Topic: product failure
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Amazon's Fire Phone: The Strange Tale of a Failed Smartphone
The Fire Phone was Amazon's ambitious 2014 smartphone, featuring innovative but gimmicky technology like a 3D-like screen and head-tracking cameras, yet it was primarily designed as a shopping portal that misaligned with consumer desires. Its failure stemmed from a high initial price, lack of pop...
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The Forgotten Nintendo Controller That Pioneered VR
The Nintendo Power Glove was an ambitious but flawed late-1980s motion-control peripheral for the NES, known for its poor usability yet significant cultural impact as an early vision for immersive gaming. It originated from an external engineering project, was licensed to Mattel, and gained fame ...
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Intuit's AI Playbook: Ditch Chatbots for Agentic AI
Intuit shifted from basic chatbots to agentic AI, focusing on proactive, workflow-embedded automation rather than just conversation, which required both technological and organizational transformation. The company restructured around a builder culture, high-velocity iteration, and an internal AI ...
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Ex-Microsoft Exec Used Epstein to Negotiate Exit
Newly released emails reveal former Microsoft Windows head Steven Sinofsky frequently consulted Jeffrey Epstein during his 2012 departure, sharing confidential company information and later paying him for assistance in securing a new job. The correspondence highlights critical internal problems w...
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The Metaverse Dream Is Fading
Meta is dramatically scaling back its metaverse ambitions after massive financial losses, shifting strategic focus and resources toward artificial intelligence due to a fundamental miscalculation of consumer demand and technology readiness. The initiative failed to gain mainstream traction due to...
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Why the Zune Failed to Beat the iPod
The Microsoft Zune was a failed attempt to compete with Apple's iPod, hindered by its late market entry and entrenched consumer preferences. Despite its commercial failure, the Zune anticipated trends like social connectivity and multifunctional devices, influencing modern gadget design. Microsof...
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Marissa Mayer Shuts Down Sunshine Startup Lab
Sunshine, the AI firm founded by former Yahoo leader Marissa Mayer, is shutting down and transferring its assets to a new company called Dazzle, pending shareholder approval. The transition is supported by nearly all shareholders, and Sunshine's team is expected to move to Dazzle, which is develo...
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Marissa Mayer Shuts Down AI Startup, Sells Assets to New Venture
Marissa Mayer is shutting down her consumer software venture Sunshine and transferring its assets to a new AI company called Dazzle, which will focus on developing an AI personal assistant. Sunshine's products, including a contact management app and later AI-enhanced event and photo sharing featu...
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Valve's Steam Machines Are Back: Everything You Need to Know
Valve has revived its Steam Machines living room gaming strategy, building on the success of the Steam Deck to introduce a new ecosystem including a console, controller, and VR headset. The original Steam Machines launched unsuccessfully in 2015, but Valve persisted and used the Steam Deck's tech...
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Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold Fails Bend Test, Says JerryRigEverything
Google's Pixel 10 Pro Fold experienced a battery fire and smoke during an extreme bend test by YouTuber JerryRigEverything, marking the first such explosion in his decade of smartphone durability testing. Experts attribute the battery failure to thermal runaway from physical damage, noting it doe...
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Pixel 10 Pro Fold Fails Durability Test, Continuing Bending Trend
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold failed a durability test by breaking during a bend test, similar to its predecessor, indicating a recurring structural weakness along the antenna line. Despite its IP68 rating, the device's hinge mechanism was damaged by sand, failing to expel particles as expected and compr...
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