Over the past few decades, we have seen technology advance dramatically. New phones, games consoles and computers are constantly being thrown at us which has now made us believe we need to get our hands on the latest gadgets. It’s almost hard to believe that famous companies such as Microsoft and Apple have in the past got products so wrong.
Although we remember the success of the iPhone and Xbox there have in the past been products that were a massive technology blunder and companies have had to pull the plug almost immediately. Here are a few tech fails that companies would rather you forget.
- Xbox 360
Do you remember the ‘Red Ring of Death’? Users of the 7th Gen Xbox 360 saw consoles suddenly dying for no reason. The console would show three flashing red lights indicating a hardware failure. “Microsoft was forced to issue replacement units to hundreds of customers as well as extend all Xbox 360 warranties to three years”, this cost the company millions.
2. iPhone 4
Every phone should be able to make a phone call right? I mean this is what we expect from a piece of technology that is designed to let us stay in contact with people. However when the iPhone 4 launched in 2010 users were unable to get any reception to make the all-important phone call.
“The problem, as it turned out, was the placement of the antenna on the phone, which had been moved for the phone’s redesign. Incredulously, Apple’s first response was to suggest that customers were holding the phone the wrong way, before admitting it was at fault and resolved to look into the problem properly. Even then, the eventual “fix” came in the form of a free bumper case that Apple said would alleviate the problem”.
3. Amazon’s Hoverboard
It doesn’t seem that long ago that the infamous so called hoverboards were taking over our streets (the new invention was technically not even a real hoverboard). It felt as though at one time you couldn’t walk down the street or go to work without seeing one of them on the pavements. Well, apparently these expensive gadgets caused more of a problem than just being an irritation, they were also prone to catching fire.
“The problem was traced to faulty batteries and charging components that were not compliant with normal safety standards, and as such, Amazon completely banned sales of the devices pending further investigation. Since then we’ve seen fewer of them”.
Did you come into contact with any of these technology blunders? Or do you remember even worse ones?
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/biggest-tech-fails-all-time-five-product-blunders-that-companies-wish-you-would-forget-1585844