We see some incredible products launch every year and 2014 was no exception. We witnessed some really big, anticipated tech launches this year, however, there were some that totally disappointed us post announcement. Here are the 12 of the most disappointing tech launches of this year.
The first smartphone from Amazon created a lot of buzz as it was the first smartphone to boast of 3D tech implemented thanks to the four front cameras. Sadly, it was only limited to the US market and even there it sold miserably.
Google made a big announcement at Google I/O regarding entry-level Android smartphones with the introduction of the Android One project where it said that it will provide full software support to OEMs and provide low priced smartphones with the latest updates. It's been almost 2 months after the launch and we still haven't seen a rise in the sales of Android One smartphones.
One of the biggest installments in the Assassin's Creed franchise, AC: Unity was a highly anticipated game. Not only the launch was disappointing, the game turned out to be a disaster with a number of bugs and issues all around.
The Z3 was probably BlackBerry's last attempt to stride back in the smartphone market. Even after the decent price tag, the smartphone didn't sell all that well and failed to be the phone to help Blackberry conquer the mid-range.
Destiny was another highly anticipated game but all the buzz it created before and during the launch, fizzled out thanks to the unnecessary DLCs boring gameplay and limited content. In short, it didn't live up to our expectations.
We had heard about Firefox phones last year, and we finally saw them arrive by the end of Q3 2014. The mobile OS turned out to be a disaster as it wasnt intuitive and provided an experience which was more close to feature phones.
Samsung let down a lot of fans when it launched the Galaxy S5 with an old design and a plastic body, yet again. While the performance on the smartphone is quite good, the overall package was actually a disappointment.
Hybrid laptops
The year 2014 will be the year of hybrid laptops, or so it was claimed by numerous device makers. We did see a number of hybrid laptops launch this year, but the adoption of the device did not see a huge rise. Consumers still prefer to go for either a laptop or a tablet or both rather than going for a two-in-one device.
We had high expectations from Jolla as the small company comprises of people who had worked with the Finnish giant Nokia. Its first smartphone, the Jolla Phone, came in a bit too late and it left the crowd unimpressed.
Mobile SoC maker MediaTek was probably the only manufacturer that provided the most number of octa-core chips this year to a number of device makers. But most of the resulting phones turned out to suck at battery efficiency, temperature control and offered inconsistent real world performance.
The world was shocked and went gaga when Nokia announced that it will launch an Android based smartphone. The Nokia X brought hope to many, but the smartphone was thoroughly average on all counts and went on to become one of Nokia's biggest mistakes.
Smartwear
While we did see some really interesting wearable devices coming in this year, the adoption of these devices has been slow and their productivity has not been very good either. Not to mention having another device to charge daily can get cumbersome.