The Death of Microsoft Kin: Truth Revealed

The Death of Microsoft Kin: Truth Revealed

What a tangled web we weave.

Only six weeks after launch, Microsoft killed its own Kin, a pair of smartphones based off technology from the Danger acquisition. Engadget first broke the inside story on what killed the Kin and have followed it up with a more detailed piece on the life and death of Microsoft Kin.

It seems that the root of Kin's dismal performance stemmed from inter-departmental bickering within Microsoft. Kin began life under J Allard - the same Allard who oversaw the Xbox and Courier projects and left Microsoft in May - and was developed separately from Windows Mobile. This displeased the Windows Mobile Senior VP Andy Lees no end, who was - according to Engadget's sources - "jealous." Eventually, Lees managed to wrestle the Kin project under his control, and the writing was on the wall for Kin. Check out the links for the full story.

Update: Wired has a comprehensive and scathing round-up of Kin's tragic demise:

But this? Microsoft took a company with a successful product line and destroyed it. The Sidekick successor, KIN, was hobbled by a plainly stupid management decision, such that its failure was assured. To make matters even worse, T-Mobile has just canned the original Sidekick. There's essentially nothing left of Danger now. An innovative company with exciting products was killed by what appears to be stubborn managerial incompetence.