Microsoft just doesn’t understand phones…
Kin One and Two pictured above. Microsoft has announced that they are halting the production of both phones due to low sales.
Is it just me or does Microsoft have no idea what they are doing when it comes to making phones? They are consistently two steps behind—turning out so-so products that are outdated before they even are announced. Just yesterday, Microsoft announced that they will halting the production of their Kin One and Kin Two phones only a few months after releasing them. They claim that they want to focus on the imminent launch of Windows 7 Mobile, but it may have more to do with having sold less than 10,000 units of either phone.
In premise both the Kin One and Two were pretty good phones. They both featured sliding QWERTY keyboards as well as full touch screens. They were aimed at the social-networking crowd and utilized a faux-Windows 7 Mobile theme that allowed users to stay up-to-date on all their friends’ actions and updates on the Verizon Network.
However, both phones failed to make the mark in so many other categories. The phones looked liked smart phones, but didn’t act like them. They required Verizon’s $30-a-month data plan even though they did not provide half the features that other phones utilizing the same service did. Neither phone had an App store or even something as simple as a calendar. The phone(s) was a one-trick-pony. Did Microsoft really think young adults/kids would be so fixated on social networking that they would sacrifice a boatload of other features to have this phone?
Thus far, Microsoft has completely failed in making a stable, fun, and lasting OS for a mobile phone. Windows 6.0 and 6.1 were buggy, slow, and unorganized. Windows 6.5 put a pretty face on the same buggy and cluttered software. The Kin tried to be “hip” but arrived to the party a year or so late. Now Microsoft touts Windows 7 as the next great mobile OS; should we believe them? History says no. Even if 7 proves to be a stable and usable OS, will people turn away from their open-source Androids or user-friendly iPhones to have a Windows phone. I think not.
For their own sake I hope Windows 7 Mobile is as good as they say it is, or Bill Gates and company will be looking at another huge loss of money, time, and reputation.
Windows 7 Mobile
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Avi,
Your comments have some mark but Windows phones are traditionally by nature geared for older audiences. The kin was a stab in the dark and misplaced especially since they had plans of introducing Windows 7 phones later it may have just been testing grounds for the software company to see what the market does and does not want. Visibly the biggest presence on the market is by and by Apple and Android with so many different applications and a large marketplace for customization. Windows is a closed platform with independent vehicles for customers who are embedded in the Microsoft network (i.e. Windows LIVE services) Windows 7 will have a smaller market share but should be interesting enough to throw a few market points away from Apple and Android.
Very true, good points. It just seems odd to me that a company as established as Microsoft would event want to take a “stab in the dark”. I always assumed it was known a successful product is a versatile product. Seems odd to release something that is only truly good at doing one thing (other then making calls).
If Win7mob is anything like Win7 then it will be good, but from the initial videos I have seen I’m not so sure. Like you said it is aimed heavily at those immersed in the Windows LIVE services, but I wonder how many ppl are really immersed in that society. I feel like people use various parts of it. Yes I have an Xbox and I use Live Mesh (Live Sync), but I dont use Bing or MSN. I’m not sure how many people are truly immersed in LIVE the way people are immersed in the Google platform. But we’ll see!
thanks for you comment!