Less than two months after the launch of KIN, Microsoft has decided to kill the entire initiative and integrate the team into the Windows Phone 7 group. Who knows how many millions of dollars went into the development of KIN aka Project Pink, marketing, concerts, etc. but we won’t be seeing any other KIN devices in the future. It’s a shame, really, I actually liked KIN a lot and was looking forward to the next iteration of both the hardware and software.
The official word from Microsoft:
“We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. 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. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones.”
Why KIN is being scrapped is anyone’s guess, but I think it’s safe to assume that it has something to do with underwhelming sales due to Verizon’s outrageous data plans and the departure of J Allard and Robbie Bach. This is a rather strange and out of the ordinary move for Microsoft. Sure, they throw millions of dollars into a project and let it die over the years but to publicly announce the demise of a project like KIN is really odd.
More on Techland:
J Allard Explains Why He Left Microsoft
Microsoft’s Project Pink Unveiled As Kin, Coming To Verizon This May
The Ting Tings Interview