Tech fails are as common as our most celebrated inventions, if not more. The industry is littered with product graveyards where the best of what-could-have-been lay dead in the abyss of depressing drawbacks. At the same time, some products by Apple, Google, and other tech bigwigs rode on the hype before they were abandoned. Some tech enthusiasts on a popular online community argued that no saving grace could have stopped them from fizzling out in time.
1. Google Glass
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Before it launched, Google Glass was destined for the sword as it was ahead of its time, someone on the forum opines. A second person says the vision of a smart glass that could overlay digital information to the real world is exciting, but privacy concerns and the high price tag indicate that it would fail.
2. Segway
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Hailed as a revolutionary personal transportation device, one forum member says he wasn't surprised Segway failed before it took flight. Although the idea captivates, he explains, cost and regulatory hurdles always bring it to its knees.
3. Webvan
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A millennial who recalls the excitement around Webvan in the late nineties and early 2000s says the online grocery delivery service had a cost of operations overrunning profit at the turn of the millennium. Another contributor blames the failure on the company's business model that targets price-sensitive mass-market consumers instead of profitable upmarket consumers.
4. Supersonic Airliners
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One user explains that traveling from the United States to the edge of France in just over an hour is exhilarating, but the potential cost makes it dead on arrival. One person says they would prefer to travel in a supersonic airliner than sit long hours "in a hot, loud, cramped Concorde."
5. BlackBerry
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BlackBerry was a smartphone to desire in its days as it provided a high-speed internet connection. But several people opine that the unwillingness of its maker to flow with the new technological tides ushered in by the iPhone nailed BlackBerry to its cross.
6. Google Wave
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Touted as the future of collaboration, Google Wave offered a combination of chat, email, and document-sharing features that should be perfect for workplace enterprise. But users say the complexities of Google Waves usurp it, and it was a matter of time before simpler innovations took place.
7. MySpace
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Once the top social networking platform, one user claims MySpace couldn't keep up with the rise of Facebook and the changing social landscape. Another contributor blames the sale of MySpace to Newscorp, arguing that transferring ownership to incompetent administrators made it impossible for MySpace to compete.
8. Microsoft Zune
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One person explains that at the height of the iPod's popularity, Microsoft wanted a market share. "They created the Microsoft Zune to compete with the iPod, but it failed because it couldn't match its rival ecosystem and design appeal."
9. Virtual Boy
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One individual thinks the Virtual Boy idea and creation was dead on arrival as it failed to prove its worth for what a virtual gaming console should be. Someone reminds other thread contributors of the bulkiness of the gaming system, dubbing it a critical technological misfire.
10. Google+
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Another social networking platform that died at the feet of more user-friendly platforms like Facebook, critics think Google+ failed because it wasn't ready to evolve. One individual says a breach in user data made Google+ unsafe to use, and users were quitting at an alarming rate.
11. Theranos
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Does the idea of self-testing kits that revolutionize health care tickle your fancy? It did for many in the early days of its launch. But allegations of fraud and test inaccuracies soon overtook its promised prospects, and its shattered credibility ended its promising future.
12. Pebble
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Apple and Samsung may be the leading smartwatch brands of this age, but Pebble preceded them, according to one contributor. "It raised more than $12 million in 2012 before it declined in the increasingly competitive smartwatch market Apple has come to won." Someone notes that Pebble was sold to Fitbit in 2016 and has left the smartwatch market for good. Source: Reddit
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