Verizon Cuts the Price of Microsoft's Kin Phones
Good news for text messaging teens enamored with Microsoft's Kin phones. Verizon has gone and slashed the prices on both the Kin One and Kin Two, making it easier for social networking addicts to save some of their allowance for the real important things, like Justin Bieber concert tickets.
As it turns out, Verizon has had trouble moving the Kin phones off of store shelves, perhaps because everyone has been paying attention to that other smartphone that was recently launched (a little thing called the iPhone 4). Or maybe tweens and social networking hipsters aren't the best demographics for a smartphone. Whatever the reason, the Kin phones aren't as popular as Microsoft (and Verizon) probably hoped they would be.
The Kin One now sells for just $29, down from $49, while the Kin Two dropped from $99 to $49 over the weekend. Both of these require a two-year service agreement, but the biggest roadblock might be the mandatory $29 (or higher) monthly data plan. That's a tough sell for a target audience that largely consists of teenagers.
As it turns out, Verizon has had trouble moving the Kin phones off of store shelves, perhaps because everyone has been paying attention to that other smartphone that was recently launched (a little thing called the iPhone 4). Or maybe tweens and social networking hipsters aren't the best demographics for a smartphone. Whatever the reason, the Kin phones aren't as popular as Microsoft (and Verizon) probably hoped they would be.
The Kin One now sells for just $29, down from $49, while the Kin Two dropped from $99 to $49 over the weekend. Both of these require a two-year service agreement, but the biggest roadblock might be the mandatory $29 (or higher) monthly data plan. That's a tough sell for a target audience that largely consists of teenagers.
