Oh Microsoft, what are you doing with yourself??
There was a vision in KIN that not many tech pundits saw (as I noted in a previous blog post) but — having personally checked out KIN’s Facebook page on a semi-regular basis — there was genuine excitement for the phone from its niche audience. The KIN phone was an oddity in light of the upcoming Windows Phone 7 but only because Microsoft made it so, especially if we are to believe Engadget’s Life and death of Microsoft Kin: the inside story followup article posted today.
(Engadget’s article seems inline with a New York Times op-ed article by former Microsoft VP Dick Brass regarding Microsoft’s Creative Destruction published in February.)
The cancellation of the KIN so quickly after market release seems to spell trouble for Windows Phone 7 for three main reasons:
Consumer trust
If MS can’t believe in it’s own products, how are consumers suppose to?
Immediate awkward team dynamics
Just because MS is moving the KIN team onto WP7 doesn’t mean they are going to get anything done better or faster. Imagine if your current work team had a sudden influx of members… eep! It takes time to build a group dynamic that can really work together. If anything, an increase of people makes things slower in the beginning.
Historical company dynamics
One of the selling points of the WP7 was Xbox integration however Microsoft seems to show time and time again that different departments aren’t able to work with each other. Can we really expect the mobile team to integrate nicely with the Xbox, Zune, Office, and Internet Explorer teams to create a unified Microsoft experience?
So Microsoft, it’s too bad. For a while there, you were looking like you were figuring out your groove again. But then you killed my beloved Courier. The KIN is just another nail in the coffin.
Good luck with Windows Phone 7 — you are really going to need it.