The Kin range of social networking focused smartphones will not go on sale in Europe, manufacturer Microsoft has announced.
Microsoft first released the Kin three months ago, but industry rumours suggest that it has not been a hit with buyers and that US network provider Verizon has sold just 500 units.
This combined with the departure of Robbie Bach, the man who had previously headed up mobile development at Microsoft, are believed to be the chief reasons that the tech giant has put the brakes on an international launch.
Microsoft stated: "We are integrating our Kin team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from Kin into future Windows Phone releases and beyond."
Commenting on the news, industry analyst Ian Fogg attributed low demand for Kin phones to the fact that they are relatively expensive compared with rivals, as well as a lack of third-party software support.
For Microsoft, the focus will now switch entirely to Windows Phone 7, which in many ways is good news as it could produce an excellent final product capable of rivalling Apple's iOS and Android.
Mr Fogg added: "Even the largest firms like Microsoft or Apple have to focus. The question is whether Microsoft was spreading itself too thin in mobile."
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