![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/windows-8.jpg\")
Windows 8<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Operating System<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In a way, Microsoft’s development of Windows 8 fixed many issues its predecessor had. However, it had several other problems<\/a><\/strong> from the jump when it was rolled out in 2012. They changed the interface entirely to rely on more of a mobile operating system appearance, which they hoped would work pretty well with many devices now using touchscreens. The issue is that Microsoft assumed that since we were already seeing mobile phones become very popular, everyone would just love that same interface all over. We didn’t, plus Microsoft made Windows 8 far more complicated to use even for those who liked the mobile interface. We just had to deal with it until the next operating system popped up. Funny enough, Microsoft sold a ton of Windows 7 and 10 operating systems after this.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Sony](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sony-minidisc.jpg\")
[Image via Micah Watson\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSony MiniDisc<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Data Storage<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Ah, the 1990s. It was a time when companies decided to try some radical ideas to be the next big thing. Sony was already relatively established in 1992 when it debuted the Minidisc<\/a><\/strong>. The product worked like a floppy or compact disc, storing data. In this case, it was meant to store mostly digital audio as a way to replace the cassette tape. Initially, it rolled out being able to hold 60 minutes of audio but would later improve to hold up to 80 minutes. The data compression software it utilized would later be used for Sony’s Hi-MD which held a quality similar to what we later saw on CDs. The Minidisc and its player might have failed to replace tapes but it certainly seemed to have success in places like Japan. On a global scale though, it failed. As of 2012, Sony only sold 22 million of them.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Google](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/google-nexus-phones.jpeg\")
[Image via Giodp.org]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGoogle Nexus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Smartphone, Tablet, & Digitial Media Line<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We should mention Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., has made a lot of failed tech products. Thus, we won’t cover them all and focus just on their biggest failures. First up is the Google Nexus, a tablet and smartphone line that used the company’s Android operating system. The Nexus One<\/a><\/strong> smartphone saw a lot of positive reviews from critics. The issue is that they sold for triple the cost of most phones, and only sold it via its online store. They also made an exclusive deal with T-Mobile, one of America’s smallest cellular companies. Google’s attempt to rival the iPhone was a huge flop with the first Nexus phone and all the other Nexus phones they put out ever since. Every product was massively overpriced and did not do anything revolutionary at all.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Samsung](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/samsung-galaxy-fold.jpg\")
[Image via Framesira\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSamsung Galaxy Fold<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Smartphone<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Well, this went about as well as most people thought it would. Samsung is yet another company with many failed tech products. Initially, the Samsung Galaxy Fold seemed like an interesting idea. A product that could be relatively large but fold up nicely to fit into your pocket. However, the company technically lied or misrepresented how many folds the device could handle. They claimed they had “tested up to 200,000 folds,” but the display failed at a little over 120,000 folds at best. This made the $2,000 device hardly worth such a price, not to mention issues with screen flickering, slow performance, and even the dual messenger feature not working after the recent Android 12 update<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Keurig](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/keurig-kold.jpeg\")
[Image via WSAW]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nKeurig Kold<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> At-Home Soda Maker<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Keurig company is relatively good, so it was kind of shocking to see one of the most infamous failed tech products in recent memory come from them. The company introduced the Keurig Kold in 2015, which was meant more for making sodas than coffee. They even had a deal with Coca-Cola to sell their pods for the device. Yet the Kold had several issues that made it a failure<\/a><\/strong>. First, it likely did not sell very well to start with due to the high asking price of around $370. Second, many felt it was often too big, loud, and inconvenient for making soda. Plus, it was often unreliable when making sodas and could even make them taste kinda off. It made more sense just to buy a Coke. On top of that, American soda consumption has been going down for many years now anyway.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/apple-g4-cube.jpg\")
[Image via Karolis Kavolelis\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nApple G4 Cube<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Personal Computer<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Honestly, while Apple might be behind some of the most innovative tech products in recent memory…they had quite a list of failed tech products before that. Likely the biggest was the Apple G4 Cube<\/a><\/strong>, which nearly bankrupt the company. Apple CEO Steve Jobs sort of dreamed up the idea of making a powerful, miniaturized desktop computer. This led to the G4’s creation and rollout between July 2000 and 2001. However, this personal computer cost a lot of money and took it out of the price range most could afford. The power, limited expandability, and clear cosmetic issues caused it to fail. It only sold 150,000 units before production was suspended. Interestingly, the G4’s initial concept led to Apple’s movement into the iPod and Mac Mini, even to its now infamous line of extremely powerful laptops.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Nokia](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/nokia-n-gage.jpg\")
[Image via Atsupriatna24\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nNokia N-Gage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Video Game System & Phone<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In a way, we have to hand it to Nokia for trying to enter the video game space at a time when so many were trying to do so. By 2002 when they released the N-Gage<\/a><\/strong>, Nintendo and Sony were already capturing everyone’s attention. Nokia wanted to get Game Boy Advance users to jump ship and to do so, they included telephone functionality. The issue was that the buttons were really designed for phone use but not for gaming. The “taco phone” as it came to be called due to its shape had other issues too. Not only were new smartphones coming out soon after but the system lacked game selection and had poor reviews from most gamers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"JooJoo](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/joojoo-tablet.jpeg\")
[Image via SFGate]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJooJoo Tablet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Internet Tablet<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There were many issues from the start that made the JooJoo Tablet<\/a><\/strong> one of the most notable failed tech products of all time. First, Fusion Garage had countless issues with Michael Arrington, who they worked with on the tablet. He came up with the CrunchPad a year before Apple’s iPad was released. Fusion Garage was going to call this the CrunchPad but then in 2009 they informed Arrington they would be selling the product without him, leading to a lawsuit and delays. The JooJoo was released at a cost of $500, which was their first mistake. The goal was to compete with Apple’s iPad yet compared to the iPad, this tablet had a larger screen but looked worse overall. The software was horrific and everything was not just unintuitive but complicated to use. Leading it to be a complete failure on the market.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Pebble](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/pebble-watch.jpg\")
[Image via Oatjo\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPebble Watch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Smartwatch<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In a way, we have to respect the Pebble Technology Corporation, as they funded their Pebble Smartwatch through a Kickstarter campaign from April 2012 to May 2012. The campaign managed to raise a little over $10 million, the most funded Kickstarter campaign ever at the time. By January 2013, their smartwatches began shipping out. The watches worked with both Android and iOS devices and there were many Pebble-compatible apps from ESPN, Uber, GoPro, and others. These watches were a real success. What made them fail? Pebble began to experience financial issues, leading to the intellectual property of the watches being purchased by Fitbit<\/a><\/strong> in 2016. This led to Pebble shutting down. They would not honor any existing warranties and they’d no longer continue support for any devices.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Amazon](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/amazon-fire-phone.jpg\")
[Image via WIRED]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAmazon Fire Phone<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Cell Phone<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Amazon extended itself into the cellular phone department in 2014. The company is worth billions so dropping nearly a quarter billion to get involved in this field wasn’t an issue. The Amazon Fire Phone was a complete failure<\/a><\/strong> and by late 2014 at least $83 million worth of phones remained in stock off of their $170 million investment. It sold for a then-costly $200 on a two-year plan. While it used the Android operating system, Amazon only allowed the app store to sell specific apps made for Fire phones and tablets. Meaning developers had to make two versions of Android apps leading to 240,000 Fire apps and more than a million Google Play Store apps. The phone could also scan around 100 million real-world objects, but this was only done to get people to buy more stuff from Amazon!!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"SEGA](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sega-dreamcast.jpg\")
[Image via Interneteable\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSEGA Dreamcast<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Video Game Console<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
At one point, Nintendo and SEGA were pretty competitive with each other. However, when Sony released the first PlayStation, Nintendo managed to stay relevant but SEGA couldn’t without a new system. That led to them releasing the Dreamcast console. However, SEGA experienced several issues<\/a><\/strong> with not only their device but the game studios too. While SEGA did get a lot of third-party support, many top developers refused to make their games available to the Dreamcast including EA Sports, Rockstar North, and Squaresoft. Unlike the PS2 and ,later, the X-Box, Dreamcast did not play DVDs as it did not use normal discs. Instead, they opted for a SEGA exclusive game type. The controllers were overly large and did not have a second analog stick, making games harder to play too.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"HP](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hp-touchpad.jpeg\")
[Image via Pinterest]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHP Touchpad<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Internet Tablet<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Initially, the team at Hewlett-Packard was pretty excited about rolling out the new HP Touchpad in 2011. Apple’s iPad was a major success so many tech companies wanted to make tablets to get in on that. HP and others could make tablets at a lower cost too. The HP Touchpad used initially innovative HP\/Palm webOS and could likely do quite well, so by the Summer of 2011 they rolled out their new tablet. Yet they did this with very little fanfare and almost no advertising. Management differed on whether or not to get into the mobile space before this, and the tablet was even built on flawed software. Apps and developer support were almost nonexistent, leading to a true failure overall<\/a><\/strong>. They did not stick around in this territory to build on any successes they had and just ended the Touchpad line completely.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Microsoft](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/microsoft-zune.jpeg\")
[Image via Stereogum]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMicrosoft Zune<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Portable Media Player<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Microsoft Zune<\/a><\/strong> was not a bad device but this portable media player faced an uphill battle from the start. It had to compete with the worldwide phenomenon that was the Apple iPod. The iPod launched in 2001 while the Zune came out in 2006, which is a big deal honestly. Apple launched the iTunes store around the time the iPod came out, reinventing music buying forever. They cornered the market, meaning Zune users likely needed to use iTunes to download songs anyway. Microsoft was late to the MP3 party and Apple was making changes to address user needs before the first Zune even came out. Thus, any new iPod would be better. It should also not be ignored that Microsoft barely promoted its Zune, so how were people ever going to care about it?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"EEG](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/eeg-exoskeleton.jpeg\")
[Image via NBC News]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEEG Exoskeleton<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Rehabilitation Robotics<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
While many companies have tried to make a successful EEG Exoskeleton for rehabilitation, none succeeded. The initial game plan was to use brain signals taken by an EEG cap. Yet those signals did not seem to be strong enough to move them. Another issue was that the exoskeleton is essentially trying to anticipate your moves to allow for more normalized movement. This often did not go well and caused people to fight with the exoskeleton, which then causes a change in your brain only further causing the exoskeleton to not work right. Muscles would be overused and higher forces would be put on the lower back, causing pain and potential injuries. Exoskeletons used in the military work relatively well but those used in rehabilitation<\/a><\/strong> simply do not right now, plus they are overpriced for most to afford.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Sony](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/sony-betamax-tape.jpg\")
[Image via Kazitafahnizeer\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSony Betamax<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Video Cassette\/Cassette Recorder<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It is claimed that the Sony Betamax<\/a><\/strong> is one of the most notable failed tech products of the last 50 years. Yet this isn’t exactly fair as it did sell relatively well. The Betamax was an analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video. Pretty much just a video cassette recorder. Of course, it ended up losing out to its biggest rival, the VHS. Released in 1979, the Sony Betamax did do well against VHS until it couldn’t compete any longer by the late 1980s\/early 1990s. Sony had the last laugh when DVDs overtook the VHS, then again with their BlueRay invention.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Juicero\"](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/juicero.jpeg\")
[Image via Engadget]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nJuicero<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Juicer<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Not everything that starts up in Silicon Valley<\/a><\/strong> ends up being a success, and this is a good example of that. The Juicero<\/a><\/strong> is a fruit and vegetable juicer that was, for some reason, WiFi connected. It used proprietary, single-serve packets of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables sold only by the company and by subscription. However, Juicero’s juice packets could be squeezed just as easily by hand as by the juicer itself. In 2017, the company announced it was suspending sales and even repurchasing the juicer from its customers along with searching for a buyer for the overall IP. Juicero was overpriced, had a terrible business model, and was useless.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/apple-newton.jpg\")
[Image via Gearrice]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nApple Newton<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To be fair to Apple, this product was not exactly a bad idea. The Apple Newton was an early form of the PDA, a term it originated. It had handwriting recognition too, which was revolutionary for its time. The device ran on Apple’s own proprietary operating system, the Newton OS. It also ran on the ARM 610 RISC processor. While innovative, Newton was ultimately one of Apple’s biggest failed tech products of all time. It was high-priced out of the gate and had problems with its most notable feature, handwriting recognition. Steve Jobs, gone from the company at the time, hated the device. When he returned, he killed the entire Newton line. However, many say that Apple Newton’s successes led to the invention of the iPhone<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Google](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/google-lively.jpg\")
[Image via Google]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nGoogle Lively<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Virtual Environment<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Google Lively was a web-based virtual environment, which in theory seemed amazing. People simply had to download it online and upgrade or download Flash. The program integrated with the internet and provided a new way to access information. Lively embedded “rooms” into any HTML webpage, offering a two-dimensional format while communication on a topic was made into a three-dimensional room in the same program. It failed for numerous reasons. Personalization was not good enough and controls were pretty difficult to deal with. Simply put, the virtual environment wasn’t useful for most companies or users. Plus, even though Google did not make it for this, people seemed to be mostly interested in the tool for sex and violence. It was officially shut down<\/a><\/strong> in late 2008.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Windows](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/windows-phone.jpg\")
[Image via Roman Pyshchyk\/Shutterstock.com]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWindows Phone<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n- Product Type:<\/strong> Smartphone<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Getting into the mobile tech world is not exactly easy, so most end up making a lot of failed tech products. Yet Microsoft had the money to really make a mark in this area, yet just like Amazon with its phone, they failed. The Windows Phone failed for several reasons. First, they underestimated what Google brought to the mobile party through Gmail, Search, YouTube, and its Maps. In 2012, Google stopped funding apps for both Windows Phone and Windows 8. This really hurt the phone’s capabilities. Just like Amazon, Microsoft had its own store for applications which forced developers to make special apps using Windows software. Plus, the mobile industry was moving faster than Microsoft could keep up. As of now, 2022 is the last year<\/a><\/strong> Microsoft will support or make Windows Phones.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![\"Hoverboard](\"https:\/\/dev.sciencesensei.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/hoverboard-fire.jpeg\")
[Image via The Washington Post]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Hoverboard<\/strong><\/h2>\n
In a way, Microsoft’s development of Windows 8 fixed many issues its predecessor had. However, it had several other problems<\/a><\/strong> from the jump when it was rolled out in 2012. They changed the interface entirely to rely on more of a mobile operating system appearance, which they hoped would work pretty well with many devices now using touchscreens. The issue is that Microsoft assumed that since we were already seeing mobile phones become very popular, everyone would just love that same interface all over. We didn’t, plus Microsoft made Windows 8 far more complicated to use even for those who liked the mobile interface. We just had to deal with it until the next operating system popped up. Funny enough, Microsoft sold a ton of Windows 7 and 10 operating systems after this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ah, the 1990s. It was a time when companies decided to try some radical ideas to be the next big thing. Sony was already relatively established in 1992 when it debuted the Minidisc<\/a><\/strong>. The product worked like a floppy or compact disc, storing data. In this case, it was meant to store mostly digital audio as a way to replace the cassette tape. Initially, it rolled out being able to hold 60 minutes of audio but would later improve to hold up to 80 minutes. The data compression software it utilized would later be used for Sony’s Hi-MD which held a quality similar to what we later saw on CDs. The Minidisc and its player might have failed to replace tapes but it certainly seemed to have success in places like Japan. On a global scale though, it failed. As of 2012, Sony only sold 22 million of them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We should mention Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc., has made a lot of failed tech products. Thus, we won’t cover them all and focus just on their biggest failures. First up is the Google Nexus, a tablet and smartphone line that used the company’s Android operating system. The Nexus One<\/a><\/strong> smartphone saw a lot of positive reviews from critics. The issue is that they sold for triple the cost of most phones, and only sold it via its online store. They also made an exclusive deal with T-Mobile, one of America’s smallest cellular companies. Google’s attempt to rival the iPhone was a huge flop with the first Nexus phone and all the other Nexus phones they put out ever since. Every product was massively overpriced and did not do anything revolutionary at all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Well, this went about as well as most people thought it would. Samsung is yet another company with many failed tech products. Initially, the Samsung Galaxy Fold seemed like an interesting idea. A product that could be relatively large but fold up nicely to fit into your pocket. However, the company technically lied or misrepresented how many folds the device could handle. They claimed they had “tested up to 200,000 folds,” but the display failed at a little over 120,000 folds at best. This made the $2,000 device hardly worth such a price, not to mention issues with screen flickering, slow performance, and even the dual messenger feature not working after the recent Android 12 update<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Keurig company is relatively good, so it was kind of shocking to see one of the most infamous failed tech products in recent memory come from them. The company introduced the Keurig Kold in 2015, which was meant more for making sodas than coffee. They even had a deal with Coca-Cola to sell their pods for the device. Yet the Kold had several issues that made it a failure<\/a><\/strong>. First, it likely did not sell very well to start with due to the high asking price of around $370. Second, many felt it was often too big, loud, and inconvenient for making soda. Plus, it was often unreliable when making sodas and could even make them taste kinda off. It made more sense just to buy a Coke. On top of that, American soda consumption has been going down for many years now anyway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Honestly, while Apple might be behind some of the most innovative tech products in recent memory…they had quite a list of failed tech products before that. Likely the biggest was the Apple G4 Cube<\/a><\/strong>, which nearly bankrupt the company. Apple CEO Steve Jobs sort of dreamed up the idea of making a powerful, miniaturized desktop computer. This led to the G4’s creation and rollout between July 2000 and 2001. However, this personal computer cost a lot of money and took it out of the price range most could afford. The power, limited expandability, and clear cosmetic issues caused it to fail. It only sold 150,000 units before production was suspended. Interestingly, the G4’s initial concept led to Apple’s movement into the iPod and Mac Mini, even to its now infamous line of extremely powerful laptops.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In a way, we have to hand it to Nokia for trying to enter the video game space at a time when so many were trying to do so. By 2002 when they released the N-Gage<\/a><\/strong>, Nintendo and Sony were already capturing everyone’s attention. Nokia wanted to get Game Boy Advance users to jump ship and to do so, they included telephone functionality. The issue was that the buttons were really designed for phone use but not for gaming. The “taco phone” as it came to be called due to its shape had other issues too. Not only were new smartphones coming out soon after but the system lacked game selection and had poor reviews from most gamers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n There were many issues from the start that made the JooJoo Tablet<\/a><\/strong> one of the most notable failed tech products of all time. First, Fusion Garage had countless issues with Michael Arrington, who they worked with on the tablet. He came up with the CrunchPad a year before Apple’s iPad was released. Fusion Garage was going to call this the CrunchPad but then in 2009 they informed Arrington they would be selling the product without him, leading to a lawsuit and delays. The JooJoo was released at a cost of $500, which was their first mistake. The goal was to compete with Apple’s iPad yet compared to the iPad, this tablet had a larger screen but looked worse overall. The software was horrific and everything was not just unintuitive but complicated to use. Leading it to be a complete failure on the market.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In a way, we have to respect the Pebble Technology Corporation, as they funded their Pebble Smartwatch through a Kickstarter campaign from April 2012 to May 2012. The campaign managed to raise a little over $10 million, the most funded Kickstarter campaign ever at the time. By January 2013, their smartwatches began shipping out. The watches worked with both Android and iOS devices and there were many Pebble-compatible apps from ESPN, Uber, GoPro, and others. These watches were a real success. What made them fail? Pebble began to experience financial issues, leading to the intellectual property of the watches being purchased by Fitbit<\/a><\/strong> in 2016. This led to Pebble shutting down. They would not honor any existing warranties and they’d no longer continue support for any devices.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amazon extended itself into the cellular phone department in 2014. The company is worth billions so dropping nearly a quarter billion to get involved in this field wasn’t an issue. The Amazon Fire Phone was a complete failure<\/a><\/strong> and by late 2014 at least $83 million worth of phones remained in stock off of their $170 million investment. It sold for a then-costly $200 on a two-year plan. While it used the Android operating system, Amazon only allowed the app store to sell specific apps made for Fire phones and tablets. Meaning developers had to make two versions of Android apps leading to 240,000 Fire apps and more than a million Google Play Store apps. The phone could also scan around 100 million real-world objects, but this was only done to get people to buy more stuff from Amazon!!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At one point, Nintendo and SEGA were pretty competitive with each other. However, when Sony released the first PlayStation, Nintendo managed to stay relevant but SEGA couldn’t without a new system. That led to them releasing the Dreamcast console. However, SEGA experienced several issues<\/a><\/strong> with not only their device but the game studios too. While SEGA did get a lot of third-party support, many top developers refused to make their games available to the Dreamcast including EA Sports, Rockstar North, and Squaresoft. Unlike the PS2 and ,later, the X-Box, Dreamcast did not play DVDs as it did not use normal discs. Instead, they opted for a SEGA exclusive game type. The controllers were overly large and did not have a second analog stick, making games harder to play too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Initially, the team at Hewlett-Packard was pretty excited about rolling out the new HP Touchpad in 2011. Apple’s iPad was a major success so many tech companies wanted to make tablets to get in on that. HP and others could make tablets at a lower cost too. The HP Touchpad used initially innovative HP\/Palm webOS and could likely do quite well, so by the Summer of 2011 they rolled out their new tablet. Yet they did this with very little fanfare and almost no advertising. Management differed on whether or not to get into the mobile space before this, and the tablet was even built on flawed software. Apps and developer support were almost nonexistent, leading to a true failure overall<\/a><\/strong>. They did not stick around in this territory to build on any successes they had and just ended the Touchpad line completely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Microsoft Zune<\/a><\/strong> was not a bad device but this portable media player faced an uphill battle from the start. It had to compete with the worldwide phenomenon that was the Apple iPod. The iPod launched in 2001 while the Zune came out in 2006, which is a big deal honestly. Apple launched the iTunes store around the time the iPod came out, reinventing music buying forever. They cornered the market, meaning Zune users likely needed to use iTunes to download songs anyway. Microsoft was late to the MP3 party and Apple was making changes to address user needs before the first Zune even came out. Thus, any new iPod would be better. It should also not be ignored that Microsoft barely promoted its Zune, so how were people ever going to care about it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While many companies have tried to make a successful EEG Exoskeleton for rehabilitation, none succeeded. The initial game plan was to use brain signals taken by an EEG cap. Yet those signals did not seem to be strong enough to move them. Another issue was that the exoskeleton is essentially trying to anticipate your moves to allow for more normalized movement. This often did not go well and caused people to fight with the exoskeleton, which then causes a change in your brain only further causing the exoskeleton to not work right. Muscles would be overused and higher forces would be put on the lower back, causing pain and potential injuries. Exoskeletons used in the military work relatively well but those used in rehabilitation<\/a><\/strong> simply do not right now, plus they are overpriced for most to afford.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is claimed that the Sony Betamax<\/a><\/strong> is one of the most notable failed tech products of the last 50 years. Yet this isn’t exactly fair as it did sell relatively well. The Betamax was an analog recording and cassette format of magnetic tape for video. Pretty much just a video cassette recorder. Of course, it ended up losing out to its biggest rival, the VHS. Released in 1979, the Sony Betamax did do well against VHS until it couldn’t compete any longer by the late 1980s\/early 1990s. Sony had the last laugh when DVDs overtook the VHS, then again with their BlueRay invention.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not everything that starts up in Silicon Valley<\/a><\/strong> ends up being a success, and this is a good example of that. The Juicero<\/a><\/strong> is a fruit and vegetable juicer that was, for some reason, WiFi connected. It used proprietary, single-serve packets of pre-chopped fruits and vegetables sold only by the company and by subscription. However, Juicero’s juice packets could be squeezed just as easily by hand as by the juicer itself. In 2017, the company announced it was suspending sales and even repurchasing the juicer from its customers along with searching for a buyer for the overall IP. Juicero was overpriced, had a terrible business model, and was useless.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To be fair to Apple, this product was not exactly a bad idea. The Apple Newton was an early form of the PDA, a term it originated. It had handwriting recognition too, which was revolutionary for its time. The device ran on Apple’s own proprietary operating system, the Newton OS. It also ran on the ARM 610 RISC processor. While innovative, Newton was ultimately one of Apple’s biggest failed tech products of all time. It was high-priced out of the gate and had problems with its most notable feature, handwriting recognition. Steve Jobs, gone from the company at the time, hated the device. When he returned, he killed the entire Newton line. However, many say that Apple Newton’s successes led to the invention of the iPhone<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Google Lively was a web-based virtual environment, which in theory seemed amazing. People simply had to download it online and upgrade or download Flash. The program integrated with the internet and provided a new way to access information. Lively embedded “rooms” into any HTML webpage, offering a two-dimensional format while communication on a topic was made into a three-dimensional room in the same program. It failed for numerous reasons. Personalization was not good enough and controls were pretty difficult to deal with. Simply put, the virtual environment wasn’t useful for most companies or users. Plus, even though Google did not make it for this, people seemed to be mostly interested in the tool for sex and violence. It was officially shut down<\/a><\/strong> in late 2008.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Getting into the mobile tech world is not exactly easy, so most end up making a lot of failed tech products. Yet Microsoft had the money to really make a mark in this area, yet just like Amazon with its phone, they failed. The Windows Phone failed for several reasons. First, they underestimated what Google brought to the mobile party through Gmail, Search, YouTube, and its Maps. In 2012, Google stopped funding apps for both Windows Phone and Windows 8. This really hurt the phone’s capabilities. Just like Amazon, Microsoft had its own store for applications which forced developers to make special apps using Windows software. Plus, the mobile industry was moving faster than Microsoft could keep up. As of now, 2022 is the last year<\/a><\/strong> Microsoft will support or make Windows Phones.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nSony MiniDisc<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Google Nexus<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Samsung Galaxy Fold<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Keurig Kold<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Apple G4 Cube<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Nokia N-Gage<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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JooJoo Tablet<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Pebble Watch<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Amazon Fire Phone<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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SEGA Dreamcast<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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HP Touchpad<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Microsoft Zune<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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EEG Exoskeleton<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Sony Betamax<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Juicero<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Apple Newton<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Google Lively<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Windows Phone<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Hoverboard<\/strong><\/h2>\n