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The decade's 25 biggest tech flops

By David Carnoy, CNET.com
Jul 22, 2009

Here we are just months away from closing out the first decade of the 21st century, which means a lot of publications will soon be in look-back mode, taking stock of all the good--and bad--things that happened over the last 10 years. While we still have a few months to go before hitting 2010, I thought I should get a headstart on the whole best/worst roundup fad that's about to flood the Internet (Time magazine has already done the 10 Biggest Tech Failures of the Last Decade, but it was pretty lame; this one's much better, I swear).

Before we get to the list, let's set the parameters straight. This isn't a list of all the most spectacular tech failures. I chose to exclude dotcoms, corporate debacles (AOL-Time Warner), search engines (i.e. Cuil), and assorted other Web 2.0 flame-outs (I'll let Webware handle that). No, this is a roundup of gear, the stuff that turns on and off, the stuff I've been covering for almost 10 years at CNET (yes, I started in 2000).

It's also important to define just what a flop is. In my book, it's simply something that was really hyped but didn't live up to its promise or expectations. And while the word "flop" has a negative connotation, we here at CNET have a lot admiration for the designers, engineers, and everybody else who put their heart and soul into bringing these products and technologies to the world. Some of them didn't deserve their fates. They were ahead of their time or just marketed poorly. Whatever the case, we appreciate the vision, risk-taking, and hard work that went into creating these things.

But enough sentimentality (I meant it, really). Let's get to the biggest tech flops of the decade. If you disagree with any of them or have more to suggest, please post a comment. If we missed any clear candidates, just share it in the Talkback. With that, let's begin.

Note: The list is in chronological order.

Original article at CNET Crave.
Dreamcast (1998-2001)
Don't get us wrong. We loved the Dreamcast, which was originally released in 1998 and discontinued in 2001 (it was still sold in Japan until 2006), and still miss it. But it didn't make it.
The standalone DVD recorder (1999-?)
A lot of people thought the standalone DVD recorder was the second coming of the VCR, but it didn't turn out that way. The DVD recorder was never that user-friendly, and digital DVRs from cable and satellite companies (along with Tivo in the US) made them less compelling. Also, the real DVD burning action was taking place in the computer room, not the living room. That's still the case today as the standalone DVD recorder market has dried up.
Sony Aibo (1999-2006)
We had a pet Aibo for a while. And then it got discontinued. Alas, another cool concept from Sony that just cost too much. We miss little Aibo.
DVD-Audio/SACD (2000-?)
This was the format war that never bothered to declare a winner because no one cared about the outcome. However, at the beginning, there were high hopes that these two high-fidelity audio formats would offer a new and better way to listen to music. And although both SACD and DVD-Audio discs continue to be produced, neither format has attracted a wide audience.
Modo (2000-2000)
You may not remember the Modo, developed by Scout Electromedia, but we do. A social-networking device before social-networking devices existed, the Modo, according to Wikipedia, used pager networks "to provide city-specific 'lifestyle' content such as restaurant and bar reviews, movie listings, in addition to original Scout-produced content". The New York Times called it "The PDA for the tragically hip" and billboards advertising the Modo appeared in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco. It launched in the summer of 2000 in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, but sold only for one day in SF before it tragically disappeared as the dotcom bust began to accelerate.


Tags: DVD-recorder, Sony Aibo, Wikipedia, Image, Dreamcast
 

 
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    Talkback
Zagatos says...
How is the dreamcast a flop!! It sold very well in U.S and Japan when launched and it had decent games also. Games like soulcalibur became famous and the best sonic games can be found in the dreamcast as well. And also it was the first to include online gaming on a system, even though it was 56k but it was still revolutionary.

Jul 23, 2009 03:14
 
 
RavinRay says...
It's ironic that the Palm Foleo was close in time to the original Asus EeePC. With the right marketing push and support it could have laid claim to starting the netbook trend. The concept of a smartphone and netbook pairing is becoming popular though, with myself as an example (IdeaPad S10 and Nokia E75). UMPCs could have found a market as well, for people that find even netbooks too big and heavy. My mom would love a portable but can't pack a netbook in her purse.

Jul 23, 2009 08:17
 
 
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