will microsofts phone ambitions.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 6:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 7:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 7:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 8:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
I think that's a huge point. A device like this needed to be offered at a lower monthly price point. Plain and simple. Even if it was amazing the target demographic (tweeners) typically don't have the capital (or parents who want) to commit to an $80-100/month plan.

I'll say it again. Had this phone been introduced with a $10/month data plan it would have worked. Despite the deficiencies the Kin does serve a particular demographic. Most of the major deficiencies are things that could have been solved with software updates. The core concept was perfectly fine.

It's really no different than Lexus designing a car for 16 YO's. They could include all the features. They could have every component that a 16 YO would want but still ultimately fail because not many 16 YO kids can afford $40-60k cars.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 8:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
imho Apple is just a one man show. I dont think its gonna be the same company after Steve Jobs. But MS on the other hand did survive after Bill Gates. Granted the Kin was a failure, but the past year has been gr8 for MS. Just look at W7, Office 2010, Kinect and the soon to arrive WP7.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 8:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
True very true. It is alarming to note that the same brilliant folks at Apple who designed the iPod, iPhone and iPad were designing beige boxes before Steve Jobs rejoined Apple. So once he leaves, things are gonna downhill (and so is the stock) coz even though there are other brilliant folks at Apple, nobody has Jobs vision - they cant, coz you have to be born with it.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 8:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 8:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 9:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 9:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Honestly, is Microsoft really better off having a fractured smartphone lineup, not only with multiple devices but multiple platforms? Part of the reason for Apple's success its its focus. There is only ONE iPhone (well okay, maybe a few more, but you get the point). Instead of wasting time by having separate teams design completely different phones, they can focus on producing ONE really good phone. Personally I would rather see Windows Phone 7 succeed than see both Kin and Windows Phone 7 fail.
]]>Jul 2nd 2010 9:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 9:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 10:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/I dunno... There was totally a market for a feature phone with social networking. I totally see Allard's vision and it could have been a huge success... Again, Teenagers and even most College students can't afford 80$/month cell phone plans. If it would have been released earlier (like Allard planned to) Verizon wouldn't have jacked the data plan and made the thing fail... I don't blame Verizon too much. If you're stood up for a full year or even more, I would be pissed at the Asshole (Lees) that caused the holdup and would have balked too...]]>Jul 3rd 2010 12:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/I can't really agree on that, it took Apple three years+ to add folders.
I guess you could say that it supports new ideas so much that it completely ignores the old ones.]]>Jul 3rd 2010 4:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
@Indefinite Implosion "THAT is why Apple is becoming more and more successful, because they encourage, not stifle, new ideas and products."

Don't worry, Microsoft got the message:

http://news.cnet.com/2300-13860_3-10003932.html]]>Jul 3rd 2010 8:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/You have limited thinking here. Phones are becoming about one thing : convergence.

In ordet for all the media possibilities, screens by default will have to grow, to provide thee best user experience.

Your comment is stupid..."..not for the average consumer..." That's what they said about computers.

And people have already.proven they will carry slightly larger phones; just look to the past when those monster phones were everywhere, and THEY could only make calls.]]>Jul 3rd 2010 8:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
I guess Windows Phone 7 is now officially "The Next Of Kin"]]>Jul 3rd 2010 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
The problem with starting dumbed-down from the beginning is it becomes increasing difficult to add more things in the future. However, if you take a fully developed super smart phone, it is easier to dumb it down and change features accordingly for various devices. They took a backwards approach to this. If they had taken a finished Windows Phone 7 and made an "Essentials" version of Windows Phone 7 called for basic phones like "Kin", there would have probably been drasticly different results.]]>Jul 3rd 2010 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
Someone please tell me this some kind of dry, unfunny joke.]]>Jul 3rd 2010 3:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
Now THAT'S sad.]]>Jul 8th 2010 1:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 5:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
http://kinrip.com/]]>Jul 2nd 2010 7:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
If they put some sort of fruity logo on it then it could sell millions.]]>Jul 3rd 2010 1:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 7:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
The Kin was a great concept, but ultimately priced too high. Costs more than a Curve and has the same data plan to boot with less capabilities. As a feature phone this would of been a hit (not everyone wants a smartphone), and packing a Tegra it certainly wasn't a gimp.

I hope the Kin Studio is integrated into WP7, that would be lovely as well as the Spot.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 11:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 4:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Yeah, I'm with you, whats wrong with Microsoft, how the afford to lose great talent like J. Allard and Robbie Bach and keep morrons like Ballmer and Lees.
I just dont get it.
Where are you Bill?]]>Jul 2nd 2010 5:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Why? Allard has produced a string of failures.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 7:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/
I'd hardly consider the Xbox a failure. And it was almost entirely J Allard's doing. Also, while the Zune hasn't had iPod-level success (and really, what else has?), it's sold moderately well and is very well designed and implemented.]]>Jul 2nd 2010 7:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/life-and-death-of-microsoft-kin-the-inside-story/Jul 2nd 2010 7:44PM