Windows Phone Thoughts: Mini-Microsoft Weighs in on the Death of KIN

"Get out of the way Microsoft Bob, you have a replacement that Microsoft's Gen-Y employees can claim for their own! It's spelled K-I-N. KIN's demise can't surprise anyone. When I looked at the phone's features, I thought: alright, an incomplete Facebook experience that I cannot improve by installing new applications... and I pay $$ through the nose for a plan. But I've got a green dot and KIN Studio... maybe that will be enough to sell enough units to justify the Danger acquisition and the person-years of work behind getting KIN out. What the hell where all those people doing? I couldn't imagine anyone wanting the resulting iffy feature-phone at a smartphone cost, but KIN wasn't made for me. I was willing to let the market be the judge of KIN. Verdict? Guilty, guilty, guilty."

The Mini Microsoft blog is a treasure-trove of fascinating insider information about the company; having worked with (and for) Microsoft for years, I can see a fair amount of truth in the things written there. With KIN, sadly, Mini Microsoft seems right on the money. The comment replies to the post are also eye-opening...if even half of what's written is true, KIN was in trouble long before launch and should never have seen the light of day. Another good read on the subject is found over at Business Insider; it speaks to the sense of embarrassment felt by many at Microsoft Campus over the high-profile failure that KIN became. One thing is for sure: business schools will be studying the KIN debacle for years to come.