10. Mini Disc
Sony’s Minidisc players reached their peak of popularity in the late
90’s-Early 2000’s. Minidiscs were sort of the lovechild of cassette
players and mp3 players, but the technology was also great for recording
live audio. Many concerts were bootlegged on Mini Disc. The hardware
looked, well, you guessed it… like mini discs and could be used to
transfer CDs and mp3s. This machine was invented and popular before
everyone had a portable mp3 player, such as an iPod. While some artists
put out pre-recorded minidiscs, such as Janet Jackson, Madonna, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Mariah Carey and Cher,
it wasn’t the most popular pre-recorded medium. So why did it fail? The
product focused more on hardware than software. Oh, and this little
thing called the iPod killed it.
9. BetaMax
Remember VCRs? They used to play these little things called VHS Tapes.
The rival of the VHS was Betamax. What was the difference between the
two? Betamax tapes were shorter, only 60 minutes (when they were first
debuted), which isn’t really long enough for a movie. VHS tapes lasted 3
hours. Another reason why it failed is that Sony, which manufactured
the Betamax, would not permit pornography to be distributed on the
tapes, but JVC, who manufactured VHS, had no issue with it. Everyone
knows that sex sells. While Betamax was a higher quality product, it was
also more expensive, which wasn’t as attractive to consumers as a
cheaper alternative. Another reason why Betamax died is because Sony
wouldn’t let other manufacturers make their players, whereas many
companies made VHS players, which also affected the price.
8. Apple Newton
The Apple Newton was the precursor of the iPad. It was a personal
digital assistant (PDA) that did many of the same things that iPads and
iPhones do. It has a calendar, a to-do list, calculator, currency
converter, a time-zones map and an address book. The Newton could also
be used to send a fax. It used a stylus (those little pen thingies-
remember those?), instead of a keyboard. However, its handwriting
recognition software apparently malfunctioned constantly. Like many
Apple products, battery life was an issue and the screen was difficult
to read but, the Newton wasn’t a total failure because its software
inspired future operating systems and of course, tablet computers.
7. Helio
Helio burned out very fast, being introduced in 2006 and discontinued by 2010. Helio was a carrier that used Sprint’s network. But, Helio was also a smart phone brand, which had several models. In fact their slogan was, “Don’t Call Us a Phone Company; Don’t Call it a Phone.” The company had several stores and was advertised everywhere, but the product never lived up to the hype. The phones were mostly re-branded Samsung phones that were already popular, but obsolete in South Korea, by the time they became available in the United States. The company also partnered with MySpace, to promote the product. So, why did the Helio never catch on? It just wasn’t all that good technology or price-wise.6. Garmin Nüvifone
Garmin made everyone’s favorite and most popular car navigation system,
until navigation became a free app. Garmin tried to capitalize on their
popularity in 2008, when they debuted a smart phone that came with a car
dock. The phone had their navigation system built in, as well as
allowed hands-free calling. It also had a great geo-tagging option for
the camera, and a built in social network called Ciao! So why did
consumers say “ciao” to Ciao in 2010? The iPhone did all the same
things, plus more and in a better way. Garmin couldn’t ever quite
navigate the smartphone market well enough to succeed.
5. HD DVD
Blue Ray VS. HD DVD was the new VHS VS. Betamax. In 2005, HD Televisions
were available, but were not seemingly in every home yet. DVD players
were popular, but the quality of DVD didn’t yet match HD. These two
products attempted to replace the DVD. So, what was the difference
between HD DVD and Blue Ray? To most consumers, there really wasn’t much
of a difference. They were basically the same product, but incompatible
with one another. Warner Brothers basically killed the HD DVD when they
decided they would be releasing all of their films and television
programs exclusively on Blue Ray. The company even offered to replace HD
DVD titles with Blue Ray for a small shipping and handling fee. But,
Blue Ray will soon be made obsolete anyway because streaming video will
be king.
4. Clippy
Do you remember Clippit aka Clippy? Clippy was the office assistant from
Hell. How could you forget a big annoying paper clip that popped up in
Microsoft Office and then asked you stupid questions, like if you wanted
help writing a letter, when you typed the word dear. No, you
didn’t want help. You wanted that thing or any of its incarnations, such
as a dog, a cartoon Albert Einstein, a robot or a bouncy ball dot
thing, to go away. Even Microsoft employees hated that Clippy, and it
was universally panned. In 2007, Microsoft finally killed off Clippy.
3. Windows Phone
The Windows Phone is the newest piece of technology on this list and while it’s not discontinued yet, it probably will be soon. Sales are way down, with only 7.4 million Windows phones shipped in the second quarter of this year, which is down 9.4% from the same time last year. The smartphone only has a 5% market share in the US. So, why is it such a failure? Consumers prefer iPhones and Androids. The Windows Phone has less Apps, isn’t cheaper, or doesn’t have better technology than the iPhone or Android, so what incentive is there to buy it? There isn’t.2. Smart Watches
Apple just announced that the iWatch will be released in 2015, but it’s a
gamble because every other smart watch before the iWatch hasn’t exactly
been successful. While smart watches have been around since the early
1970’s, they’ve been booming and busting for the past ten years. In
2003, watchmaker Fossil, released one that ran a Palm operating system.
In 2004, Microsoft released SPOT, which received information via FM
radio waves. It was discontinued in 2008. There are several smart
watches available right now, such as the Pebble, but smart watches
aren’t exactly the new Rolex. Only time will tell how smart the apple
watch will be.
1. 3D Television
3D
television just never took off the way manufacturers anticipated it. So
why did something so cool fail? There are limited channels available
worldwide that broadcast in 3D exclusively, which also makes the
television not worth the price, and the prices of these televisions are
quite high, anywhere from $1,500 to nearly $40,000. Also, many of the
televisions require glasses to see the 3D, which are not exactly
comfortable. Although this product hasn’t failed completely, it’s likely
on its way out.
credit:therichest
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