[MBCook]

I seem to remember reading that, among other things, Verizon ended up pulling the rug from under Microsoft so the Kin would require $60/mo plans instead of the $10/line/mo charge that would have been more common for a teen's phone.

The Kin's desktop software was widely praised by reviewers as a great way to organize things. But when the pricing put it in iPhone range instead of feature phone range, it had no chance.

[throwaway1979]

Also, the kin was marketed well. I had a few total non-tech female friends ask me about it before it came out.