Verizon Wireless has dropped the price for Microsoft's Kin mobile phones amid signs that the devices aren't doing as well as the companies hoped in the target market of teens and young adults.

The prices of the Kin One and Kin Two (after a $100 discount and with a two-year contract) have been dropped on Verizon's website and in the company's retails stores to $30 and $50, from their previous prices of $50 and $100, respectively. Bloomberg News quotes a Verizon spokesperson saying that the company is "comfortable" with how the Microsoft Kin phones are being accepted.

Microsoft released the Kins last month. Also coming this summer is a Kin software update to address glitches and add new features, according to blog posts today quoting a moderator responding to a Kin customer in a Microsoft forum.

The Kin devices are an example of Microsoft getting more heavily involved in the design and development of mobile phone hardware, in partnership with consumer electronics company Sharp, while leveraging the software and services acquired in Microsoft's purchase of Danger Inc., maker of the T-Mobile Sidekick.

However, the bigger bet for the company is the upcoming Windows Phone 7 launch, which will represent Microsoft's attempt to get back in the game against Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices.