> Seems that Sidekick and Kin are counter-examples to that statement.
Microsoft threw away the working Sidekick OS and re-built it from the ground up on Win CE so that they could brand KIN as a "Windows Phone". So isn't that really a perfect example?
Exactly. Sidekick was thrown into the trash before the customers even knew it, and Kin was pitched into the dumpster before the launch party was even over.
The only non-Microsoft brand to come out of Microsoft is, curiously, the XBox.
Microsoft threw away the working Sidekick OS and re-built it from the ground up on Win CE so that they could brand KIN as a "Windows Phone". So isn't that really a perfect example?