Lifestyle

TECH FLUBS

They say good ideas can be life-changing. We owe so much to great inventions like the telephone, the television and our beloved GPS. But what happens when a bright idea goes from lightbulb to blackout? Here are a few products that are better at exciting the market than entering it.
Text by Ros Prado | May 24, 2018 | Lifestyle

Google Glass
You can trust Google to be innovative. But this product may be just a tad bit too sci-fi. Although the glasses enable you to watch movies and browse the net just like a smartphone, their in-your-face (literally) aesthetic just simply clashes with too many outfits. But we digress. Even though Google remains committed to this project, for the time being, the glass has failed to create the kind of buzz that changes societies. Although they do make for a great photo opp.

Sony Aibo
Launched in 1999, the Sony Aibo was the first robot designed for home entertainment. These tiny robot dogs were meant to take over the job of man’s best friend. They could express anger, happiness, surprise and dislike, and they had autonomous judgment and responses. But their hefty price of $2,500 prevented them from going mainstream. Sure, they were quite less annoying that a real chihuahua — but most families couldn’t justify spending that amount of money on a faux Fido.

Segway
To some, finding the Segway on this list may come as a surprise and utter shock — after all, they’re used widely for city tours, security purposes and to get around while on vacation. But with so much hype for its launch and promises to change the way we live our lives, it’s fair to say the Segway didn’t walk the walk. Launched in 2002, its creator promised this new form of transportation was going to replace cars — hmmmmm, maybe this invention is just way ahead of its time.

Nokia N-Gage
The Nokia N-Gage was launched in 2003 — the first of its class, this device promised to take the world by storm. A phone and a portable game console in one gadget. Whoa. What’s there not to like? Well, for starters, users complained about the buttons, which were poorly functional for a gaming device, and when it was used as a phone, it had to be placed sideways like a taco. Needless to say, this apparatus was awkward enough to be amusing but not funny enough to be worth the money.