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KIN Phones are dead on arrival

Jul 172010

It’s with such sadness that I have to admit the KIN phones no matter how cool they were they had no chance at all of making it. I mean from the very beginning who wants a new phone from some unknown name brand like Kin? The phones could be the absolute coolest device ever made and they had no chance against the marketing and name recognition of Apple or even Windows Mobile which seems dead or dying on its own.

Now that Microsoft has officially announced the death of Kin I am hopeful they will get back on board with Zune phones and cave to the pressure of Zune fans around the world who want a phone with the Zune music service built right in. Why they chose to offer some other brand for their new phone line makes little to no sense to me but they did. I expect the recent job loss from top guys like Robbie Bach, who was pivotal in the Entertainment and Devices Division, and even the guru J Allard has much to do with the poor performance of Zune and Kin. if not for the ever popular Xbox the entire division would be a bust. Heck why not stick with that brand and give us a gamephone instead? Would you buy and Xbox phone? I know I would!!

Is Microsoft Mobile Strategy a mess or what?

windows mobiles No Responses »

Jun 212010

I read the article below and had to agree that Microsoft has made a real mess of their Mobile division and I think it all started with the failed launch of Zune way back in 2006. Sure they may have had some issues before that but when the Zune bombed it really hurt the momentum they had built up with Windows CE. I think Zune was supposed to hold us over while they tweaked Windows Mobile for the upcoming phone but the lackluster performance of Zune caused the poor decision to abandon the name as the mobile line and in the end they became to fragmented.

KIN Phones are cool but they should have been Zune phones and they should have been out at least in 2008. If we had to wait that long for a new phone design it should have been light years beyond anything on the market and its not. I hope they can bring some things together and get this all sorted soon or I’ll have to buy a Android phone and move on with my life.

Microsoft’s Mobile Strategy Isn’t A Strategy. It’s A Mess

In a year in which Microsoft is transitioning from the lackluster Windows Mobile
to the more promising Windows Phone 7, one might expect some form of cohesive mobile strategy from the software giant. Unfortunately, that’s not what’s happening. Microsoft has a slew of overlapping mobile products shipping this year, and it seems like a new mobile platform is introduced almost every week. What the heck is going on?

The impetus for this question was the announcement late last week that Microsoft would soon deliver something called Windows Embedded Handheld, yet another mobile software platform and brand built on the same underpinnings as the obsolete Windows Mobile 6.5 and aimed at the nebulous market for “enterprise handheld devices.” And there will be a second version of this down the road based on the Embedded 7 series mobile core.

What?

First Zune phones are Kin 1 and Kin 2 with release date in May

Zune Phone 1 Response »

Apr 122010

The first Zune ready Windows phones will be named the Kin 1 and Kin 2 and should be on the market by May according to the information released today at the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 release conference. The Kin phones from Microsoft will come preinstalled with Zune software for online music and also allow you to update your Facebook, Myspace and Twitter status at the same time.

I think the timing is off for Microsoft on the phone business but at least they are offering some cool new phones for the younger generation. By getting more young people using Windows phones and Zune music service they should be able to keep them using their platform on other devices and in the future.

my only confusion has to be in the names. Why more names? Why do we need a Kin phone when we could have had a Zune phone instead?

Microsoft Introduces Phones Aimed at Young People – NYTimes.com

Microsoft’s effort to revitalize its cellphone business took a new direction Monday with its release of a pair of phones aimed at a younger market.

The phones, the Kin One and Kin Two, are built around their social-networking features. For example, they allow users to update status messages on sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, all at once, from the home menu. In addition, users can scroll down the touch-screen to see a variety of notes from friends and other information gathered from the Web.

“This generation, let’s call it the social generation, really does have a point of view,” said Robert J. Bach, the president of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, at a news conference here. “Their social life is their priority No. 1.”

Windows 7 Series Zune phone getting some good press

Zune Phone No Responses »

Feb 202010

It seems the first reviews of the Zune phone are in and even though no and has a device in hand yet many seem positive about what Microsoft plans to offer by holidays 2010.

The Windows 7 Series Zune Phone will integrate the entire suite of Microsoft applications and services including the basic business and contact services such as Office and Outlook but also Xbox and Zune for the first true all in one device with tight integration of the separate ecosystems on 3 different screens.

It’s a long ways off and the mobile smartphone market is going to get a bit crowded with all the competing systems. Who will Microsoft take from if they want to increase marketing share? Will partnerships with existing handset makers be enough to chip away at Apple or will the Windows Phone make a real challenge to their strong position?

TMCnet | Mobile World Congress News

Microsoft is not about the let Apple enjoy the limelight when it comes to portable media players and smartphones. The company’s highly-rated ZuneHD portable media player is now a phone.

At MWC 2010, Microsoft’s press event, the Zune phone finally took center stage, welcomed by a number of approving nods from audience attendees – according to a review in CNET.

This Windows Phone 7 Series is truly more than simply a Zune HD with a phone added to it. This portable device actually combines some of Microsoft’s most successful products, such as Windows Mobile, Zune, Xbox and Microsoft Office – who wouldn’t want this device?

Zune services going global with Windows phone

Windows Phone No Responses »

Feb 162010

Zune services going global with Windows phone | MP3 Insider – CNET Reviews

To anyone who has looked at Microsoft’s highly-rated Zune HD portable media player and wished it were a phone — your prayers have been answered. Yesterday, at Microsoft’s press event for MWC 2010, the long-rumored “Zune phone” was finally thrust into the spotlight and treated to approving nods by many in attendance.

To be fair, the Windows Phone 7 Series is more than just a Zune HD with a phone slapped in. We’re finally looking at a portable device that melds some of Microsoft’s most successful products, including Windows Mobile, Zune, Xbox, and Microsoft Office. But make no mistake, there’s a whole lot of Zune in the Windows Phone mobile OS. Everything from the touchscreen keyboard, to the “twist” style user interface, look and behave just like Microsoft’s latest Zune HD portable media player.

Zune Phone is hear with lame name of Windows Phone 7 Series

Zune Phone No Responses »

Feb 152010

Music in the next Windows Phone | Digital Noise: Music and Tech – CNET News

At long last, the Zune Phone is here. Microsoft isn’t calling it that–apparently it thought the name Windows Phone 7 Series rolled off the tongue a bit more easily–but the next generation of Microsoft’s smartphone software not only features the entire Zune HD software and services experience (just like the iPod became a component of the iPhone), but the entire user interface itself bears a close resemblance to the Zune HD.

To be clear, Microsoft isn’t building the hardware like it did with Zune–rather, partners like HTC, LG, and Samsung will do that work. But a lot of what the company learned from several iterations of Zune design has been rolled into its mobile platform.

Zune phone release date finally here

Zune Phone No Responses »

Jan 232010

Is the Zunephone release date finally here? Zune news and the buzz online is that Microsoft is finally releasing the Zune phone. The Microsoft Zune phone will feature Zune software and full suite of premium services for music, video and hopefully Xbox video games as well running on Windows Mobile 7. A business edition minus the media features and tailored to corporate communications would also be available, according to the first Zune rumor of 2010.

I like the idea of offering two different models for business and personal use. It makes sense for business users to focus on business features but lets hope the Zune software can be installed if say for instance your business involves music or you want to enjoy your phone after work ours. Maybe you can login to a Business mode with scaled down features and even lock the phone into these settings based on the time of day. Of course that might make to much sense for some business owners or even Microsot. I suppose they just have to have two phones with one login each instead of one phone with two different modes.

The phone will be a partnership and not manufactured by Microsoft, according to the new rumors, and it will not be made in the existing Zune factory. Microsoft will probably do what Google has done and brand a phone by HTC or some other phone hardware maker. Why did we wait two years for this? Why din’t they just port the Zune software over to existing phones a long time ago even if they were working on some super new mobile opertatoing system? By branding the Zune early on as mobile music subscription service it may have had a real chance against Apple and the iPod/iPhone/Mac powerhouse combination it appears they have had the vision to mimic. instead it’s been laughed at as half assed and a joke by everyone who never owned a Zune player.

Check out the article below and other Zune rumors on Bing or Google for more ideas on that they have been working on for so long.

Technorati Tags: zune, zune phone, zunephone, microsoft

Zune Phone Could Fulfill Microsoft’s ’3 Screens’ Wish – PC World

Zune Phone Could Fulfill Microsoft’s ’3 Screens’ Wish
Microsoft’s mobile play is still a mystery, but reports about WinMo 7 and a Zune-like Microsoft phone provide new clues.

More Zune Phone Rumors. Does anyone care?

Zune Phone No Responses »

Jan 222010

There are more rumors that Microsoft will finally release the Zune phone. My question in all of this is who cares at this point? I mean we have been asking about this for over 2 years now and in that time the iPhone has become the defacto smartphone standard and even Google jumped on the mobile bandwagon with the Nexus One.

Tech years are longer than dog years and these past two years may as well have been 20 as far as Microsoft is concerned as a competitor in the mobile marketplace. Windows Mobile 7 looks like vaporware and if it ever is released it wont be anything more than a new shine on old code.

Microsoft screwed Zune and their entire mobile market play by waiting what amounts to an eternity to release a look what we copied from someone else device. Does anyone but us Zune fans care about the Zunephone.

Microsoft To Unveil Zune Phone? — InformationWeek

Microsoft is planning to introduce a Windows Mobile-based phone in the coming weeks in order to keep up with rivals Apple and Google, according to a financial analyst.

Jefferies stock picker Katherine Egbert said the company would likely unveil the device next month at the Mobile World Congress in San Francisco.

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