10 technology products failed in the last decade

The first decade of the 21st century marked the emergence of many outstanding digital products but also witnessed the forgotten failures of technology companies.

Here are 10 failed technology products:

1. Sega DreamCast gaming machine

10 years ago, SEGA released a Dreamcast game console with the aim of defeating PlayStation and Nintendo 64, after a bitter defeat with Sega Saturn.

Although it was built on many ideas ahead of time, it was this product that forced the big man SEGA to withdraw from the "console code game" for many reasons.

With DreamCast's failure, SEGA was eliminated from the console race

The Dreamcast uses a proprietary format called GD-ROM or GigaDisc to avoid being counterfeited. However, immediately this format was "hacked" rampant. Counterfeiters not only copy the game, but also distribute the games before the official release.

In addition, in March 1999, Sony introduced the trump card named the PlayStation 2 and released the device in Japan in March 2000 and the US on October 26, 2000. Immediately, gamers in Japan and the United States began ignoring the presence of the Dreamcast, but instead started to expect the release of the PS2.

The situation became even more tragic for the Dreamcast when the Xbox and GameCube came into being, marking the end of the system. On January 31, 2001, Sega announced to stop producing the Dreamcast in March of that year.

2. Sony Aibo

AIBO (Artificial Intelligence roBOt) is a model of a dog-shaped robot created by Sony on May 11, 1999. Equipped with integrated computer, voice observation and analysis system, AIBO can understand commands in English and Spanish.

In addition, users can use programming tools to program AIBO's intelligence.

Business difficulties made Sony stop the once-famous AIBO project

However, due to high costs and difficulties in business, Sony announced on January 26, 2006 that it stopped producing AIBO. Currently, many laboratories and universities still use AIBO to study artificial intelligence. Sony has provided them with free programming tools.

3. Apple Power Mac G4 cube

The Power Mac G4 Cube is a line of Apple computers that came out in 2001 but failed to gain commercial success although in terms of ideas and designs it received a lot of praise.

Power Mac G4 Cube is designed in the form of a cube with each side 20 cm long and uses PowerPC G4 processor 450 or 500 MHz, the outer surface is covered with transparent glass and vertical optical disc slot.

Unlike the iMac series, the Power Mac G4 Cube requires users to equip an external monitor connected via the ADC or VGA port.

 

The Power Mac G4 Cube has great design but fails due to the high price but just moderate configuration.

The reason Power Mac failed in the market was because Apple had miscalculated when offering too high prices (about 2,000 EUR) while the features were inadequate. In the autumn of 2001, Apple officially stopped this series of products.

4. Segway

Two-wheeled scooter Segway was officially launched in 2002. When the product was released, the head of Segway company said 'this will be a car that makes cars of all kinds become ancient '.

At that time, the famous venture capitalist John Doerr said Segway's revenue would reach $ 1 billion and become the fastest growing company in history. The company has invested $ 100 million to develop products.

However, Segway has set the wrong price strategy. The popular Segway model costs more than $ 3,000 and the high-end model costs $ 7,000, too high to attract customers.

SegWay - "good" but high price

Another problem that the company has not foreseen is that some countries require Segway drivers to have a permit, even those that prohibit this vehicle from traveling on the road. Therefore, from 2001 to the end of 2007, the company sold only 30,000 Segway units.

Although it failed, Segway went into history as the first personal means of transportation for the future. After Segway, a series of personal design cars with rich designs were born. However, this is not the right time for these vehicles to be popular in the market.

5. Nokia N-gage

First released in October 2003, Nokia N-Gage was really a "bubble" that had been inflated by the media. Nokia has bombarded all TV channels, web and magazines with an impressive advertisement of skateboarders.

The first version of N-Gage is quite large in size compared to a phone

But the real reason why N-Gage "sinks" like the Titanic is in the product itself: extremely disappointing. In the first version, every time you want to change another game, the player must remove the battery. If they want to call (ie use the original function of the device), they will have to reverse it.

Withdrawing N-Gage experience, Nokia launched N-Gage QD in 2004, overcoming shortcomings in battery and side-talking design, but sales were still very poor.

Within three years, the company only sold a mere two million N-Gage machines (both first and QD versions), compared with the initial estimate of 6 million. Nokia currently has only limited production plans to serve both China and India markets.

6. Motorola ROKR E1

Before iPhone, if you want to own an Apple-designed phone, the only option for users is ROKR E1.

Launched in September 2005, ROKR E1 is the "child" of the "marriage" between Apple and Motorola. This is also the first phone to act as a music player with iTunes software.

But iTunes did not perform well on Motorola and Apple products withdrew to avoid iTunes from having a bad reputation.

ROKR E1, "bad son" of Apple and Motorola

The reason for the failure of ROKR E1 is because before the birth, users too expected a combination of the two giants. Therefore, when ROKR E1 "exposed", with "super thick" design, using cheap plastic materials, E1 made consumers disappointed.

7. UMD disc

Optical disc UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a disc format produced by Sony only for PSP handheld games. With a capacity of 1.8 GB, the product can contain music, movies, games and has a high level of copy protection.

From the beginning, this optical disc standard was deprecated because of the slow loading time of the game (especially compared to Nintendo's rival storage system). The price of expensive film discs is also a minus point (8-10 USD) of UMD.

Most users think that UMD discs are too expensive and the data read speed is very slow

In early March 2009, Hollywood Reporter magazine ran a huge headline about the two giant studios Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures "completely ending" releasing movies on UMD.

Meanwhile, many other movie entertainment companies have also cut a lot of the amount of products they have planned to develop since last year. Even PSP-Go handheld devices don't use UMD discs.

At the same time, two widely networked supermarkets, Wal-Mart and Best Buy, recalled all UMDs on sale to return to production. "We will no longer sell PSP movies," Wal-Mart officials officially announced.

8. Apple TV

Apple TV is a very compact multimedia entertainment device that allows customers to watch TV programs as well as sync with computers to listen to iTunes music, view photos and video files through Wifi wireless connection.

Apple TV is integrated hard drive, HDMI connection, USB 2.0 and LAN connection.

Apple TV does not appeal to users with the Apple Mini "brother"

However, the problem here is that there is not much content for Apple TVs to have the opportunity to work regularly. Only 500 Disney movies, Lion's Gate, Paramount and MGM are ready to be compatible with Apple TV.

In addition, consumers often choose Apple Mini because it is both a computer and full of features and design of Apple TV. Although it may be too early to say Apple TV is a failed product, what it represents in the consumer market is fuzzy.

9. Palm Foleo

Speaking of Palm Foleo, people wondered if this product had failed because it was "ahead of its time"? In fact, Palm Foleo is quite similar to today's netbook products. Foleo runs on Linux, can connect to the Internet via Wi-fi or Bluetooth connection. Foleo owns a 10-inch screen and weighs 1.1 kg.

Palm Foleo almost became the first Netbook

However, 4 months after its launch in May 2007, Palm announced that it would stop the Foleo project. The reason is that the platform used to develop this device is so different from other products that Palm has designed.

If enough, perhaps Foleo became the first netbook. A series of ridicule about this product was released, some even jokingly called it "Palm Fooleo".

10. HD DVD

The 8-year war between Sony's HD and Blu-Ray HD DVD formats has ended with Toshiba's failure.

HD DVD and Blu-Ray all have their own strengths. While Blu-Ray stores more (25GB compared to 15GB of HD DVD), HD DVD players are 30-40% cheaper than Blu-Ray players and equipped with Internet connections and displays. Multi-image marketing (multi-frame).

HD DVD does not lose in technology but loses in the supporting movie market

In late 2007, Toshiba seemed to have won when Microsoft, Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation both announced support for HD DVD and Warner Bross, Hollywood's largest DVD publisher, supported both. At that time, the price of some HD DVD players even dropped to $ 100.

However, on January 4, 2008, Warner Bross announced a decision to stun the whole HD DVD, which will only support Blu-Ray format.

With Warner Bros leaving, the seminar to promote the HD DVD format of the HD DVD Alliance, which is scheduled to be held during CES 2008, was canceled immediately.

After the decision of Warner Bros, Netflix, Best Buy and Wal-mart also chose Blu-Ray. HD DVD completely failed although technically and economically, it was better than Blu-Ray.