|
Time recently published a list of the ten biggest technology flops in the last ten years. Compiling such a list isn't easy, and on the whole, we think the editor’s at Time did an admirable job with their selections. Still, we do have some quibbles with the choices. Here's our take on where Time got it right —and wrong.
1. Vista – WRONG. By my lights, Microsoft’s most recent operating system doesn’t merit this kind of smack. Yes, Vista was a disappointment. Yes, Microsoft’s sales lagged. But Vista as one of the top ten tech failures of the last decade? That’s a bit harsh. First off, Vista is only seen as a dud because it followed Microsoft’s best-ever OS. XP was—and is—an extremely tough act to follow. Moreover, it’s not like Vista is unusuable—it’s just not XP. And saddling Microsoft’s first-ever annual loss on the former Longhorn seems like a bum steer. We’re guessing the IT-choking recession of 2008 had a little something to do with the red ink in Redmond.
2. Gateway – RIGHT. Time is absolutely right in pointing out that Gateway’s management frittered away a lucrative franchise. Of course, the real demolition of the PC maker actually commenced more than ten years ago. That’s when Gateway’s vaunted product reliability and customer service began to decline noticeably. That took the sheen off Gateway’s once-lustrous brand. The company managed to maintain momentum for a few years after that, mostly by expanding into foreign markets. But after 2000, most everything Gateway management touched turned to sawdust. Remember Gateway’s foray into the plasma TV sector? That went well. Hard to believe that Acer was able to acquire the once-powerful Gateway for about $700 million in 2007.
3. HD DVD – RIGHT. The complete and utter capitulation by Toshiba/NEC in the DVD format wars says a whole lot about the value of software for hardware makers. Sony was able to convince movie studios like Warner Brothers to go with Blu-Ray, rather than HD DVD, in part because Sony owns a large movie studio. Sony’ management also gets high marks for bundling a Blu-Ray player in its Play Station 3 video game platform. This bit of marketing brilliance primed the Blu-Ray pump. Consumers should have been tipped off to the imminent demise of HD DVD when Wal-Mart began unloading the previously $299-priced players for $99 in one of the retailer’s “secret” sales. Apparently, consumers who eagerly scooped up the Toshiba players weren’t in on the secret.
4. Vonage – RIGHT. It’s a shame about Vonage. The company pioneered VoIP, but as Time points outs, it’s barely a footnote in the industry at this point. Early complaints about call quality didn’t help. And analysts say Vonage would have been better off if management had sold the carrier to a cable operator. Instead, Vonage went public in May 2006. The IPO may have been great for the venture capitalists who backed the VoIP specialist, but it didn’t do much for Vonage’s long-term business prospects. Meanwhile, eBay-owned rival Skype has skyrocketed.
5. YouTube – WRONG. Okay, YouTube isn’t a big money spinner yet. But outside of the search engine of its parent, Google, it’s hard to imagine a more useful—or pervasive—Web technology than YouTube. Seriously, who doesn’t go onto the site? Sure, there are problems, both with video quality and copyright infringement. But advances in storage technology will no doubt provide a big boost, lowering one of the company’s biggest costs. The bet here is that Google will eventually figure out how to start coining it off the nearly 6 billion videos that are viewed on the site each month.
6. Sirius XM – RIGHT. The satellite radio network is in Sirius trouble right now. The recession has crimped discretionary spending, and having a satellite radio in your car definitely qualifies as a non-essential outlay. The company has spent a lot of money on its network, and eventually, that costly build-out may bear fruit. But Sirius XM has to make it to “eventually,” which will be no small feat considering the company’s cash-burn rate and shrinking subscriber base. The problems dogging the U.S. automobile industry won’t help.
7. Microsoft Zune -- RIGHT. This iPod rival was launched in November 2006. Less than three years later, people hardly even remember it existed. That’s a bad sign. Other than the Xbox, Microsoft doesn’t do so good with hardware.
8. Palm – WRONG. This is a tough call, but it seems like it’s a little early in the game to label Palm a bomb. Granted, the company completely missed the boat on providing voice and data on the same device. And its stock price has suffered because of it. But Palm has always had good engineering chops and the early word on the Palm Pre is that it’s a winner. We’ll have to wait until June 6 to see. But RIM—and its so-so BlackBerry Storm—has presented Palm with a huge opening. If the Pre does take off so will Palm’s share price.
9. Iridium – RIGHT. Motorola’s much-ballyhooed satellite phone turned out to be a wrong number. The concept itself was intriguing: a global handset that transmitted directly to low-orbiting earth satellites. The reality was less thrilling. Iridium phones costs $3,000. Worse, service was spotty. Why? Because Iridium’s sci-fi phones relied on line-of-sight connections with satellites. That’s great if you happen to be riding a camel in the desert—not so great if you’re smoking a Camel inside a bar. Iridium filed for bankruptcy in 1998.
10. Segway – RIGHT. This personal transportation device was trendy for about two seconds. Yes, the Segway was initially marketed to police departments, delivery services, and other outfits with employees who are constantly on foot. But we’ve seen a few of those folks who we think might, just might benefit from walking rather than riding. Moreover, people tend to look like blooming idiots on a Segway. That’s a hard tagline to build a marketing campaign around.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
