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I'm so angry....I'm gonna get a Kin
- Thread starter Dsr1205
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But, "Kin" I hold it however I want and not drop calls?
I'll be here all week. sadly
Customer: "Yeah, I'm here about that freakin' thing I saw on TV... that new cell phone or whatever from Microsoft."
Rep: "Oh, the Microsoft Kin, sure. (holds product up) It's <insert price here> but it's been discontinued."
Customer: "What, that freakin' thing?"
Rep: "Yes, this Kin, it's discontinued."
Customer: "No, I said that freakin' thing... what are you, deaf?"
Rep: (remembers seeing Abbott & Costello do "Who's on first?" once in reruns, thinks about it for a few moments) "It's not free, you freakin' idiot, get outta my store."
Rep: "Oh, the Microsoft Kin, sure. (holds product up) It's <insert price here> but it's been discontinued."
Customer: "What, that freakin' thing?"
Rep: "Yes, this Kin, it's discontinued."
Customer: "No, I said that freakin' thing... what are you, deaf?"
Rep: (remembers seeing Abbott & Costello do "Who's on first?" once in reruns, thinks about it for a few moments) "It's not free, you freakin' idiot, get outta my store."
You know, not a huge Microsoft fan (far from it though they did do a good Flight Simulator before they cancelled it
), but I gotta agree with some comments from people on some of the articles about the Kin, Steve Balmer seems to not be doing MS any favors. I've noticed MS no longer seems at all a threat to anything lately, they've kinda lost it. And it does seem to coincide with him taking over. Not that I've paid huge attention to them lately (but that's the thing, they aren't even being newsworthy except for when they made that crappy Vista).I mean, apparently they spent a billion on developing the Kin (at least spent 500 million acquiring the company the tech came from) and apparently sold so few (on an idea that obviously was way too late for its time) that they had to ditch it (I heard some one say they heard rumors of just 500 and another quote was between 1000 and 10,000). I think that maybe they could have salvaged it some (if it had a real cheap plan or pay as you go. Apparently it had the same price plan with the carrier as the iphone! And for the better featured one, the same price as the cheapest iphone that could do a helluva lot more).
I mean, is anyone over there actually paying attention to today's market? And yeah, I think your description of them being a headless chicken is pretty apt in this case.
I bet you it's a lot more awkward to hold that thing (the kin) than it is to hold the iphone in a way not to touch the left corner.
I mean its shape is not made to be used as a phone (I don't even know how you'd use it as a way of entering any sort of info like facebook updates like supposedly it was made for).
It never was intended to be a smartphone along the likes of the iPhone or an Android device. It was geared toward the social networking crowd.
In fact, Microsoft didn't even expect the Kin to be all that successful. It was really more of a testing ground for the Windows 7 Phone series and the upcoming Windows 8. Everything done on the Kin, for example, was automatically uploaded into the cloud, making it accessible from anywhere in the world.
You could have fooled me since they priced it as such. And for hte price, if I were the social networking crowd, why would I buy some crappy little phone that is awkward to hold or enter text in when I could for 50 dollars more buy a brand new iphone (granted not the latest release) that can do a helluva lot more, is easier to type on (and hence easier to enter facebook updates or twitters on) and the service plan is exactly the same cost? So the only money you save is all of 50 bux (and that is only if you buy the small really limited Kin vs. the bigger can do more but still not near as much as an Iphone and is the same price).
And not much of a testing ground if you set it up to fail. I think if nothing else it should have been on a much cheaper plan, maybe even pay as you go. Maybe that would have given it enough sales to keep it around for more than a month or two.
I don't know windows 7 was/is pretty damn good.
Also they have ovbiously got a hold of quite a share of the console Market, me included in their grasp.
But yeah they have lost their way without Bill.
Except money talks, and Windows 7 has already far eclipsed any of Apple's operating system sales.
And the Xbox division is doing quite well, actually.
Microsoft has never been able to get much of a foothold into the mobile market, but perhaps it will change with the Windows 7 Phone series. Time will tell.
And as trendy as it is to hate Microsoft, they still make a lot of profit (obviously). In fact, it wasn't too long ago they had one of their best quarters ever. Clearly a sign that things are going over well right now.
And isn't that a good thing? A healthy Microsoft and a healthy Apple... Competition. In the end, it's us, the consumers, who win.
I would agree, the Kin could have worked if the data plan didn't try to pass it off a smartphone. Whether it was Microsoft's or Verizon's decision to charge that much, who knows.
But I've read several reports on the Kin and it's really true... Microsoft was not expecting much success from the Kin. Again, it was really more about testing out new types of functionality, things that may appear in future Microsoft products.
Any windows OS is going to have a huge leg up by already being very widely used. Switching to an upgraded OS is not near as costly and big of a change as switching to an entirely new OS. So it's easier for most businesses to just upgrade (or stay with the old OS in the case of a crappy OS like Vista).
Just don't make it so it works ok and it's easier and cheaper just to go to it therefore businesses will do that (long as you don't keep putting out duds like Vista to start encouraging businesses that it is worth the effort to make a complete change to Mac).
On top of that, having that large of a market share means your OS appeals more to developers as well who may choose to just focus on one OS. People will go where the software is.
So, Microsoft can kinda coast at this point when it comes to Windows.
They have a huge uphill battle now with the mobile market. Not only has Apple gotten a strong foothold, Android is starting to really compete. So now they have two strong competitors that already have a good setting in the market you have to compete against.
YEp, I'll give them that. MS did what they are *good* at, getting the software. A console is no good without good games.
They're getting to be pretty late. Apple already has a good hold on the market and Android is getting to be pretty strong itself.
I'm kinda thinking unless they really do a turn around, MS might think of just giving up on that market and stopping wasting money on it. They better come out with a really impressive Windows 7 Phone series as in it better have things that outshine both Apple and Android. When they still haven't had a succesful foothold, that's going to be hard to pull off.
Well it's good for me, I live in Seattle. A healthy Microsoft means a better economy here (though really this area still mostly depends on Boeing).
if this phone had a $10 data plan it would have sold HUGE. all the kids would have it, hell i would have bought it just for zune. if it had an app store, it had the potential to get a pretty big following. with all the advertising on it though, i dont believe for 1 second it sold 600 phones. closer to 10,000 i would believe. just tell verizon to stop being verizon and drop the price or they dont get wp7 series, and laugh as they keep bleeding subscribers because att with have both iphone and windows phones. droid can only get you so many customers...
I thought the Kin is (was) a good idea. It's (t'was
lol) a phone that unifies information from multiple "social" websites (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and organizes that info to show you in a mashup.
Really cool stuff: turn on your phone and there are all of the relevant status updates from all of your friends. If you look at that person's contact info, you have their facebook, twitter, tumblr,whateverall in the same place with their e-mails, MMSes...
If Microsoft hadn't advertised it only to indie, hipster kids who wouldn't be on Verizon in the first place (they already have hand-me-down iPhones on ATT, or Sidekicks on whatever the hell service hosts the sidekick), the Kin might have done better. I don't know a single person who has heard of the damned thing. :/
Really cool stuff: turn on your phone and there are all of the relevant status updates from all of your friends. If you look at that person's contact info, you have their facebook, twitter, tumblr,whateverall in the same place with their e-mails, MMSes...
If Microsoft hadn't advertised it only to indie, hipster kids who wouldn't be on Verizon in the first place (they already have hand-me-down iPhones on ATT, or Sidekicks on whatever the hell service hosts the sidekick), the Kin might have done better. I don't know a single person who has heard of the damned thing. :/
Yeah me too, and I broke up with my gf a while ago and guess what my name is??? I always changed the channel when it came on GREAT TIMING MICROSOFT!!!
I'm glad that stupid phone is gone now.
T-Mobile was the exclusive US dealer for many years when it came to the Sidekick. Not sure if it's still the case now.
Thanks.
I knew a lot of kids on Boost and T-Mobile. I wonder how Sidekick sales are doing. I know this: the Kin could've been a great alternative to the SideKick.
