2017 SPECIAL ....The biggest technologies that faded away last year

2017 SPECIAL The biggest technologies that faded away last year

The year we left behind saw several gadgets and tech fall on the way. Many of these were the ones that ruled our lives. Here’s a look at the biggest that got ‘killed’ in 2017

Windows Phone

Microsoft finally admitted that Windows Phone is dead. In a series of tweets, the company’s senior executive Joe Belfiore wrote that Microsoft is no longer developing new features or hardware for Windows Mobile. He, however, assured that existing devices will continue to get bug fixes, security updates, etc.

Microsoft Kinect

This one too is from Microsoft. The software giant pulled the plug on Kinect, the motion sensing accessory for Xbox 360 and Xbox One gaming consoles. In 2011, Kinect for Xbox 360 went on to become the fastest-selling consumer device of the year. Though Kinect is no more available as a standalone device, its core sensor still lives on and powers the company’s AR Hololens.

3D TVs

3D TVs appeared to be one of the hottest technologies till a few years back. In 2017, big TV brands like LG and Sony ceased support for 3D tech in their TVs. The other TV major Samsung had dropped the support for 3D tech in 2016 itself. TCL and Sharp too didn’t announce any 3D TVs at CES 2017.

Apple iPod Shuffle and iPad Nano

This year Apple bid a quiet adieu to one of its most popular devices — iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle. The duo were variations of iPod, Apple’s iconic MP3 player. Both Nano and Shuffle lacked internet capabilities and had not been updated since at least two years.

AIM, the instant messaging pioneer

AOL’s instant messenger service AIM shut down last month, after running for 20-long years. “As of December 15, 2017, AOL Instant Messenger products and services will be shut down and will no longer work,” the company said in a statement.

Google Tango

Earlier last year, Google announced that it is shutting down Tango. One of the search giant’s ambitious plans to reinvent smartphone cameras, Google Tango allowed developers to work on augmented-reality based apps for Android phones. Google announced that it will be ‘turning down’ Tango in March 2018.

Google Chrome apps

In December last year, Google shut down the ‘app’ section of the Chrome Web Store for Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of Chrome (but not ChromeOS). The company sent out emails to Chrome app developers that while previously installed apps will work, the functionality will be removed in the first quarter of 2018.

GTalk

Last year also marked the official end of GTalk or Gchat, the messaging platform that made its debut in 2005. GTalk had got replaced by Google Hangouts. Google launched Hangouts chat service in 2013 as a sidebar in Gmail.

Microsoft Groove Music

Announcing its decision to pull the plug on Groove Music, Microsoft said in a statement, “As of December 31, 2017, the Groove Music Pass streaming service will be discontinued and will no longer be available. The built-in Groove Music app will continue to play all the music you have purchased and downloaded or uploaded to OneDrive.”.

— TOI Tech

ETP 8JAN18