News broke today that Google is discontinuing its much heralded Nexus One phone. This news follows on the footsteps of Microsoft's decision to end the Kin social phones just six weeks after their launch.

So what's going on? Did two tech stalwarts go to market with inferior technologies? Do the companies have to change their mobile strategies? Do they belong in mobile?

I think these questions are worth pondering because they expose an important intersection among innovation, marketing, and the marketplace -- an intersection that is important to many technology businesses. The bottom line is that neither innovation nor marketing alone can usually win in the marketplace. You need a successful combination of both elements, though perhaps not always in equal measures.

The core technologies of Nexus One and Kin phones will live on and evolve. Nexus One runs the Google Android operating system -- and other Android phones have a solid position in the marketplace. And Kin technologies to some extent will end up in the Windows Phone 7. In fact, Microsoft has said that the Kin team is being integrated into the Windows Phone 7 team.

So, the discontinuation of Kin phones and Nexus One represents not innovation gone awry, but marketing and positioning that did not pay off. Google gambled that it could run its own Web store -- separate from a mobile service provider -- sell unlocked (and unsubsidized) phones, and provide its own customer service. It didn't work out: it simply did not meet a need in the marketplace. And so too with the Kin: the phone sought a customer that didn't want a full smart phone, but wanted something more than a feature phone, and could pay a fairly substantial monthly mobile fee. It turns out that this customer does not exist in droves. "If you will build it, they will come" is not a good adage for the dynamic and highly competitive mobile marketplace.

And so Microsoft at least is re-emphasizing platform software rather than specific hardware with the Windows Phone 7. The technology looks good: a bunch of preview reviews have been very positive (see, for instance Engagdet and Gizmodo). There is good buzz and serious innovation, but it remains to be seen if this can be translated into a marketplace phenomenon.