TECH SPECIAL........................ 7 gadgets and tech that took a few tries to get right

7 gadgets and tech that took a few tries to get right





For the popular gadgets and tech you can't live without, it was not about who did it first, but who did it right

Like comedy, selling a product is all in the timing. Sometimes even the best ideas don't work out the first time, either because the technology isn't ready or because the market isn't. But those failures are a great opportunity for the next person, who gets to look at the mistakes of those who have gone before and figure out how to make it work. IBM Simon came 13 years before the Apple iPhone Then: IBM Simon launched in 1994 was chunky, but it had a touch screen, could get e-mail and be used as a fax modem. It was discontinued after only six months and 50,000 units sold. Simon could only get an hour of battery charge, which was as unimpressive then as it is now. Now: Plenty of other manufacturers tried their own hand at making a smartphone, but the market didn't show its real potential until Apple introduced the first iPhone in 2007, which sold 6.1 million units in its first five quarters on the market. The first Android smartphone was introduced in October 2008.

Sony Librié was the prologue to Amazon Kindle

Then:

In 2004, Sony released the Librié 1000-EP, the world's first eink `electronic book'. Before that, all book readers were based on traditional screens -the kinds that hurt your eyes after long reading.

Now:

Amazon cracked the code in 2007. The Kindle was smaller than the competition, made it a lot easier to buy books through the Amazon online bookstore, and most importantly, a totally free, unlimited cellular data plan.

Microsoft tried to conquer the tablet market in 2001

Then:

In 2001, Microsoft decided it would try to win the tablet game be fore it had even really begun with a set of standards for pen-based touchscreen computers.

Now:

The Apple iPad released in 2010 dominates the tablet market today. However, it is still small compared to smartphones. Steve Jobs hated the idea of a pen for a computer, so the iPad was designed to be simple and work with a finger.

Before Android Wear and Apple Watch, there was the Timex Datalink

Then:

Microsoft helped Timex with the software for the Datalink, a line of watches starting in 1994 that could sync stuff like contacts and calendars from a computer by using a camera to read light from a computer screen. But it was more of a novelty than a really useful thing.

Now:

Google And roid Wear, Samsung Galaxy Gear, and most notably the forthcoming Apple Watch let users access information from all over the internet, no light show required.

First e-cars paved the way for Tesla 100 years ago

Then:

By the early 1910s, enough homes in the US had electricity that electric cars became a viable market. But the combination of better interstate roads and the availability of more petroleum in the 1920s paved the way for the gasguzzlers we know today.

Now:

In light of global climate change concerns, emmissionless electric cars are now a big deal. Tesla Motors, helmed by CEO Elon Musk, released its first allelectric, practical car -Tesla Roadster in 2008 -which has kicked off new interest in better battery technology and more electric vehicles.

Diamond Rio hit play before Apple's iPod

Then:

The Diamond Rio PMP300 was the second commercially available portable MP3 music player when it launched in 1998.It had major design flaws and was even the subject of a lawsuit claiming that it was expressly made for music piracy.

Now:

When Apple released the original iPod in 2001, the world was way more receptive to the sleek design and high-capacity hard drive that made Apple a household name again. Today, Apple makes 70 per cent of all MP3 players worldwide.

Before Facebook, people got complicated with Friendster

Then:

In 2002, Friendster was one of the first social networks, and was valued at $53 million in a time when that still meant something. But, by 2009, the rise of Facebook led to the decline of Friendster, and the company was sold to an Asian media company.

Now:

Facebook continues to grow and grow, squeezing out the competition .

businessinsider.in

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