Microsoft does not plan to sell its "Kin" phones in Europe this Fall, while it will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current phones, the company said today. The Kin phones represented Microsoft's debut into the design of phones and they are available with Verizon Wireless since May. Both Kin models featured built-in Internet social networking functionality as well as Microsoft's Zune digital music player and were aimed at savvy young phone users.

However,it seems that Microsoft's effort to adapt to consumers' taste for handheld Internet-connected gadgets like smartphones was not as succesfull as the expected.

According to reports, the Kin phones lacked certain key smartphone functions, such as the ability to install software applications, yet had wireless data service plans that were priced comparably to more full-featured devices like Apple's iPhone.

The Kin was based on Windows Phone OS and not on the new Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system.

In April, Microsoft said it was also shelving an internal project to develop a tablet PC similar to Apple's iPad.