The 13 Worst Tech Fails Of 2011

Steve Jobs never said it exactly this way, but we think he would have agreed that not all "Think Different" is created equal. This seems to be true in the case of the year's most epic technology flops.

While some products were fated for failure -- more than one eyebrow was raised at the launch of a certain handheld 3D gaming console with a steep price tag and a slim catalogue of games -- others seemed like more of a sure thing, at least in theory. (A wristband that keeps track of your health is a brilliant idea, as long as you can get the device to work.)

Both newbies and well-established companies are responsible for 2011's most cringe-worthy fails. From giants like Netflix and HP to startups like Color Labs, these companies are responsible for poor decisions and surprise misses from the past 12 months.

Here are our picks for the year's biggest tech failures (below). Vote for the worst fail of the year, and let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions for additional flops.

For more fantastic flubs in consumer tech, check out the biggest fails of the past decade. Then, lighten things up with a more positive look at the decade's most influential gadgets. You can also visit HuffPost's 2011 Year In Review for the highlights (and lowlights) from this past year.

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Comments

[ThosJefffersonCounty]

05:23 AM on 01/10/2012

"Fail" is not a noun.

[Nick Matolyak]

09:49 PM on 01/03/2012

Google Plus should've been on this list.

[Bruckley]

07:29 PM on 01/02/2012

The only one that upsets me is the Playbook. The unmitigated idiocy of releasing a Blackberry product that can't do email or calendar is mind-boggling.

[lorax1284]

11:59 PM on 01/03/2012

The idiocy was marketing the Playbook as a general purpose tablet... it should have been marketed solely to BlackBerry handheld owners.

The PlayBook is a solid piece of hardware and is an EXCELLENT (I repeat: EXCELLENT) companion to the PlayBook, and pretty good content-consumption device (it plays flash and records 1080p video, and has a built-in HDMI port) but marketing it to those who don't have a companion handheld device without native Email etc. was foolish.

[geoz32]

08:24 AM on 01/02/2012

The fail with the flip cam was in the acquisition, not in the product.

[14tavoliberal]

09:24 PM on 01/01/2012

My neighbors have a few 3DSs and those things hurt my eyes after like 10mins of playing. I wanted to vomit and felt really sick. Not something I'd recommend.

[LibbyGal]

05:06 AM on 01/02/2012

That's why 3D will always wind up a fad in the end- anything that just over 1 out of 9 people either can't even see it or get headaches and nausea and just causes eyestrain for almost everyone else is going to get poked and played with for a little while and then put away.

Yes, it's cool. It's a neat effect but, after a while, it just gets to be more trouble than it's worth for long stretches and, once the bad word of mouth develops, that's it- game over.

[Serpio]

10:39 AM on 01/02/2012

You can turn off the 3D effect, Nintendo has made sure that no game requires it in order to be played, so it's always optional. Those bashing the 3D effect (and claiming to have actually used it) often forget to mention the slider which allows you to turn it completely off.
I always play with the 3D on and the slider at maximum, I don't get headaches nor eyestrain, even playing with the lights out for a couple hours.
It's a pretty good system and with the addition of 3D Video and Messaging it has become a very nice toy.
I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like the 3D effect...
And if you are weak and get discomfort from it you can always turn it off.

[14tavoliberal]

09:21 PM on 01/01/2012

I'm really happy with my Logitech revue. It is not worth $300 that's why sales were low. I would pay $99 for this. Really nice product, although I am a bit worried about adobe killing mobile flash player. Don't know how that's going to affect my device.

[John Crane]

04:14 PM on 01/01/2012

XOOM is not a tech failure. A marketing failure, probably, but not a technical failure.

[GoDogGo]

08:38 PM on 01/01/2012

"Tech" is being used here, as all stories in this section do, to refer to 'tech industry'. By that label, it's definitely a tech failure.

[y88in]

02:25 PM on 01/01/2012

Jambox speaker should have been part of the google health project

[edgeninja]

12:38 PM on 01/01/2012

Uh...Nintendo's sold 6.6 million 3DSes as of 3rd quarter 2011, and sales are continuing to increase. How is that a fail again?

[Gigity]

04:54 PM on 01/01/2012

The fact that it flopped out of the gate and needed a 38 percent price drop. That's a failure. It also doesnt help that the hardware itself is awful.

[Serpio]

10:42 AM on 01/02/2012

The beginning can be considered as a failure, I give you that, but the hardware it's definitely not "awful". The only complains I have are the low level of the sound and the scratches the upper screen gets. But overall it's a very nice portable system with great games starting to appear both on shelves and on the eShop. The 3D is a great effect and the videos look pretty cool.

[eric14]

12:37 PM on 01/01/2012

It is geared for professional use, maybe mass corporate purchases, so it excludes social media and games apps but it is called a Playbook? PLAY? BOOK? How do these two words suggest professional use?

[Saruhbear]

08:41 AM on 01/01/2012

Also, of course Check In software is going to flop horribly. It's a terrible safety concern. Also, it's just INVITING people you don't want to talk to, to "bump in to you".

[Bucket-Of-Love]

01:06 AM on 01/02/2012

I think that one will die a slow death. There are probably too many investments in that space. It seemed to take little time for it to be heralded as the next great piece of internet technology. Seems to me to be driven by the buzz (marketing) of that you'll be missing out on something if you don't participate.

Maybe check-in is a good example of building and promoting something on the basis of it could be done technically. However, whether it may not be something useful, or that many people would feel at all comfortable using, is another matter. My guess is that the marketing is geared towards younger people, which of course further underscores the concern for safety.

Maybe there's something I'm not seeing here, but I've yet to see a convincing case for the technology.

[Saruhbear]

08:38 AM on 01/01/2012

The Blackberry Playbook is an absolute embarrassment. On Black Friday, they had them buy one get one free, and by the time I made it to the store at nearly 4pm, the shelves were still full. They couldn't give those things away.

[Esot3ric]

05:38 PM on 01/02/2012

This is a lie. They are not 'buy one, get one free' and hundreds of thousands were sold before and during the holidays. Stores couldn't keep them in stock.

[Saruhbear]

12:56 PM on 01/03/2012

Excuse me, it was "buy two, get one free". My mistake.

Credit: http://blogs.blackberry.com/2011/11/free-playbook-offer-business/

They were not flying off the shelves. Clearly if they were, Blackberry wouldn't be listed here as loosing money on them.

[KenInd]

08:33 AM on 01/01/2012

'Xoom'? 'Zune'?

What are these companies thinking?

[hoagie76]

09:42 AM on 01/01/2012

i know rt? sounds like part of "The Flash's" rogues gallery....

[Knowledgeseeker]

06:08 AM on 01/01/2012

they need to start selling the Motorola Zoom $100

[jpp16]

06:50 AM on 01/01/2012

This product is run by Android ( a free Linux os knock off) copied by Google.
Google should at least give some credit to the great Linux community
that in my opinion has the greatest os available.

[StinkyPete0279]

02:18 PM on 01/03/2012

Uh, no, it's run by Motorola who licenses Android from Google who isn't "copying" Linux, as Android is an open source project itself.

[jpp16]

05:01 AM on 01/01/2012

route to BlackBerry PlayBook success:

As long as they don't quit on Playbook, but keep improving it.
BlackBerry new os is new; how many years (decade) did it take for Microsoft to make its os
reasonably good.
Apple got BSD os some 20 years ago for free, and it added few widgets and superficial
changes and put its own name on it.
Don't quit on your new os or Playbook, BlackBerry.

[J0E1]

12:57 PM on 01/01/2012

It's dead in the water.  Casual tablet users will be happy with iOS and Android for years to come.  More serious tablet users, including corporate users, are going to adopt Windows 8.  There is no room for blackberry anything anymore.

[Esot3ric]

05:40 PM on 01/02/2012

Get out of here! Millions of BlackBerry users love these devices. Stop trying to influence people to believe otherwise!