ColdFusion - Worst Phone Failures in History

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, welcome to another Coldfusion video. It goes without saying that the mobile phone industry has evolved immensely in the past two decades. But along the way, there has been some interesting stories of catastrophic business failures and horrible phone designs. One such business failure lost its parent company $1 billion. The device that caused this loss was on the market for just two months. Another phone company failure saw its founder jailed for fraud. In this video, we'll take a look at some of these crazy stories and some other cell phone oddities. Hopefully this video will be a fun one for you guys.

Starting point is 00:00:38 You are watching Tell Fusion TV. In 2011, rumors of an Amazon phone started circulating. Imagine if Amazon, one of the largest tech companies on Earth, released a phone, a phone that was aggressively priced and had simple software. Android was relatively new at the time, and this new Amazon phone, could pose a real threat to the iPhone and other Android phones. To add to this, CEO Jeff Bezos was deeply involved in this Amazon phone's development. The phone, which would eventually be called the Amazon Firephone, ended up costing $650 US dollars, about the same as other flagship phones.

Starting point is 00:01:24 So what did you get for that? Well, there were no Google apps and most of the Android apps didn't exist. It had unrefined software, poor battery life and sluggish performance. The Firephone did have one unique feature though. Its five front-facing cameras could track your head and give you contextual 3D effects. The result is that the display could make it seem like things were popping out at you. There was also a button for identifying things in the real world and instantly getting Amazon to deliver it to you. But these features weren't useful enough to gain customers.

Starting point is 00:01:56 It took just three months for Amazon to admit defeat and accept a $170 million loss. The Nokia N-Gage was a mobile phone that doubled as a handheld game console. Its design is instantly recognizable to millions, so you would think it was successful, or during its development it seemed like it could be. Portable Gaming was entering a new phase, with the Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS both coming out the next year. Unfortunately for Nokia, the N-Gage was neither good at gaming, and it made a very awkward phone.

Starting point is 00:02:32 The sales suffered because of this. In fact, Nokia were caught lines. about the numbers. They claimed 400,000 units had been sold in the first two weeks. The true number, however, was around 6,000. But Nokia was counting the shipped unit as sales. The ill-fated phone would be discontinued in 2005. Imagine being able to sell a full smartphone for only four US dollars. This is what the Indian company ringing bells tried to do with their Freedom 251 phone. In 2016, it was ranked the number one searched Android phone. The company made a huge promise, attracted tons of attention, and as a result, they earned a whole

Starting point is 00:03:16 bunch of $4-dollar pre-orders in India. But there was a problem. The company wanted the government to support them to a tune of $7.4 billion. So what was in it for the government? Well, the plan was to connect hundreds of millions of Indians to the online world through cheap smartphones that they otherwise couldn't afford. The ringing bells company stated that their true goal was to help empower Indian people. At the time, the Indian government was doing just that. They launched a project called Digital India. Its aim was to give cheap internet to the majority of the nation, so such a deal with the government wasn't unfeasible. But meanwhile, ringing bells was losing $13 per unit in production. The plan was to use advertising and in-app deals to make up the cost.

Starting point is 00:04:02 But even with those deals, they were still going to lose $4 a unit. The grand reveal of the phone highlighted the reality. It turned out that the handset was actually an existing cheap Chinese phone manufactured by the brand Adcom. They had simply used a white-out marker to cover the adcom branding. It's the Freedom 251, and it's called 251 because in India it costs 251 rupees, which comes to $3.70 here. But when you look closer at the facts around this phone, things start to get super shady, and it's clear something is not right.

Starting point is 00:04:37 For starters, the company ringing bells, says it's made in India but is in fact made in China. When the phone was unveiled at a press event, reporters were given sample phones that had the Chinese brand adcom covered in whiteout. You can see the paint scratched off here in this video from the business newspaper Mint, in which the reporter also said she had trouble getting the review model to turn on. And photos from various news outlets all show icons on the home screen that look like they were ripped off from Apple's iPhone app icons. India's telecom ministry is investigating this company and how it could possibly sell a phone for so cheap. The government deal eventually fell through and the pre-orders were never fulfilled. Mohit Goel, who was spearheading the project, was arrested and charged with fraud. Some analysts have since called the phone a classic Ponzi scheme.

Starting point is 00:05:28 The idea of a smartwatch has been around since the early 90s. But in 2004, the Korean firm, Telson, tried to push it all a step forward with the TWC 1150. It was truly something special. A vision of the year 3000 from 2004. The only thing was, it looked ridiculous to most people, and holding your wrist up to your head when receiving a phone call was less than intuitive, but props for the effort. Bang and Olsfen is well known for their high-end audio and in 2005 they teamed up with Samsung to launch their serene phone.

Starting point is 00:06:10 It was specifically designed to compete with high-end phones on the market, namely the top Nokia's. It had an interesting design that included a power assistant hinge. And now that it's on, you'll be able to hear the mechanical aid of the hinge there. It also featured an iPod-style scroll wheel and an LCD. display. But due to its unfortunate design, taking photos was awkward because the camera was in the hinge. The device was a hard sell at $2,000. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't terribly popular. Though, I'm sure it's going to be a collector's item soon. In 2011, to stand out

Starting point is 00:07:01 from the crowded field of Android phones, the Japanese firm Kiyosera tried to think different with their echo phone. The echo featured a secondary and equal 3.5 inch screen that moved outwards on a hinge. Users could select two of seven apps to run simultaneously. They could also stretch out individual apps to cover both displays. Looking at this, they were close to the right idea, but the technology just wasn't ready. ...up to top like you would a normal smartphone. You can actually change the orientation too, so it's tilted. You notice it works in both the viewing area styles, both portrait and landscape. Again, you'll see the speed at how fast this thing really moves. It's coming.

Starting point is 00:07:48 Users ended up with slow, bulky hardware, a massive seam in the middle, and weak battery life from trying to power two screens. To add to this, the software of the apps was poorly optimized. Today, dual-screen phones are making a comeback, so maybe this time around, Kiyosera. Wouldn't it be cool if your phone could double as a widescreen projector? That was the plan that the 2012 Samsung Goosephi-Gers. Galaxy Beam. Yes, it was an Android phone with a built-in mini projector. I thought this would be the next big thing when I first saw it eight years ago. NGadgett reviewers of the time said it was actually great for watching Netflix and other content in a dark room. Quote, at first, we couldn't

Starting point is 00:08:29 think of many uses outside of a businessman using it for presentations, but it actually came in handier than we expected. I watch movies on the wall and the ceiling before falling asleep, a convenient option since the projector was larger than the TV I had laying around. To be honest, if a company could do this right, I actually still think it's a good idea. Unfortunately for Samsung, the Galaxy Beam ended up being a footnote in tech history. The company Red has a stellar reputation for its high-quality camera equipment. In fact, the majority of Netflix shows are shot on Red cameras. So obviously, this company would be able to make a hit smartphone with a great camera.

Starting point is 00:09:12 Well, that's what most people thought. But their phone, the red hydrogen one, went in a strange direction. Its main selling point was a glasses-free, 3D holographic display. The phone didn't have much else going for it. Reviewers hated its dim display, bulky construction and subpar camera performance, and at $1,300, it was a complete flop. And just two years later, you can get a brand new one for $300 US. The company planned to release expandable add-on modules, but these never came,

Starting point is 00:09:44 have even since disappeared from the company's promotional materials. Okay, so now we come to the biggest mobile phone failure of all time. In 2010, Microsoft was planning to do something different in the mobile space with their kin phones. Manufactured by Sharp on behalf of Microsoft, these phones were targeted at social networking teens. Unfortunately, the promotional marketing came across as an old man pretending to be hip. This was the least of the kin's problems, though. The phone didn't have an app store, so it wasn't a real smartphone. But despite this, the social networking focus meant that buyers needed a data plan.

Starting point is 00:10:24 This made it too expensive for its target market. But that wasn't all. The kin phones ended up being slow, buggy, poorly built, and had a low-resolution screen. Even Microsoft's San Francisco launch event felt half-hearted, as if the company knew it was making a mistake. Good morning, everybody. This generation, let's call it the social generation, really does have a point of view. They think it, they do it, and they have a mantra for it. And so we tried to categorize and understand their needs, and I think there's sort of three

Starting point is 00:11:05 things that pop for us in a big way. And when we thought about that, we kind of came up with this concept of friends, friends and friends. There was one thing about the kin that I thought was interesting, however. It featured a permanent green dot that stayed at the bottom of the internet. It behaved like a scrapbook where you could drop items like tweets, photos, messages, and other information to share with people. It was always there, so you didn't have to go into an app or dig into a menu to find something that you'd save for later. If modern smartphones had something similar, but not necessarily only for sharing, I think it would be a solid idea.

Starting point is 00:11:42 But despite this, the kin phones were a disaster. It only lasted 48 days on the market before Microsoft killed it. As it turned out, there were internal struggles between the Microsoft KIN team and the upcoming Windows phone team. Ultimately, Microsoft... In Toronto, every arrival is a statement, and nothing says it better than this. Cadillac Optic was the number one selling luxury EV in Canada for 2025. Find your rhythm across a seamless 33-inch display and an immersive 19-speaker AKG surround audio system. This city demands agility, and Optic delivers with precision to make every drive extraordinary.

Starting point is 00:12:19 Let's take the Cadillac. Find out more at Cadillac Canada.ca. Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility Canadian New Vehicle Total Registrations for calendar year 2025 for the Cadillac definition of luxury. Didn't want this laggy phone to be associated with their upcoming Windows Phone 7 efforts. Windows Phone was another venture by Microsoft that was well executed but unfortunately also failed. In the end, the Microsoft Kin Project lost the company over $1 billion in development costs. This makes it probably the most costly disaster in mobile. history. And before we go, a couple of honourable mentions. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in 2016.

Starting point is 00:13:01 We all know that story. A battery defect caused units to explode and use as pockets. And the phone was even banned on flight. The Nokia 7-280. This 2005 phone was shaped like a tube and affectionately nicknamed the lipstick phone. It didn't have a dial pad and you had to enter numbers on an iPod like scroll wheel. It was slow and tedious to use. A truly unique phone, but too impractical to be a hit. I included these last two in the video because they're just insane. The C-99 Starphone is a bizarre phone out of China from around 2009. The device was unquestionably unpractical.

Starting point is 00:13:39 Pretty much, its main selling point was that it was shaped like a star. And finally, in the Honorable Mention's, the Golden Buddha Phone. The Golden Buddha phone was another Chinese marvel. coming with a 24-carat gold exterior, interplanetary design, and a price tag $1,750 US. It's safe to say that this is the craziest phone I've ever seen. So that's it for this video. Let me know in the comment section which phone stood out to you as the biggest disaster. If you did like this video and want to see anything on science, technology, business or history,

Starting point is 00:14:17 feel free to subscribe to this channel. There's heaps of content on here. And if you want to see more throwback crazy phones, check out the Mr Mobile series when phones were fun. I think he's doing a great job in covering some of those, so I'll leave a link for that in the description. Next week in the next episode, we'll take a deep dive into the recent Y card scandal, the biggest financial fraud in European history.

Starting point is 00:14:43 Alright, so that's it. Thanks for watching. My name is Degogo and you've been watching Coldfusion and I'll catch you again soon for the next video. Guys, have a good one. Hey, y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up?

Starting point is 00:15:24 That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust. Visit Wayfair.ca. Wayfair, every style, every home.

ColdFusion - Worst Phone Failures in History

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