technology is advancing at a frantic pace. Thousands of companies compete relentlessly to bring to market the best devices. In this constant struggle to be first, sometimes they become victims of the rush and launch products that fail —and even exploit— with only a few hours of use. Tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Apple or Samsung have starred in some of the big failures in technology from the last decade: the explosion of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, to the antennagate of the iPhone 4 going by the breakage of the mobile foldable Samsung, accidents with autonomous cars, the dieselgate or the inability of Facebook to curb the dissemination of false news.
The ‘antennagate’ iPhone 4
When Apple introduced in 2010, the iPhone 4, the problems are not slow to appear. A design error was that the users taparan the antenna when holding the smartphone so that the terminal loses coverage. Multiple experts and media rated the error —the so-called antennagate— as the greatest failure of technology 2010. “We’re not perfect”, he acknowledged on several occasions, Steve Jobs. The company from Mountain View was forced to give away cases to solve the problem and to modify the design of the antennas in their following terminals.
The 3D television
is it worth putting on some special glasses to see the tv? There was a time in which manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic or LG thought that yes. But the 3D tv never came to make a deep impression to the consumers. The lack of content, high prices of the televisions and the discomfort of the 3D glasses are condemned to this technology the failure. The manufacturers left a little to this technique in their new models to focus on new strategies.
The fall of Apple Maps
Six drivers were lost for 24 hours in a national park australian after following the directions from Apple Maps
The software mapping Apple debuted in 2012 as part of an upgrade of the operating system of iPhone. Errors of identification and labelling of different locations and faults in the signs, eliciting criticism from multiple users of Apple Maps. For example, six drivers were lost for 24 hours in a national park australian after following the indications of the application, according to the website specializing in technology ComputerHoy. Despite the fact that the company of Mountain View asked for patience and understanding to customers, the failure of the app brought with it a fall in the number of users and the dismissal of various heads of the program.
The first ‘smartphone’ Amazon
The Fire Phone of Amazon.
Amazon has become in 2019 in the world’s most valuable brand ahead of Google and Apple, according to the edition 2019 ranking BrandZTM prepared by WPP and Kantar. The technology giant, which has been expanding its business constantly and looking for new horizons, has also failed in the attempt. Specifically with its first smartphone: Fire Phone. It was introduced in 2014, and the reactions were negative from the first moment. The experts considered that the price -649 dollars— was exaggerated for the features they offered, and the terminal never came to find a gap in the market. The low volume of sales resulted in losses of $ 170 million, according to the website specializing in technology Xataka.
Scooters in flames
The hunter hoverboard, a kind of scooter to be monitored, was the gift star in christmas of 2015. After capturing the attention of millions of young people around the world after being used by celebrities and appear in different video clips, we began to popularize by different incidents. The batteries in the product, lithium, exploded as people walked on them or during recharging. These outbreaks led to at least 20 universities in the united States to prohibit their students the use or possession on their premises the hoverboards. Also, some airlines like American Airlines and Delta vetoed the access to their aircraft with these devices.
The explosive Samsung Galaxy Note 7
The explosion of the hoverboards have not been unique in the last decade. Imagine put to charge their mobile phone and, suddenly, the terminal is in flames. This is what happened to several users of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the big bet in telephony of the south Korean manufacturer in 2016. After not being able to cope with the crisis, the company announced in October of that same year that he left definitely the production and sale of the terminal, and recover those that had already been sold. A few months later, Samsung attributed the fire to a cortocirctuito in the battery, due to problems of design and welding.
The software cheat Volkswagen
sometimes behind a fiasco of technology, there are decisions with malicious intent. This is what happened with the so-called dieselgate. The engineers of Volkswagen turned to the computer to misrepresent, deliberately, the results of the controls anti-pollution conducted by the authorities responsible for the protection of the environment and public health. The software, installed in over 10 million vehicles with diesel engines sold by the German group between 2008 and 2015, would detect if the car could be passing an exam or driving with freedom. Four years after the dieselgate outside uncovered, this case still continues to make a dent in the company’s results.
The fake news on Facebook
Facebook has been surrounded by several scandals in recent years. DENIS CHARLET AFP
In recent years, Facebook has jumped from scandal to scandal. The leaks of data to the Cambridge Analytica going by the rapid spread on his platform of false news. The company of Mark Zuckerberg has faced harsh criticism for allowing the dissemination of false information to influence public opinion during election periods. For example, in the elections of USA in 2016 or Brexit. It has also failed in its attempt to halt the spread of hate speech on their platforms. In 2019 one of the authors of the terrorist attack on two mosques of New Zealand issued in direct part of the attack on Facebook. The unstoppable spread of hoaxes has led the company to establish a system of human teams that reviewed different publications.
The accidents of the autonomous car
In 2018, driving autonomous was severely questioned after multi-vehicle experimental without a driver are involved in different accidents. A woman died in Arizona after being hit by a autonomous car of Uber. The accident forced the company to stop its testing for several months. Tesla also had to deal with a series of vehicle collisions that were circulated with the autopilot. For example, in march of that year, the driver of a Tesla Model 3 died in a crash when driving in Florida to a speed above the permitted.
The mobile folding Samsung breaks
Samsung presented in February 2019 one of the most anticipated mobile of the year: the Galaxy Fold. But first impressions of the first mobile folding of the brand in south korea, which costs about 2,000 euros, were not the most desired. Several smartphones provided to journalists and youtubers americans specialized in technology broke down after just two days of use. While one of the terminals gave out a small lump in the crease of the screen, another screen began to dim and light up constantly. Samsung, which had planned to begin selling the terminal to the 26 of April, he was forced to delay the sale until September.
