Verizon slashes prices on Microsoft's Kin social media phones

Less than two months after introducing Microsoft's Kin social media devices, Verizon Wireless is already cutting their prices, a glaring indication that the phones have failed to connect with subscribers. Per the Verizon Wireless website, the Kin One now sells for $29.99, down from $49.99, with a $100 discount and a two-year contract--the Kin Two, which boasts a larger screen and adds HD video, was reduced to $49.99 from $99.99. In an interview with BusinessWeek, Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney said the Kin price cuts are part of a broader set of price reductions, adding the operator is "comfortable" with how consumers have reacted to the phones.

The products of Microsoft's long-rumored Project Pink effort, the Kin One and Kin Two are designed expressly for mobile social networking and multimedia sharing. Manufactured by Sharp, the touchscreen-based, camera-enabled Kin phones automatically bring together feeds from services including Facebook, MySpace and Twitter via the Kin Loop, an always-on homescreen UI that automatically prioritizes status updates, messages, feeds and photos from contacts identified by users as their favorite people. The cloud-based Kin Studio automatically backs up texts, call history, photos, videos and contacts, and presents images and video content in an online visual timeline; in addition, the Kin devices integrate with Microsoft's Zune digital media services and Bing web search services. Verizon began selling the Kin phones from its website on May 6--sales expanded to its retail outlets a week later.

For more on the Kin price cuts:
- read this BusinessWeek article

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