Only the half baked die young.

The world’s most prolific personal computing giant, Microsoft, has completely botched its introduction to the mobile phone market. Only six short weeks following the launch of the Kin, the phone’s development team is being transferred over to working on the Windows Phone 7. Where does this fit the realm of Microsoft failures? More important, what can we learn from it?

A Brief History of Recent Microsoft Gaffes

We don’t have to dig deep into the days of “Microsoft Bob” (RIP 1995), or bore you with the all-too-well-known history of how the tech giant rang in the new millennium with one of the buggiest operating systems of all time. We needn’t look farther back than three years.

On January 30, 2007, glossy packages, boasting minimalist design, accented by beautiful flourishes of color and a refreshed logo hit the shelves. It was the release of Windows Vista, an operating system second only to WindowsME in hollowness. The operating system feigned security, asking for you to authorize yourself at every turn, while leaving your computational backend susceptible to the same old enemies. Vista was also a jealous bid to create an interface as beautiful as Apple’s OSX, miserably missing the mark (with clumsy fades, and pointless animations), while simultaneously ruining system performance.

Vista was eventually found to be a software package so foul, that it won 2nd place on TIME Magazine’s May 2009 list: “The 10 Biggest Tech Failures of the Last Decade”. This same article noted that in April of 2009 (almost 4 months after its release) global market share for the operating system was less than 24%, even as its predecessor Windows XP held onto 62%. Despite the fresh promotional materials, the swanky screen effects and the purported increase in security, early reviews, outing the system as a dud, had consumers hesitating to adopt.

Ever hear of the Microsoft Smart Watch? It was a product launched from the company’s Smart Person Objects Technology (or SPOT) initiative in 2004. It was an ugly, bulky wristwatch that used FM radio technology to receive news and weather (something cell phones had just begun to do). Despite the cool factor of living out your Dick Tracy fantasies, and the marketing power one of the world’s largest corporations, the project died after 5 short years. By this time, people were accessing way more information on their cellphones, so why pay a $9.95 subscription fee for a geeky watch that does little more than confirm that it is in fact cold outside?

Akin to the Kin

The Kin is (was?) a “smartphone” that was designed specifically for connecting with friends via text messages, Facebook, MySpace, Windows Live and Twitter. Friends were front and center in operating system, relaying to the user photos and recent status updates in an easy to access feed.

The Kin came in two models, the limited Kin One for $49.99 and the “full featured” Kin Two for $99.99. Additionally, to use the Kin you had to pay mandatory $30 monthly service fee. Both versions were launched with an aggressive marketing campaign targeting teens to 29 year olds, with indie hipster imagery pumped through a litany of social media channels. A recent Advertising Age article reports that agencytwofifteen, the marketing firm behind the “hip” campaign, had hyper-targeted the message based on feedback from over 50,000 consumers between the ages of 20-29.

So on May 13, 2010 the Kin was released: cheap price, targeted at a specific audience with arguably effective tone and through direct channels. What was missing?

The Kin Was Half A Smartphone

Sure you could connect with your friends, but only on the Kin’s terms. While Facebook, MySpace, Windows Live and Twitter were all native to the phone, the user couldn’t download any apps. For the Twitter client included, there was no way to share photos or videos. Kin didn’t have any GPS capabilities. The device didn’t even have a calendar that you could schedule appointments and events on, a feature that has been around since the dawn of PDA time.

For a debatably small increase in cost (and a two-year contract or so), why wouldn’t the consumer get a more powerful, full featured smart phone with the world’s developer community a “tap” away?

What Microsoft Teaches Businesses, Time and Time Again

You don’t need to hire a high-powered research group to glean this one nugget of wisdom from Microsoft’s follies: no matter how much you polish a turd, it’s still a turd. Quality of content, the thoughtfulness of a design, truly filling a need or improving on an existing idea – these fundamental characteristics are what sell a product. Don’t get me wrong, you still need an excellent communication strategy, broadcasting the value of your product (aptly managed by a highly capable firm like Greteman Group), but it all starts with quality and a product geared towards complete consumer satisfaction.

When you start thinking about introducing a new product into the market, consider activating people within your business or bringing on a strategic partner that can help you identify a few key items: what do consumers want, where do they want it, at what price do they want it, and how do you get the word out (with the right image). Even better, this same research team can help you identify which similar products introduced to market completely flopped and why. I have no doubt that Apple, HTC and other dominant cell phone entities will be visiting this case study of failure (all the while chuckling smugly, I’m sure).

In the meantime, we’ll be sending this open letter to Microsoft, in an effort to let them know they may have forgotten a couple points, thereby killing what could’ve otherwise been a real neat alternative.

RIP Kin (2010). May you be remembered for your “cool-indie-hipster-girl-traveling-across-the-country” commercials and not by your disturbing lack of basic smartphone features.

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Did we miss any lessons, you’d like to share?

Steve Jobs wants to protect you from his competitors. Thanks, Steve. But what’s the price to people like our clients who need to reach an audience through mobile advertising? And after that price has been paid, is user privacy really any safer with Apple?

Privacy is a hot topic these days. You need to know what’s behind the PR blowout around Facebook. You need to know when the impenetrable Google gets caught with its hand in the personal data cookie jar if any of those are yours or your customers’ cookies.

I've got a bad feeling about this.

We’re not writing to add to this sonorous exchange, ranting about “big technology” and making up NSFW nicknames for Mark Zuckerberg. Instead, this post is about Apple’s latest big-business move that (thanks to a growing army of industry watchdogs) is being reported, analyzed and scorned by international media outlets.

Apple’s New Ad Policy
Apple recently released a revision to their developer agreement that essentially prevents developers of iPhone apps from using third-party advertising systems.

For those who care, it’s in section 3.3.9:

“You and Your Applications may not collect, use, or disclose to any third party, user or device data without prior user consent, and then only under the following conditions…
– The collection, use or disclosure is for the purpose of serving advertising to Your Application; is provided to an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads (for example, an advertising service provider owned by or affiliated with a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent); (emphasis mine) and the disclosure is limited to UDID, user location data, and other data specifically designated by Apple as available for advertising purposes.”

Removing Competition
The social media guide Mashable reports that, according to Steve Jobs, this latest move isn’t Apple taking aim at competitors’ advertising solutions (like, say, Google’s AdMob). Rather he claims “protecting user privacy” is the noble and justified reason for Apple removing all of their competitors from their iPhone, iPad and iPod software.

So as the world churns with angry mobs of jilted Facebook users, demanding the technology world respect their privacy, Apple “answers the call” by simply blocking their competition. According to a June 6th report from AppleInsider.com, the iPhone OS is the second most popular smartphone operating system on the planet, holding 28% of market share. The iTunes store is giant, boasting over 100,000 apps, now all limited to Apple’s proprietary advertising network iAD.

Why You Should Care
So, after all this, the question remains, is the user’s privacy really any better protected because of Apple’s new policy? As for businesses trying to reach iPhone users through in-App advertising, what kind of prices will they be subjected to in the iAD system? Is Apple going to do a “clean out” like their app store crusade in February, removing all the advertisers they think are too inappropriate for iADs?

For the average user, I have no great remedies for the growing encroachment of technology into our personal lives. If you’re going to use networks and/or tools maintained by somebody other than yourself to communicate, you must accept the fact that (even with protective legal measures in place and terms of use promises made) your data is at risk of being viewed, disseminated, and sold. Got some high risk, digital asset? Try to keep it as disconnected as possible.

Wait. There’s an Up Side
Personal data snatching concerns aside, the latest Apple development births yet another segment in the array of useful channels through which consumers can be reached. The best action anybody in this advertising environment can take is staying educated on the various advertisement networks available and understand the circumstances that come with employing them (or hire the experts ). As for a potential price hike from Apple’s exclusive iAD networks: we’ll wait to see what Jobs has in store (and if the antitrust bell shall toll).

We’ve always adored Royal Caribbean. Not only because it’s our client, but also because of its forward-thinking mindset and appreciation of good creative. Now, we have a reason to love them even more.

Royal Caribbean recently launched an iPhone application — The Royal Connect — to help passengers stay connected while onboard the 16-deck Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship. Passengers can locate family and friends (Where’d Grandma run off to now?), make reservations for ship restaurants and spas, find out the day’s scheduled activities (When did they say the show starts?), and chat and communicate with other cruise passengers using digital voice. Mom and Dad can even track whereabouts of the kiddos through the rented iPhone and chip integrated into the wristbands received at boarding.

The connectivity of the iPhone and the unrivaled cruise experience of Royal Caribbean. Now that’s smooth sailin’.

Do you have a favorite branded app that has made your life easier?

The joy in being an iPhone owner is discovering the plethora of fun and handy applications at your fingertips. Here’s my latest app craze: ToyCamera. This charmingly simple “photo effector” application brings the old-style fun of vintage cameras to your iPhone.

The app has eight photo filters (vintage green, sepia, low contrast and more). By default, the app is set to apply one of these filters randomly to a photo after it’s been captured. You can set it so that the app only applies a specific filter, but that defeats the purpose — and the fun. ToyCamera’s appeal lies in its randomness. Plenty of other photo apps allow you to apply very specific effects, but that is not what ToyCamera aims to do.

Plug ‘N’ Play Becomes Shoot ‘N’ Play
After you take the photo, you can see a preview image. If you like it, you can apply the effect to your image, which is then immediately added to your default camera roll. ToyCamera isn’t designed to add effects to existing photos; it wants you to launch the app, snap a shot, and have fun with the result.

Speaking of the results? They’re pretty darn good! Like Barbara Walters, everything seems to look better with a filter applied. I’ve been using the app to take photos of hair accessories that I make as a hobby – you can see them below (make sure you click them to see the full-size version). And because the app is so simple, I’m constantly looking for new and unique things to capture using ToyCamera. It makes me feel like a kid again.

What’s your favorite easy-to-use iPhone application?

Urban Spoon, the wildly popular iPhone app, has finally launched in Wichita. Let the rejoicing commence!

This app’s brilliance is found in its simplicity, doing one thing and doing it well. As the iPhone commercial says, it answers the age-old question “What are we doing for dinner tonight?” And it does a pretty decent job of offering up viable suggestions. Combine its functionality with a clean, fun interface and there’s little wonder why it’s one of the top 10 most popular apps.

But our favorite aspect of UrbanSpoon is that it’s powered by people. Is your favorite Thai restaurant not showing up? Go to UrbanSpoon.com and get it added. Is there a restaurant that keeps showing up in an incorrect category? Go to the website and make a suggestion. It’s truly community-driven.

We’re pumped that the time spent on our “where-are-we–going–to-lunch-today” conversations are about be cut in half – now we just have to make sure we don’t fill that time trying to master TapDefense.

What do you think about UrbanSpoon?