Congratulations to Microsoft. While deadly rival Apple was shipping a gazillion iPhone 4s, Microsoft has pulled its KIN phones (above) from sale after just six weeks. At the time of writing, the website is still live.
This makes the KIN Microsoft's shortest lived product ever. A new record! By this standard even Windows 2000 looks good. The company cited poor sales and even poorer promotion by its US partner Verizon for the social-network orientated device.
Sadly, the planned European release has also been cancelled.
Not that all is roses in the Apple orchard either. Apple has today confirmed, says Gizmodo, what everybody already knew. No software update can ever repair the dodgy reception problems being encountered by people who hold their new phone in the wrong way. Learn to use your right hands, lefties!
What these episodes illustrate in their own way is that both technology giants have grown out of touch with their users, say a thousand industry observers.
Many have decried this as a sign of uncaring capitalism run riot.
Really, I think it's the opposite. One of the most infuriating and endearing qualities shared by Microsoft and Apple is that both have retained a sort of siege mentality from their days as small independents.
The negative side of this is that products are sometimes rush-released on a wing and a prayer, and then fixed in a hurry. Or withdrawn. The positive side is that an "us v the rest of the world" mentality breeds a fantastic esprit de corps within a company, which leads to daring thinking, innovative products and the ability - eventually - to affect all our lives for the better.
Sometimes we punters have to take the misses with the hits.
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