RUMOR: MICROSOFT TO LAUNCH OWN TABLET NEXT YEAR

According to a report on Wednesday from DigiTimes, Microsoft is hard at work on a tablet. The Redmond-based software company is said to be cooperating with Texas Instruments and multiple Taiwan-based manufacturers in an attempt to push a Microsoft-branded Windows 8 tablet out to market by the end of 2012.

Outside of the Xbox gaming console, Microsoft has not had much luck with consumer hardware in recent years. The company’s line of Zune media players were never widely adopted and its KIN line of messaging phones were cancelled shortly after their release before later returning to Verizon shelves with barely any fanfare. DigiTimes’ sources suggest those failures won’t stop the company from trying, however, and the buzzing tablet space is an obvious next point of attack.

KIN STUDIO CLOSING JANUARY 31ST; VERIZON OFFERS FREE PHONES

To the four people who purchased a Kin we have some bad news. The Kin Studio will permanently close on January 31, 2011. Users can still use the phone to make calls, text, email, browse the web and stream music via Zune Pass. However, the home screen will become dead and useless (think lazy zombie) with the last status update stuck on the screen. The online repository of pictures, contacts and videos will be deleted from the cloud server so back them up now.

Verizon Wireless is offering Kin users a free 3G phone of their choice until March 31, 2011. [WPCentral]

MICROSOFT'S KIN ONE AND TWO REAPPEAR AT VERIZON

After a dismal first outing, being pulled after only a month at retail, the Microsoft Kin ONE and Kin TWO have re-emerged at Verizon. The phones now sport an m at the end of the name, but are effectively the same phones previously sold.

What has changed is the pricing. The Kin ONEm is being sold for $19.99 with a 2 year contract and the Kin TWOm is just under $50 with a 2 year contract. Voice plans start at $39.99 and data plans start with the $15 option (the $9.99 plan is advertised but does not appear as an option). There is also a $35 activation fee. These are down significantly from the original prices back in June. [Verizon Wireless]