Microsoft had launched its Kin twins –Kin One and Kin Two-with a lot of fanfare backed up by aggressive campaigning and advertisements targeting the younger generation. But both the phones failed to generate even moderate amount of enthusiasm in the face of overwhelming competition from devices like iPhone, HTC EVO 4G and others. Its carrier Verizon Wireless has slashed the prices of both the phones in an effort to get them off the shelves.
Verizon decided to lower the prices of the youth-oriented social-networking phones as the device could generate scant attention since its launch and the sales were below par. The Kin was designed to target a similar demographic as the Sidekick but could not hold on in the wake of iPhones and other smartphones that don't cost any more per month and offer the ability to run thousands of applications.
Verizon cut the price of the lower-end Kin One from $49 to $29 while slashing the higher-end Kin Two’s price from $99 to $49. These prices require the users to sign a new two-year contract and agree to a $29 or higher monthly data plan, in addition to voice service.
Microsoft refused to comment on the dreary sales of the twin phones, though the sales appear to be below even the company's rather modest expectations. A worker at one big-city Verizon Wireless store said that the Kin was being outsold there not only by Droid smartphones, but also by older Palm Pre devices.
Some of the experts who have tried the Kin device had a few good words for the device, particularly for the PC-based Kin Studio feature and the built-in Zune player, which allows Zune Pass subscribers to stream the songs of their choice over the Web. However the phone also had some misdemeanors like the lack of a calendar and the fact that Twitter users can't easily reply to Twitter posts, re-tweet items, or send direct messages.
A Microsoft worker answering to the questions about Twitter issues, as well as concerns about restarts and battery life, said on a company forum that a mid-summer software update should address some of those issues. A Microsoft representative would not elaborate on the company's software update plans.
