After 48 days of courting teens with a device built for social networking, Microsoft killed the Kin mobile phone this week due to poor sales. Â The product included an innovative feature which aggregates content from various social networks in one hub, but received complaints from some users for lacking instant messaging, easy access to apps, or the ability to upload photo and video to Twitter.
Although the online and television campaigns for the Kin captured the youthful energy of the demographic it pursued, there were bumps along the road. Â Microsoft got flack from conservatives for a lighthearted scene in one of its Kin commercials, a clip of a male teen taking a photo under his shirt and sending it to a female who laughs when she receives it. Â Although seemingly benign, the scene was deemed by some as an endorsement of teen sexting. Continue reading “Who killed the Kin?”
