Biggest Tech Fads of the Last Decade

[Julio Franco]

A number of industries are well known for their fads: fashion, food, health. But technology has experienced just as many short-lived crazes over the years. From mobile games so popular they caused a danger to the public, to "futuristic" television sets that slowly died off. Here are the tech world's biggest fads from the last decade.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1321-tech-fads/

 

[hahahanoobs]

What are the numbers on tablets? I still see more laptops and e-readers than tablets.

 

[BSim500]

- Modern Netbooks aren't "dead", all that's happened is the specific 10" 1024x600 devices quietly evolved into 11.6" budget ultra-portables and went through a rebrand. Stuff like 11" HP Stream, Chromebooks, etc, aimed at the budget end of the market are obvious modern netbooks and are far more common (from what I've seen in person) than the larger +10" tablets.

- Kindle's are still going strong and widely seen almost everywhere. As usual with the endless "the PC is dead" clickbait, tech sites endlessly confuse "sales" with "usage", ie, "my microwave oven is 7 years old and new sales are lower now than vs year of launch, therefore the microwave oven is dead". It's way past time to drop the confused nostalgia of declaring any device which isn't replaced every 12-24 months simply as dead because that used to be the norm for PC's back in the 90's. All that's happened is such devices have become a mature market and tend to get replaced only when they fail (something everyone who doesn't work in marketing can grasp).

PS: You forgot VR headsets... ;-)

 

[kapital98]

This is an incredibly lazy list that doesn't really understand what a fad is.

1) Netbooks are still alive and well. Basically anything with an Atom/ARM processor is a successor to the the netbooks of old. Keep in mind, the original netbooks used Linux (Windows came in the 2nd generation due to overwhelming demand). Even things like Chromebooks are largely evolved from netbooks. Something like the Asus Transformer? A modern netbook. They have evolved and changed, sure. It wasn't so much a fad as a evolutionary step.

2) QR Codes remain extremely popular depending on where you look. Wechat has approximately 700 million active monthly users and QR codes are ubiquitous. This is primarily because they are an easy way to transmit data relating to languages that are symbol based. They might have been a fad in the US but then maybe I missed the memo that they were supposed to be the next big thing here?

3) Saying Pokemon Go was a fad is just flat out wrong. Once again, it may not reach it's popularity but it's still extremely successful and insanely profitable. You didn't even go into the trouble of updating that woefully out of date graph (see: lazy clickbait article). It still has 20 million active users in the US alone (as of 12/16). This is like saying HL2 was a fad because only it's only getting a 1/3rd of the sales it got the year before. Are you joking!?

This article streches the definition of fads so far that it makes it meaningless. It conflates real fads (3D TVs) with huge hits that continue to be important. This is just going to end up being a clickbait article for fanboys to cite when they want to say, "SEE! I told you [insert] was a fad!"

 

[gusticles41]

Saying Pokemon Go was a fad is just flat out wrong. Once again, it may not reach it's popularity but it's still extremely successful and insanely profitable. You didn't even go into the trouble of updating that woefully out of date graph (see: lazy clickbait article). It still has 20 million active users in the US alone (as of 12/16). This is like saying HL2 was a fad because only it's only getting a 1/3rd of the sales it got the year before. Are you joking!?

Right? Pokemon GO started out as a phenomenon. Now I'd consider it just very popular, at best

Plus it's the middle of Winter...Many (myself included) are logging in much less because, well, I don't want to bundle up to go hatch some eggs. But you better believe I'll be out there the first nice Spring day we get.

 

[mosu]

A kindle device has a lifespan of 5 to 10 years, so unlike iPhone users , users of kindle don't need to upgrade every refresh cycle. What bothers me is that the numbers of users of a reader device does not grow at a faster pace.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

But the biggest fad of them all which isn't mentioned here is the frivolous, gimmicky RGB lighting stuffed into for every conceivable PC part nook and cranny and hopefully will be nothing more than a distant memory sooner rather than later. Also VR is very shaky but still may yet still amount to something although AR seems to be the safer bet for now.

 

[That Dude There]

I have been disgusted with the way this system works. The billionare media companies, from FOX and CNN to even your local news, can make any one of their friend or advertisers millions or even BILLIONS. I noticed in the early days of facebook and twitter how odd it was that they were mentioned EVERY time you watched the news. It was so obvious that they were marketing. They have now placed FB and twitter in to the public psyche. The same thing happens on a smaller scale to all these gimicks. This system of franchises and elites helping elites have created a small group of people that have more money than is ethical, while most of us live month to month paying our $200 cell phone bills and making them rich. I hate this satanic system and can't wait until Jesus reigns.

 

[mattiadebiaggi]

E-book reader? I love that piece of technology, it makes easier and more convenient to have books with me. They have lower volume of sold unit because an ebook reader last for a very long time, imo.

 

[That Dude There]

A kindle device has a lifespan of 5 to 10 years, so unlike iPhone users , users of kindle don't need to upgrade every refresh cycle. What bothers me is that the numbers of users of a reader device does not grow at a faster pace.

People don't NEED to upgrade, they do because of marketing and wanting the latest. The extreme of this are the ones wearing phone watches. They will buy anything.

 

[Magic Rat]

E-book reader? I love that piece of technology, it makes easier and more convenient to have books with me. They have lower volume of sold unit because an ebook reader last for a very long time, imo.

E-book reader? Mine is on a nightly relationship for being so easy to deal with, even though it is a first gen. Kindle touch. Paperback books are cumberson and if I doze off and drop it (it has yet to hit the flor) I don't lose my place. The only complaint I have is the lack of a back light and I won't replace it with one that does until it truely dies. There are enough sources for very good, free, books that I haven't bought more than a couple in several years. Sorry authors, but when you are on a fixed income of $140 a month you get VERY frugal.

 

[Magic Rat]

E-book reader? I love that piece of technology, it makes easier and more convenient to have books with me. They have lower volume of sold unit because an ebook reader last for a very long time, imo.

E-book reader? Mine is on a nightly relationship for being so easy to deal with, even though it is a first gen. Kindle touch. Paperback books are cumberson and if I doze off and drop it (it has yet to hit the flor) I don't lose my place. The only complaint I have is the lack of a back light and I won't replace it with one that does until it truely dies. There are enough sources for very good, free, books that I haven't bought more than a couple in several years. Sorry authors, but when you are on a fixed income of $140 a month you get VERY frugal.

Cumbersome, sorry.

 

[GeforcerFX]

But the biggest fad of them all which isn't mentioned here is the frivolous, gimmicky RGB lighting stuffed into for every conceivable PC part nook and cranny and hopefully will be nothing more than a distant memory sooner rather than later. Also VR is very shaky but still may yet still amount to something although AR seems to be the safer bet for now.

I think RGB will just keep coming and going, I mean RGB and gaming has been a thing since like 2003, I remember the XPS gen 2 laptop launching 2 months after I got my inspiron XPS(2004) laptop and it had RGB lighting, which they kept through the m1710 and m1730, that's like 2007 and 2008 when all the PC builds were lit up like a Christmas tree at the Griswalds. 2010-2014 was the revival of "sleek" from like the early 2000's just sleek simple cases, now RGB and side windows are back in style and I am sure they will be gone again in a year or 2, but people will still want them in there systems when they arn't mainstream.

 

[EClyde]

Nehru jackets were a fad

The only tech fad I can think of.....none, just junk that was junk and people figured it out right away

 

[Krackan]

Couldn't help but notice you left VR off the list.

 

[fktech]

Need a good ebook reader for my desktop!!!

 

[fktech]

Any recommendations???

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I think RGB will just keep coming and going, I mean RGB and gaming has been a thing since like 2003, I remember the XPS gen 2 laptop launching 2 months after I got my inspiron XPS(2004) laptop and it had RGB lighting, which they kept through the m1710 and m1730, that's like 2007 and 2008 when all the PC builds were lit up like a Christmas tree at the Griswalds. 2010-2014 was the revival of "sleek" from like the early 2000's just sleek simple cases, now RGB and side windows are back in style and I am sure they will be gone again in a year or 2, but people will still want them in there systems when they arn't mainstream.

Not RGB as such but CCFL and older tech. Multi coloured LED's were around but weren't really used for lighting effects, it was used for functionality like system status etc. You're right when you say it'll still be around for a good while but it's "In your face" flashy obnoxiousness will taper off, you tend to get very sick and tired of it after a while. It's great for demo units at trade shows though.

 

[Mister Troung]

Pokemon Go has allot of jealous haters, but is still the bestest game. It is innovative and we players still continue as avid players. We are waiting for haters to stand down and just let us enjoy this epic game. Long live Snorlack!

 

[ddferrari]

This is an incredibly lazy list that doesn't really understand what a fad is.

1) Netbooks are still alive and well. Basically anything with an Atom/ARM processor is a successor to the the netbooks of old. Keep in mind, the original netbooks used Linux (Windows came in the 2nd generation due to overwhelming demand). Even things like Chromebooks are largely evolved from netbooks. Something like the Asus Transformer? A modern netbook. They have evolved and changed, sure. It wasn't so much a fad as a evolutionary step.

2) QR Codes remain extremely popular depending on where you look. Wechat has approximately 700 million active monthly users and QR codes are ubiquitous. This is primarily because they are an easy way to transmit data relating to languages that are symbol based. They might have been a fad in the US but then maybe I missed the memo that they were supposed to be the next big thing here?

3) Saying Pokemon Go was a fad is just flat out wrong. Once again, it may not reach it's popularity but it's still extremely successful and insanely profitable. You didn't even go into the trouble of updating that woefully out of date graph (see: lazy clickbait article). It still has 20 million active users in the US alone (as of 12/16). This is like saying HL2 was a fad because only it's only getting a 1/3rd of the sales it got the year before. Are you joking!?

This article streches the definition of fads so far that it makes it meaningless. It conflates real fads (3D TVs) with huge hits that continue to be important. This is just going to end up being a clickbait article for fanboys to cite when they want to say, "SEE! I told you [insert] was a fad!"

Your comment was trying to make some valid observations, but sadly they were negated when you chose to slather condescension all over them... and your disagreement about the content does not mean the article is "clickbait".

 

[ddferrari]

Pokemon Go has allot of jealous haters, but is still the bestest game. It is innovative and we players still continue as avid players. We are waiting for haters to stand down and just let us enjoy this epic game. Long live Snorlack!

"Haters"?

Talk about another stupid fad that I'm dying to see go away...

 

[Igrecman]

One can't read a whole book on a tablet, manly because of the battery, but also because your eyes need an e-book reader making use of e-ink technology. It's perfect for the eyes and it takes only a tiny bit of power when changing a page. No power needed when reading a whole page. Thus I think it's not a fad. The only reason for the lower sales is that the market got saturated quickly since the device can last several years and may never go obsolete for most users.

 

[m-tec]

Wow, I never had any of these, does that make me smarter than most? lol

 

[captaincranky]

A kindle device has a lifespan of 5 to 10 years, so unlike iPhone users , users of kindle don't need to upgrade every refresh cycle. What bothers me is that the numbers of users of a reader device does not grow at a faster pace.

I know right? It's like you might think some Luddites still read, paper books, magazines, or god forbid, newspapers. Those people should all be shot and killed the minute they try to pick up a "device", which doesn't require recharging
Then too, all those Kindles should have slim displays on the edge which shows what the user is reading.

That way, and since they've gotten so cheap, you could just buy a new Kindle with each new text you want to read, and puit it on a shelf when you're done with it.

Just think about it, the libraries of the future with shelving wall to wall, stocked with Kindles, one each for every title ever published.

Besides paper books will be illegal soon enough!