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Verizon revives Microsoft's unhappy hipster phone

Smart no more

Microsoft's KIN phones are back from hipster hell, with Verizon pushing the unwanted phones in the run-up to Christmas.

America's largest wireless carrier is again selling the KIN ONE and KIN TWO, now disguised as the KIN ONEm and the KIN TWOm, and without a data plan.

Cnet reports that before the KIN ONE and KIN TWO were pulled this summer, between 1,000 and 10,000 units had been sold. Others put the number at 500.

Verizon is hoping to make a tidy sum off a phone it stopped pushing after just two months — and that was despite a price cut — by wrapping the KINs in a two-year contract.

The KIN TWOm is $219.99 without a contract; otherwise it's available for $49.99. The KIN ONEm is $119 without a two-year deal, versus $19.99 on a contract.

Before it pulled the KINs this summer Verizon required you to sign up for a $30 data plan with the phone.

Now you can opt to pick from a selection of Verizon plans, instead — Verizon offers a $15-per-month plan for 150MB or an unlimited plan for $29.99 per month, in addition to a pay-as-you-go plan. ®

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