Confirmed: Verizon discontinues Kin
We guess this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone, but we have confirmation directly from Verizon this morning that it will no longer offer the Kin One or Two. It's probably pretty difficult to justify continuing to offer and support a product when its maker has already thrown in the towel -- never mind the fact that Big Red's heart never seemed to be in it from the start -- so this is more of a formality than anything else. We're being told that existing owners won't be impacted, meaning Microsoft will continue to operate the back-end services needed to keep retail Kins alive -- but considering how few Kins seem to have been sold, we can't imagine that's a money-making proposition for anyone involved, so who knows how long that'll go on?






















:(
BOOM
@MoonWalkerCTE
I guess this means no more sexy Kendra from the Kin commercials. Damn, Damn, Damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@MoonWalkerCTE
Goodnight Sweet Prince
@MoonWalkerCTE
Meanwhile, in other news; the earth is reportedly round, the sun MIGHT rise tomorrow, and mice do NOT make good housemates for cats.
Goodbye, Kin. Hello WP7!
@MoonWalkerCTE
Is this Microsoft's biggest fail since Bob?
@MoonWalkerCTE Heck, why didn't these two just admit that it wasn't going to work and go their separate ways? M$FT changed their mind on it mid-stream thus causing VZW to lose interest and now there's bad feelings all around. Save money and feelings by calling it quits early on, or at least save some money.
Microsoft's biggest screwup since Bob.
@MGore32
More to come after Jan. 1
@MoonWalkerCTE
What's a Kin? Is it similar to the Zune HD? Only in sales numbers, you say?
BOOM HEADSHOT!!!
What a great device.
@bighap
Putting this thing on their new 9.99 data plan for featurephones would've rocked this think into the stratosphere.
It would've done far more than their current phones at that tier, for sure, but it would've been a perfect gateway device to smartphones, because it didn't do everything that a full-fledged Android device or iPhone did.
You screwed the pooch Verizon.
@Luke Agreed. $30 a month is too much for a phone that isnt a full fledged smart phone. Still a cool phone.
I don't know why Big Red would discontinue the Kin, I love mine!
@Rick Astley So much for never deserting you.
@Rick Astley
so you are 1 out of the 50 persons that bought one
@JLPicard
he's never gonna give it up
@Rick Astley never going to give it up? Its going to let you down.
and why do we care?
@TmobileFreakingROCKS
I'm british so I don't care. Your screen name is fail though.
Only the powers of VZW and MS could eff up something that should have been, by all rights, a perfect fit for its targeted consumer.
@whySoSerious, I have a feeling MS wanted KIN to fail, it would have been a nightmare in just a few months with all of these high powered WP7 devices out and a bunch of teens wondering why their phone can't do anything.
At least almost all the KIN resources can be moved where they need to be focused.
@whySoSerious
C'mon, we all know there was nothing perfect about this phone.
And regarding their supposed demographic? It didn't exist. Phone-buyers are quickly migrating into two camps: smartphones & cheaphones.
The middle class of the phone market is becoming increasingly endangered.
Lol fail.
@DoctarPeppar So true... Epic fail...
@smithdesign Ubi Fail...
*sniff*
Microsoft is working on Android devices. That's what everyone should do, Apple, RIM and Nokia as well.
@Charbax wake up already.
@Charbax : you must be account5's first cousin. or something like that. Or a strange type of troll. What exactly are you? And wth are you doing on Engadget?
@yauchildchew It's Microsoft, Nokia, RIM and Apple who are sleeping for not releasing their Android designs already.
@blenderman345 I'm just that genius for rapidly understanding since the start of Android that it would be the only and absolute best smart phone OS. Because it is Linux, because it is free, because it is open source. Android had a few limitations in ways Google Marketplace is controlled, in ways new versions of the OS are developed in closed partnerships. But soon enough as Froyo is open source and Gingerbread will fix auto-updating, and that I am sure Google will open up access to Google Marketplace to all open source hardware makers, this is going to be a fix and basically means any smart phone maker not using Android will be at a huge disadvantage.
Microsoft can simply use Android with Bing as default search and IE9 as default browser, if that is what they want.
besides being a short cut window to networking sites, what else could the KIN do? could it run apps?
@DoomLight It is also essentially a 'zune phone' with full over-the-air streaming of any song/album/artist.
Enough of this Kin stories already. It doesn't matter and never did!
Maybe they would have sold better if one didnt look like a turtle and the other didn't look like a turtle with a thyroid problem
meh kin...I need an iphone story please.
The kin was doomed from the get go. It is such a gay device and platform. Android all the way baby!
Down rank me all you want but the future is android bottom line, and kin looked gay as so did the platform and concept. It was stupid for MS to release it several months before wp7 and now all the 2 people who bought into the kin are screwed for 2 years lol ha ha EVO 4G FTW!!!
Sad story, but it's better to shut down the Kin project right now and concentrate on WP7 only ! This is what really matters now...
Good, I'm sure MS will want everyone to forget just how out of touch they are, if they want to be seen capable of making windows phone 7 any good.
MS and Verizon seem to be flaKin out....
//end lame joke
I wanted to make a comment, but I'm going to leave it half baked in homage to the Kin instead. Meh.
It's funny, I was at the Verizon store to check out the Droid X some days ago, and I saw a kin one and two on display. I was going to ask them if they knew it had been a failed project and was going to be discontinued. It wouldnt be the first time I read something on Engadget and knew something they didnt, bad employees!
man, and kin studio actually looked awesome. MSFT, please make sure that makes it into the WP7 (and, you know, if you want, the Zune/XBox 360/Media Center) ecosystem. cool, thanks!
A poor investment is a poor investment. I'd fire the CEO. Gates would have never had this go through.
@TareG
Because of this you would fire the CEO of MS? I think you need to read the story here on how the Kin fell apart, and who was involved, including Verizon who used a price structure not initial expected or warranted. Really - firing the MS CEO over one phone....I think that is a bit harsh.
I want one now just to say I have it.