Recently, Microsoft unveiled a new mobile platform and two new devices built for it. It’s called Kin and it’s targeted at a younger demographic with a focus on social communication. It’s also been one of the most controversial releases I’ve ever seen. Many folks who’ve weighed in on the topic weren’t too impressed. They cite a lack of features ranging from a calendar to no support for third party applications, most notably games. I don’t share those views (although I do think it’s not a good idea for middle aged Microsoft executives to go with a shirt untucked and unshaven look while presenting) and I think Kin has a good chance of being successful in the marketplace. Here’s why.
1. The market is real. One of the classic mistakes people make when evaluating technology is to apply their own biases toward it. When products were designed and targeted to a mass, horizontal market, it was less likely to happen. As the mobile market continues to grow, we’ll see more and more specialized products designed for either vertical or mass markets, neither of which represent the traditional tech enthusiast. In this case Kin isn’t targeted toward an enthusiast marketplace that’s already using a smartphone and is seeking the next greatest thing. It’s aiming to replace the feature phone audience that’s using those phones by choice (or in some cases cost necessity).
Not everyone needs or wants the complexity of today’s smartphone devices and platforms. That’s a hard concept for us geeks to fathom but it’s true. Kin is much more the heir to the feature phone than it is to the next generation smartphone. The truth is, it’s neither feature phone nor smartphone, it’s something in between.
2. Segmentation makes sense. Mobile tasks segment greatly by audience. Older demographics are far more likely to cite voice communication as their critical function, by a wide margin over every other mobile activity. By contrast, a younger demographic will likely be using fewer voice services and be much more focused on other forms of communication, such as text messaging and looking to tap into their social networks from an integrative perspective. I can understand why some folks think Kin isn’t the phone for them. Frankly, it’s not the phone for me (although there are aspects of it that I love). That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s not the phone for anyone.