The Microsoft Kin phones unveiled in the US in April have been officially discontinued, before they were ever even released in the UK. The social oriented feature phones now won’t go on sale here, we’ve confirmed, with the team behind it now being merged into Windows Phone 7 operations. Read on for the details.
The Microsoft Kin phones, Kin One and Kin Two, have been ditched by Microsoft just two months after going on sale in the US, allegedly due to internal delays and poor sales according to American publications. Neither Microsoft Kin phone, which do not allow for third party apps, instead concentrating on music streaming and image uploading, will not go on sale in the UK in the Autumn as originally planned.
“We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned,” the company told CNET. “Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases.”
While devastating news for Microsoft, which bought mobile company Sidekick specifically for the purpose and spent years in development (Remember how long those Pink rumours were in circulating for?), the news may come as no surprise to those confused by Microsoft’s timing and branding. Calling the Microsoft Kin handsets “Windows” phones whilst not actually technically being Windows Mobile or Windows Phone 7 models was just going to lead to confusion, even before Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 came along.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Vodafone, which announced it would sell the phones in Europe, told Electricpig: “We can confirm that Microsoft have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and will not ship KIN in Europe this autumn as planned.”
Arer you sorry to see the Microsoft Kin phones go? Shout up with your views in the comments.
Out Never | £TBC | Microsoft
