Microsoft Kin

Kin was a line of mobile phones that was briefly marketed by Microsoft in 2010. Aimed at people between ages 15 and 30, they were designed for social networking. Microsoft invested two years and about US$1 billion developing the Kin platform, beginning with its acquisition of Danger Incorporated, creators of the Hiptop or T-Mobile Sidekick. The Kin ran an operating system based on Windows CE. They were manufactured by Sharp Corporation and sold through Verizon Wireless. The Kin ONE and TWO went on the market on May 14, 2010. Within two months, Verizon stopped selling the phones because of poor sales. Microsoft scrapped its planned European release, stopped promoting the devices, ceased production, and reassigned the Kin development team to other projects. Microsoft updated its unsold Kin inventory with firmware that removed social and web-based features, and in December 2010 offered these re-purposed units through Verizon stores as limited feature phones, the Kin ONEm and the TWOm. The Kin TWOm was discontinued in August 2011; unsold inventory could still be found for sale on deals sites as late as June 2013.

Kin was a line of mobile phones that was briefly marketed by Microsoft in 2010. Aimed at people between ages 15 and 30, they were designed for social networking. Microsoft invested two years and about US$1 billion developing the Kin platform, beginning with its acquisition of Danger Incorporated, creators of the Hiptop or T-Mobile Sidekick. The Kin ran an operating system based on Windows CE. They were manufactured by Sharp Corporation and sold through Verizon Wireless. The Kin ONE and TWO went on the market on May 14, 2010. Within two months, Verizon stopped selling the phones because of poor sales. Microsoft scrapped its planned European release, stopped promoting the devices, ceased production, and reassigned the Kin development team to other projects. Microsoft updated its unsold Kin inventory with firmware that removed social and web-based features, and in December 2010 offered these re-purposed units through Verizon stores as limited feature phones, the Kin ONEm and the TWOm. The Kin TWOm was discontinued in August 2011; unsold inventory could still be found for sale on deals sites as late as June 2013.

Original Kin series features

Microsoft described Kin devices as "social phones", straddling the feature phone and smartphone markets, with an emphasis on social networking and sharing of content, but without downloadable apps or games.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373502617 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.