Microsoft spent $1B on the Kin — a social phone that lasted 48 days

Microsoft's Kin, launched in May 2010, was a pair of phones designed specifically for social media sharing — targeting young users who wanted to post to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. The project had been in development for years, with an estimated cost of over $1 billion, and was Microsoft's answer to the iPhone's threat.

But the Kin was caught between two worlds: it was too limited for smartphone users (no app store, no third-party apps) and too expensive for feature phone buyers ($49-$99 plus a $70/month data plan). The target audience — young social media users — was already buying iPhones and Android phones. The Kin's marketing was confusing, and the product had no clear identity.

Microsoft pulled the Kin from the market just 48 days after launch, one of the shortest product lifespans in tech history. The Kin team was absorbed into the Windows Phone division. The case illustrated the danger of building a product for a market segment that is already migrating to a better solution, and of spending years and billions on a product that is obsolete before it ships.