10 failed gadgets
Problems advanced technology that some gadgets just don’t become popular. The reason for this may be poor design, functionality and other factors. In short, not every thing is with the iPhone. Let’s look at the 10 glaring failures in the world of technology over the past decade.
1. Apple Pippin: a failed game console
Even a celestial, as a Corporation Apple, is not immune from a complete fiasco. This attachment to Mac OS was released in 1995. The cost of the Apple Pippin was $599, and consoles had less than two dozen games in this console never had a chance to compete with the Sony Playstation. Before Pippin was withdrawn from the market, it sold about 42,000 copies. In 2006, the console was named one of the most unsuccessful devices for all time the development of technology.
2. Microsoft Kin
Everyone wants to make a fortune, becoming a powerful competitor in the smartphone market. That’s just Microsoft in this regard is constantly accompanied by failure while they are trying to find a reliable foothold. In 2010, Microsoft released a new smartphone intended for teenagers – active users of social networks. After two years of work and billions of dollars invested in this project, this smartphone has been withdrawn from sale after just 48 days after its official release.
3. DIVX discs
Of course, it’s not really a gadget, but judging by how far is too far for technology, we decided to have a closer look and this thing. The Americans have developed this «single» CD in 1998, which is not «readable» on regular DVD players, in response to complaints about the exorbitant price of a regular DVD disk, which in those days cost about 30 bucks. Divx discs cost only $5, but two days after the first playback of this media is blocked, and you could easily throw it away in the trash. Plus, buying a player for DIVX also expensive. In General, this unsuccessful project was studded with $114 million, but despite a decent financial investment no one wanted to be the happy owner of any of these discs, nor the necessary player.
4. Twitter Peek
The whole point of this smartphone, released in 2009, is to unite a bunch of stuff in one place. This is a specialized portable gadget has only one function – tweets. No email, no phone, no SMS. Nothing but Twitter. The worst thing is that this device with this one of task are unable to cope efficiently users complained that the service was slow, and the keyboard constantly «sticks».
. Nokia N-Gage
In 2003, the company Nokia has released this gaming gadget that is not even remotely able to compete with Nintendo for the handheld. Plus, in the game system Nokia N-Gage had a lot of shortcomings, for example, to open the battery compartment, it was necessary to withdraw the cartridge. For two weeks it sold only 5,000 units of the device, and soon all were taken the whole batch of 400 000 copies intended for retail trade.
6. Modo
In the beginning everyone thought that this is the next big thing in technology. A pager for hipsters not passed the test of consumers and, after only a day, the company removed all the devices from sale.
7.3 Com Audrey
A device that allowed you to search for Housewives recipes and stuff on the Internet. 3Com Audrey was sold as fresh shit, and shut up shop after seven months of gadget on the market.
8. Worn PC Poma
Science fiction gave us a couple of stupid ideas about how will look like future technology. In 90-e years it was especially hard. Company Xybernaut Poma has implemented a cyberpunk fantasy and created a PC laptop with a wrist mount keyboard, a miniature monocle-monitor and the entire 32 MB of RAM. Then and now it looked like a weird Halloween costume, worth one and a half Grand.
9. The CueCat Scanner
In 1999 digital convergence released a device called the CueCat – manual bar code scanner that is able to give you the information on the Internet about purchased things. But at the time nobody wanted to buy plastic cat to bring into your life more cheap advertising. In 2005 it was eliminated last instances of CueCat at 30 cents apiece.
10. Virtual Boy
Home video game console, created by Nintendo, is able to project a 3D image. From the huge glasses that came in the kit, was very tired and reddened eyes, and the device was bulky and not very convenient to carry. In 1995, the Virtual Boy cost $180 and was removed from the market only after a year of not very active sales.