Verizon resurrects the Microsoft Kin

[Emil]

As rumored, the Kin One and the Kin Two have returned to Verizon's inventory. It's still not clear if Verizon is hoping to give the Kin a second chance or if just wants to clear its inventory, but either way, the Microsoft Kin is back.

The two Kin feature phones have an extra "m" added to their names and it looks they come with significantly better pricing options. The Kin One costs $20 with a two-year contract and the Kin Two costs $50 but is also subject to a Buy One Get One Free offer (the free phone being an LG Ally). Most importantly, a data plan is not required. If you want one, however, plans start at $40 for voice and $10 for 25MB of data (or $15 a month for 150MB). There's also a $35 activation fee.

Both phones originally required smartphone data plans (Kin One required $50 in upfront costs and $70 as the minimum levy for voice plus data) which were arguably too steep for phones aimed primarily at teenagers. The included Zune Pass is still present on both though it's on a "WiFi and sideload only" basis, so 3G streaming is a no go. It's good to hear that Verizon has finally realized that a required per month data plan is too much for a feature phone.

That being said, 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. Even with the improvements Verizon has made, we can't help but wonder if the Kin comeback is bound to fail as well. Windows Phone is, after all a much better alternative and teenagers tend to use smartphones, not feature phones.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/41190-verizon-resurrects-the-microsoft-kin.html

 

[taea00]

They're zombies phones! We killed them and now they're back from the dead! Don't let them touch you!

 

[princeton]

It's like an *****ic person who sticks the fork in the outlet for the second time immediately after getting shocked.

 

[TorturedChaos]

While the resurrection of the Kin may not be the best idea, but I do like the idea of not having to have a full data plan for the phone.
These smart phones with a mandatory expensive as hell data plan are a little silly in my area because well i don't think we have 4g coverage anywhere in the state, and 3g coverage is sub-par and doesn't run nearly as fast as it should.

I would like to see cell phone companies offer a mid-ranged smart phone, and give you some options as to whether or not you want the expensive as hell data plan and maybe some options for customizing your plan if you do get a data plan. I might be willing to look into a smart phone then.

 

[aj_the_kidd]

I would imagine that the target demographic for the kin will choose the iphone or android over this phone or even the new windows 7 phone

 

[Vrmithrax]

I'm guessing these phones will only be around a while (if they sell at all, that is). Can't see any new phones being produced, they are just trying to empty the warehouses to recoup some of the losses on the initial Kin fail.