Microsoft Kills Kin

Serious question: Everyone knew these Kin phones were turds from the moment they leaked. They were unappealing on their own and were a distraction from Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s “real” effort to get back in the game. Microsoft is full of smart people; I’ll bet most people at Microsoft knew these things were doomed, too. So how did these things ever see the light of day?

My answer: Steve Ballmer has no taste, so there’s no plan, so middle managers just run amok and waste hundreds of millions of dollars and years of time on projects like Kin.

★ Wednesday, 30 June 2010