iPhone 4 Antenna Issues and Ping Rank Among Top 'Tech Fails' for 2010

[MacRumors]

CNN has put together its list of the ten biggest tech "fails" of 2010, highlighting the technology and Internet products and features that failed most spectacularly during the year.

In what may be a bit of a surprise considering how little we've heard about it over the last several months, CNN ranked the iPhone 4's antenna issues, known informally as "Antennagate", as the top tech fail of the year. In fact, even CNN acknowledges that "fail" is "a pretty relative term" considering how successful the iPhone 4 was and continues to be.

First Apple said the problem didn't exist. Then they said it was a software issue. Then they kind-of admitted it existed and gave away free cases to help. Then, they said it doesn't really exist anymore and stopped giving away the bumpers.

Months later, the problem is all but forgotten and the phones show no sign of dipping in popularity. So "fail," in this case, is a pretty relative term.

Coming in at the other end of the list at #10 is Ping, Apple's new music-focused social network that rolled out as part of iTunes 10 in early September.

There's a whole social network set up in Apple's iTunes store now.

Didn't know that? Well, there you go.

The report notes that Ping suffers from a shortage of musical artists participating in the network, and the lack of integration with Facebook is seen as a major shortcoming that leads Ping to be merely yet another social network instead of a key component of users' iTunes experience.

Other top tech fails for 2010 include 3D television, Microsoft's Kin handsets, and Google, which matched Apple's presence on the list with two products of its own: its Nexus One smartphone and its Buzz real-time social networking and communication platform.

Article Link: iPhone 4 Antenna Issues and Ping Rank Among Top 'Tech Fails' for 2010

 

[thejakill]

How can you call the fastest-selling smartphone ever a fail?

GoogleTV is a much bigger bust. 3D TV is going nowhere.

Ping is a fail, though. What were they thinking?

 

[dpierre]

Spot on.
Just because it sold great doesn't mean it wasn't a fail for that antenna issue. That being said it's still the greatest phone I've owned, ever. I just wish I didn't have to use a case with it.

 

[nednarm]

I agree on the ping fail. Who actually uses it?

 

[Pressure]

At least nobody died from it, unlike the Toyota gas pedal recall.

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-gb; GT-P1000 Build/FROYO) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Sales of the iPhone 4 make up for more than the antenna "issue". I tried Ping and found it worthless for me. Last.fm is a far better social music platform.

I wouldn't say the Nexus One was a total failure either as it's very close cousin, the HTC Desire has done well and it did make Android handset manufacturers raise the bar hardware spec wise.

I think Wave and Google TV should have gotten a mention tbh.

I look forward to 2011 tech fails!

 

[Small White Car]

If you label it as "Apple's PR response and handling of the issue" as the Fail then, yeah. It deserves to be on the list.

That's more of a 'tech industry fail' than an outright 'tech fail.'

But whatever. I'll allow it. These "top 10" media stories have more to do with how much media the issue recieved than anything else. Based on that alone, antenna-gate deserves to top the list.

How can you call the fastest-selling smartphone ever a fail?

They didn't say that. It does not say the iPhone is the biggest tech fail of the year.

I think Wave and Google TV should have gotten a mention tbh.

I don't think it's fair to say anything about Google TV yet. Yes, I'm pretty sure it'll be on the "2011 disappointments" list next year...but that's just my guess. Google TV hasn't had its chance yet, and I'm willing to let it have a go before making any proclamations.

 

[parapup]

No one deserved a seat along side of Microsoft Kin on that list. Epic fail deserving all 10 spots on that list - may be add Ping in couple places, apart from Kin.

 

[MasterHowl]

Ping sucks. I'm very surprised at Apple for even considering such a stupid idea...

 

[alent1234]

Kin's not a fail since it was destined to be killed by MS even before release

i actually know someone who bought a 3d tv. but he didn't buy the glasses since he doesn't have any intention of using it as a 3d tv

 

[PeterQVenkman]

Google TV hasn't had its chance yet, and I'm willing to let it have a go before making any proclamations.

The TV companies aren't willing to give it a chance. All of the major network sites and hulu are blocking google tv. That sucks. You can bet if Apple TV were browser enabled and gave viewers access to hulu or abc.com, etc that they would block that in a heartbeat, too!

TV execs suck.

 

[RVRoadie]

If only iPhone4 users watched CNN

Then they would lead all ratings categories, but alas, it doesn't appear to be so. Maybe someone will do a list of failing news networks.

 

[Small White Car]

The TV companies aren't willing to give it a chance. All of the major network sites and hulu are blocking google tv. That sucks. You can bet if Apple TV were browser enabled and gave viewers access to hulu or abc.com, etc that they would block that in a heartbeat, too!

TV execs suck.

Oh, for sure.

The thing is, eventually they'll figure it out and Google TV will be a success. I just don't know when. My guess is 2015 or so. Maybe slightly later.

So that means that THIS Google TV will fail spectacularly. At least, I think so.

But heck, maybe they'll all work it out by the end of 2011 and it'll all work out sooner than I think. Stranger things have happened.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

The antenna issue was over hyped.

 

[slipper]

Biggest Tech Fail #11

iPhone 4 proximity sensor.

 

[baryon]

Can't comment on the iPhone 4 antenna as I don't own one, but it's true that I have not heard anything about it since Apple's antenna event.

However, Ping, indeed, is quite lame. What does it even do? I like listening to music but that's it! I don't care about what others are listening to, and people already post YouTube links to music videos on Facebook, which sort of tells me what kind of music they like at the moment. And I can listen to the entire song AND see the video then and there, no buying. I don't like to follow artists, I'm not a "fan" of anything, I just want to know when any of my 2 favorite artists release a new album. That happens about once every 5 years, so I'm okay for the next 4 years at the moment.

 

[Xtremehkr]

Kin's not a fail since it was destined to be killed by MS even before release

I'm trying very hard to understand this statement but I'm not having much luck.

http://www.businessinsider.com/micr...sment-all-over-campus-from-kin-failure-2010-7

"Embarrassment all over campus from the rank and file about the Kin announcement," says this Microsoftie.

"We had a huge launch party on campus and I bet that party cost more than the amount of revenues we took in on the product. As an employee, I am embarrassed. As a shareholder, I am pissed. It's one thing to incubate products and bring them to a proof-of-concept to see what works, but it's something else to launch. I suspect we launched because we felt like we HAD to so we could save face because we were trying to build buzz, but overall - HUGE fail."

Huge is close but when I read about what the Kin phone actually was it starts to look more like a legendary failure.

At least Google had the sense to pull Google TV before it damaged their reputation in the television audience world.

 

[Mister Snitch]

Obviously the phone sold as fast as Apple could make it, so the phone itself was not a failure. It was Apple's, er, handling of the matter that was a problem.

 

[EvilEvil]

Apple's response to the antenna issue was comedy gold. I couldn't stop laughing at their 3D renderings of their so-called testing facilities and use the Droid Eris (which they quickly took off their site soon afterwards) to cover up their FAIL. Sending out those bumpers was such a joke.

 

[Truffy]

In what may be a bit of a surprise considering how little we've heard about it over the last several months, CNN ranked the iPhone 4's antenna issues, known informally as "Antennagate", as the top tech fail of the year.

These are the fails of the YEAR, not the MOMENT. At the time it was a major fail, badly dealt with by Apple. Bumpers? FACEPALM!

And, yes, the iP4 is majorly successful. But how many people have edged away from it (other than me)? Could it have been even more successful, or could Apple not have handled that?

 

[Small White Car]

I couldn't stop laughing at their 3D renderings of their so-called testing facilities

Ok, you do know they took reporters around those labs, right? They didn't just knock them out and brainwash them.

Or is that what you're claiming?

 

[puttputt]

Ping is a big fail. Antenna not so much.

 

[vouder17]

White iPhone...Hallo?!

 

[cocky jeremy]

What a stupid list. Fastest selling phone ever a fail? Sure.. idiots. And anyone saying "It was how Apple handled it that was a fail" is wrong too. Obviously, they handled it just fine. Otherwise people wouldn't keep buying it.

 

[Lancetx]

The only "fail" was how incredibly far the media blew antennagate out of proportion. Considering that nobody has heard a peep about it for months now proves that beyond any doubt.