Microsoft KIN Dead Only Weeks After Being Released

You may remember a piece I wrote not too long ago ripping a new asshole into featurephones.  Obviously, Microsoft never read that piece; otherwise they never would have released the KIN.  For those who don't know (apparently a lot, because the phone sold terribly), KIN phones were aimed at younger customers and were designed to offer a smartphone like interface without the smartphone like cost or complexity.  There are TWO huge problems with this line of thinking and I'm going to explain them one by one.

• First failure of this phone was the phone itself.  It's 2010, no one wants locked down, proprietary phones anymore. ESPECIALLY not kids.  Kids want the cool shit.  And the cool shit right now is being able to download whatever app you want.  Android, iOS and (to a lesser, less cool degree) BlackBerry can all do that.  KIN could not.  The KIN was designed to be a new take on the Sidekick, another locked down, proprietary OS that has fizzled into nothingness.  Let's not forget the fact that this phone required the same data plan as the iPhone, BlackBerry, etc.  I'm sorry, but there was never a market for this.
• Speaking of market, have you seen the commercials for these things?  The commercials all featured 20 something college students.  People old enough and (presumably) smart enough to know that these phones ain't shit.  I thought this was supposed to be for the teenie boppers?  Microsoft themselves apparently didn't even know how to market this abomination.  If I ever seen a college student with a Kin, I'd smack them.  

Newflash, people.  Phones aren't that expensive anymore.  You can nab a powerful smartphone for less than $100 if you hunt hard enough. And $200 for an iPhone, Droid X or whatever the fuck else isn't that big of a deal.  Trying to hit the bargain market with underpowered phones isn't that smart of a move anymore.  Microsoft learned this the hard way.  I know there will always be a need for regular flip phones, but stop trying to cater to a grey area that doesn't exist.  If it's not a full on smart phone, it doesn't need to be sold!