11 Tech Products That Were Supposed to Fail... But Didn't

[Teko03]

How do you define "Failed"- Current products are not only "fairly successful" as the article claims, but wildly successful, So much so that it's being copied by just about every OEM out there.

The original Surface, the one with the Tegra CPU, sold very little and Microsoft took a big loss on it.

Surface Pro 3 was the turning point where Microsoft finally figured out a design which worked...everyone laughed, but then Google announced the pixel C, then Apple announced the iPad Pro and Microsoft's OEM partners have their own Surface inspired offerings....

 

[senketsu]

I sit most of the day in front of a PC, and don't need another PC in my pocket.

exactly how I feel

 

[Broozm]

I sit most of the day in front of a PC, and don't need another PC in my pocket.

exactly how I feel

Oh contraire, that's *exactly* what I want, so I can carry on where I left off at my next physically remote job. And the size of the Galaxy Note series combined with the Google apps environment has met these needs very well for - what feels like - ever (since the Note1 any way)

 

[Evernessince]

I disagree with statement re the current relevancy of the iPod.
A foolish move by Apple to drop out of a growing market for high-quality solid-state audio players that is now populated with devices from FiiO, Panasonic, Astell & Kern and Sony who have filled the gap left by Apple. Many have a phone-like Android interface and most are deemed true audiophile quality (not something I'd say of the most recent geneartion of iPhones.
Still I suppose it was to be expected as Apple dropped the quality of the output stage of the iPod's 5th gen when moving to the 'Classic' (aka 6th and 7th gen) but made it a prettier object with a metal body - but that's Apple: style over content.
It's probably worth commenting that even the more expensive of these is less that the iPhone X

Hm, I don't think the iPod was ever designed to be a high end audio playing solution, it was more of a common man's solution. If they wanted it to be high end they would have integrated a good DAC and included a nice pair of earbuds. They did neither and their device was designed to mostly play MP3s.

This has always been the problem with Apple, they are the first to but two ideas together but they never are able to do anything after that. They have allowed samsung to take the lead in the smartphone market, their mac PCs have been stale for some time now, and Microsoft managed to outdo them in the premium mobile segment where the Microsoft Surface is undoubtedly better than both the MacBook Air and the iPad Pro. Not to mention, they don't charge you $100 for a pencil that is a large selling point of the device. Seriously Apple, your iPad Pro pen likely costs you $2 to make and you are charging $100, ridiculous. It even makes Microsoft's pen look like a deal, when in fact at $40 it is still a compete ripoff (and Microsoft used to give you the pen for free but they started charging once they realized that Apple isn't giving them any competition).

FiiO makes great portable devices and DAC/AMPs that are very well priced for their quality. The new iPhone doesn't even have a DAC at all, instead you either have to get the adapter with a crumby one built in or a DAC has to be integrated into every pair of wireless headsets. It's a shame because it means additional cost and likely lower quality as not many headphone manufacturers are going to want to spend allot on the DAC.

 

[Puiu]

Functionality.

I like small phones myself, but the drawback of big phones is that they're bigger and heavier. If you're willing to put up with that (and most people apparently do), you get a screen that fits a lot more content, is easier for UI (finger is smaller compared to screen size), and can fit more and better electronics.

makes sense, but I guess where I differ from the phablet users (like the redhead in the article photo) is in what functionality is enough in my phone. I would rather have it do a lot less if it was smaller and thus much more convenient to carry.

I remember ppl saying that screens larger than 3-4 inches aren't needed. Oh boy they were wrong.

 

[trgz]

Hm, I don't think the iPod was ever designed to be a high end audio playing solution, it was more of a common man's solution. If they wanted it to be high end they would have integrated a good DAC and included a nice pair of earbuds. They did neither and their device was designed to mostly play MP3s.
...
FiiO makes great portable devices and DAC/AMPs that are very well priced for their quality. The new iPhone doesn't even have a DAC at all, instead you either have to get the adapter with a crumby one built in or a DAC has to be integrated into every pair of wireless headsets. It's a shame because it means additional cost and likely lower quality as not many headphone manufacturers are going to want to spend allot on the DAC.

Agreed, though they all effectively must have a DAC if there's a headphone socket (your point noted about new iPhone) it's just the quality of them - you'd not want to listen to the digital signal!
The 5th Gen iPod had the well received Wolfson DAC though I run both of mine (5th & 7th) through a Cambridge Audio DAC - the results are pretty good as the pairing just beats my old Marantz CD67SE in a blind test.
I'm so very tempted with the FiiO X5 3rd gen, but I have a bedside dock, a car dock, and a DAC/dock with my HiFi - all iPod versions and all just too damn convenient to change. If I commuted more then I'd jump at the FiiO.