In the 1990s, long before they came out with their revolutionary iPods, iPads, and iPhones, the Apple company was not doing well, but they still had their sights on changing the world. Apple’s very first tablet, which was released in 1993, was called the Newton. The PDA device fell flat with consumers because it was too big and too expensive.
The Newton also featured a stylus that was supposed to help users write things on the screen. Unfortunately, the feature worked so badly, the legendary sitcom The Simpsons even made fun of it in an episode. Most Newton users were unhappy with the product and Apple decided to take a break from creating tablets. They came back with a bang, however, and changed the tablet game forever when they released the iPad almost twenty years later. If you think Apple had its share of flops, take a look at the operating system that Microsoft launched next.
RJ Reynolds Smokeless Cigarettes
Yes, you read that right, and if you’re wondering why that seemed like a good idea, we’re sure RJ Reynolds also asked themselves that, after the fact. The company was looking for some good publicity following multiple news stories about the dangers of smoking. They came up with smokeless cigarettes, a “healthier” alternative which contained less charcoal, giving them a relatively smokeless burn.
To say these new cigarettes were not a hit with smokers would be an understatement. They found them hard to light, and just as hard to actually inhale. The fact that the cigarettes didn’t contain nicotine, meant that they were not fun to smoke, and most users preferred to dump them in the garbage rather than smoking them. But don’t worry too much about RJ Reynolds, they may have missed the mark with their smokeless cigarettes, but have since found their niche in e-cigarettes and are currently that product’s leading manufacturers. Cigarettes without smoke may sound like a wild idea, but this company trying to sell water is even wilder.
Coors Rocky Mountain Spring Water
Since we need water to live, it doesn’t seem too hard to be able to sell people water and it’s no wonder that bottled water is such a big business. One company, however, found that selling people something which keeps them alive was surprisingly difficult. In 1990, Coors tried to go off-brand and their customers weren’t having it.
The company used water to make their beer and decided the natural next step was to bottle that water and sell it. The problem was, that they used their famous Coors Rocky Mountain logo on the bottles. Many consumers were confused and probably a little disappointed when they discovered the product didn’t contain alcohol. It only took two years for Coors to get out of the bottled water business. Keep reading to find out what the iPods’ grandfather was like.
Microsoft Bob
It may seem hard to believe or remember, but in 1995 using a computer was a new thing to many people and not that easy to master. Microsoft decided to address the issue by introducing Microsoft Bob, which was supposed to help you use your personal computer. Bob made things simpler by graphically showing you the programs and functions that were available. For example, if you wanted to write a document, you clicked on the desk icon and followed it up with the pen and paper.
The idea may have been good, or maybe not, but we’ll never know because Bob took an enormous amount of computing power to run. The computers of the time simply could not handle it and became slow and sluggish. Microsoft Bob was withdrawn from the market after only one year, with Bill Gates famously saying, “Bob died,” but parts of it are still around, like Rover, the cartoon dog assistant. This gaming company had a virtual nightmare on their hands.
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Nintendo was a pioneer of virtual reality games in 1995 when it introduced Virtual Boy, but unfortunately, they couldn’t deliver on their promise. Virtual Boy had a big and clunky console and headset. You would think the massive hardware would mean that the games would be good, but in fact, they featured low-resolution graphics in black and red. There was nothing in the games that mimicked real life at all.
Another issue was the safety feature Nintendo added - the device had a timer built-in which let the users know to take a break every 15 minutes to protect their eyes. Nintendo may have been doing the responsible thing to protect their users, but the alarms and the warnings on the box made people feel that the game was unsafe. When you take all of that into account, and the fact that the games were not as good as the ones in the regular gaming console, it’s no wonder the Virtual Boy was Nintendo’s biggest hardware flop ever. This fast-food company’s thinking was too advanced for the times.