Microsoft’s Kin phones were axed before we could get a look in the UK, now a source within Microsoft has revealed just how poor the sales of the social mobiles really were.
A ‘well placed source’ told Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber – better known for insider tips on Apple products – that the highly anticipated phones sold only 503 units in North America. Needless to say, this was some way short of Microsoft’s projections.
“We had a huge launch party on campus and I bet that party cost more than the amount of revenues we took in on the product,” said the unnamed Microsoft employee, “I suspect we launched because we felt like we HAD to so we could save face because we were trying to build buzz, but overall — HUGE fail.”
It’s hard to disagree. Microsoft pumped a lot of cash into developing the Kin range – even buying out the rival/inspiration Sidekick for their technology. Kin One, a squat little compact not unlike the Nokia 7705 and Kin Two, a more conventional QWERTY slider, were based on the upcoming Windows 7 core but were simplified and aimed squarely at the young social networking market. They missed.
Out Never | £TBC | Microsoft
