Top 10 epic tech flops in 2015: BlackBerry, Windows 10, Apple Pencil and more!

Last year has been phenomenal in the tech space, but there have been many oops instances. From hacks and melodrama to failed comebacks and disappointing products, there’s a long list. Here’s a look at some of the epic flops on 2015. Internet.org  Facebook’s Internet.org found itself in the midst of riffs right from the start. After receiving a massive backlash for violating net neutrality aka discrimination against equal rights to Internet for all, Facebook tried making it an open platform for all developers. When that trick didn’t work and things seemed to go awry, it went all out and rebranded the initiative as ‘Free Basics.’ Repackaging the same old wine in a new bottle didn’t really work at hiding the ulterior motives as it wasn’t too hard to figure out Free Basics is nothing but Internet.org. The end of the year also saw some aggressive campaigns, which more clearly hint at monetary motives rather than a noble cause to connect emerging nations like India. BlackBerry  The Canadian giant that once dominated the mobile space tried yet another attempt at a comeback in 2015, but to only fall flat on its face. The Blackberry Leap went unnoticed and the company usually hit headlines for layoffs, premium exits and open to being acquired by companies like Microsoft, Xiaomi and others. Blackberry working on an Android device did garner some positive hype, but the Priv was piped for its high price tag. Clearly, BlackBerry hasn’t learnt from its mistakes. Windows 10    The first half of the year garnered a lot of attention towards Windows 10. It was finally made available on July 29, 2015. Though Microsoft kept sharing timely numbers of the millions of devices adopting the new OS, the buzz around it as a product died down too quickly. There was much talk around how it is ‘innovative’ and some cool tips and tricks around its features and so on. Overall, Microsoft’s didn’t stand up to the hype it created prior to the launch. Apple Pencil  Apple Pencil became the butt of jokes as soon as it saw the daylight. In no to time, Twitteratti had started trolling this latest Apple product. To make matters worse, when iFixit dissected it to find what’s within, it turned out to be almost impossible to repair. It managed a score of mere 1 on 10. The Apple Pencil was launched alongside the iPad Pro 4 and needs to be purchased separately. Android One  Android One devices that were launch late in 2014, failed to garner any interest throughout 2015. If several reports are to be believed, then Android One didn’t sell well and many major retailers even refused to stock them. In fact, some eight major retailers with 1800 stores between them out right refused to stock the devices. Microsoft Lumia flagships  Windows 10 is aimed at unifying Microsoft’s various platforms. In a bid to make an impact in the smartphone market, the company launched its flagship smartphones running Windows 10. The devices are competent but the prices are too steep. The two-horse race with Apple ruling the higher end and Android everything from low to mid, Microsoft devices are finding it difficult to pave way. Housing.com  Housing.com became the plot for epic drama last year.From the ‘çreative’ resignation from then CEO Rahul Yadav going viral to the site being hacked after his exit, Housing kept the drame quotient high last year. On the other hand, Housing that was valued insanely at $400 million, saw steep fall to less than $50 million. The company disclosed its layoff plans, shut down some operations such as land development, and finally announced to focus only on home renting and buying. The movie - Steve Jobs  One of the most anticipated movies, Steve Jobs with screenplay by Aaron Sorkin not only tanked at the box office, but faced ire of some of the people close to the tech legend. He also got into war of words with current Apple CEO Tim Cook and later extended an olive branch. Ashley Madison hack  Last year, numerous companies reported about being hacked or at least a thwarted attempt made on their site. However, its Ashley Madison that caught everyone’s attention. The reason is simple, it is a cheating site, and if your email or information is leaked, then you were probably cheating on your partner. The case caught immense attention, even back in India. After all, 2.7 lakh users were Indian! For those not in the know how, Ashley Madison had a low-key India launch back in 2014. OnePlus invite system  OnePlus build the most ‘value for money’ devices that not only offer superior performance but also look good. The company has a unique marketing strategy and makes its devices hard to procure with the invite system. While this caught some attention and people shared invites, it also irked many. Making your devices harder procure, won’t always work in your benefit.