Microsoft's $1 Billion Smartphone Disaster: Kin Phones Lasted Just 48 Days

Microsoft's Kin phone disaster was one of the most spectacular failures in tech history. The company spent an estimated $1 billion building two phones, Kin One and Kin Two, over a period of nearly two years. However, just 48 days after they hit Verizon stores in May 2010, Microsoft pulled the plug on both devices.

The story behind the collapse began long before the launch day. With the introduction of the iPhone and rising popularity of Android OS, Windows Mobile was struggling to adapt to the changing landscape. To address this issue, Microsoft acquired Danger Inc., the company behind the T-Mobile Sidekick smartphone, which provided expertise on youth-oriented internet users who didn't fit the Windows Mobile mold.

The Kin phones, built by Sharp, attempted to create a distinct identity with features like Kin Loop, which pulled updates from Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace into one feed. However, they lacked essential apps, including an app store, third-party applications, games, calendar, or instant messaging application. The Twitter app on the phone couldn't even handle retweets or direct messaging.

Despite being priced at $49.99 for Kin One and $99.99 for Kin Two after rebates, with a monthly price tag of around $70 due to Verizon's voice and data plans, the phones failed to gain traction. Internally, it was known that Microsoft had moved the software from the Java-based original Danger platform to Windows CE, which added 18 months to the development cycle.

Verizon slashed prices in late June, but two days later, Microsoft cancelled Kin's planned European rollout, folded the team into Windows Phone 7, and ultimately killed the project. The '48-day' mark refers to the period from May 13th when the phones went on sale to June 30th when they were officially discontinued.