When Microsoft first released the Kin a little more than a month ago, I thought it was one of the worst phones ever created, and figured it wouldn't be around long. I was certainly right --- it looks like Microsoft has killed the Kin, after its brief, unhappy life.
engadget is reporting that Microsoft has essentially killed the Kin and that it has been rolled into the Windows Phone 7 team. A product launch scheduled for Europe has been cancelled due to poor sales. (Quelle surprise!). Here's Microsoft's official statement about it:
"We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones."
So yes, for now you can still buy a Kin if you want, and be a nation of one. But don't expect the phone to be available for long.
The Kin will take its place as one of the worst designed products of all time. In an app-happy world, it ran no apps. It was designed for social networking, but featured poor Twitter support and no IM client. It cost about the same as more powerful phones such as the HTC Hero.
At least Microsoft was quick to recognize a loser. RIP, Kin, we hardly knew you.