The Microsoft Kin was one of the biggest failures in the mobile industry this year, given that it was pulled after only three months on the market. Therefore, we were quite surprised to see the Kin One and the Kin Two come back to Verizon's inventory, according to a leaked Verizon Q4 road map posted by PPCGeeks.

The two Kin feature phones will be coming without a data plan. Both originally required smartphone-like data plans which were arguably too steep for phones aimed primarily at teenagers. The included Zune Pass will reportedly work over Wi-Fi even if you're not signed up for a proper data plan, but features such as unlimited photo uploads and Loop won't be available, according to Engadget. It's good to hear that Verizon has finally realized that a required $80 to 100 per month data plan is too much for a feature phone.

While all of this is definitely an improvement, we can't help but wonder if the Kin comeback is bound to fail as well. If you really want a Microsoft phone, why not just go with one of the many available Windows Phones? It's not as if teenagers don't use smartphones! Is Verizon really hoping to give the Kin a second chance, or does it just want to clear its inventory?