In 1950, the Atomic Energy Lab was launched by the A.C. Gilbert Company. It was a toy kit with real uranium ore allowing kids to make nuclear reactions at home using actual radioactive material.
Professor Einstein Robot
Launched in 2015, Professor Einstein was a desktop-sized Einstein robot that could teach young people about science. His mouth moves in sync with his voice, and he raises his eyebrows and blinks. He can stick out his plastic tongue, walk, and raise his right arm.
Often when you ask the Professor a question it answers a totally different one. Even when Einstein does understand, his information is very basic – looking it up on Google would be much quicker. Since the recommended age is 13 and up, the robot is competing with much more interesting games, websites, and toys.
The voice isn’t elderly and speaks at a raised volume with no volume control. Sometimes, Einstein seems to be looking at you, but most of the time, he’s just randomly looking around the room. In addition, the Professor’s rechargeable batteries are located in the feet, and the bottoms have to be unscrewed with a screwdriver every time the batteries need to be charged, which is every 3 hours. Surprisingly Einstein’s On switch is in its butt crack!
TrackR
Launched in 2014 and discontinued in 2021, TrackR was a Bluetooth-based tracker that struggled to compete against the myriad of competitors including Apple AirTags.
With TrackR’s products tracking could be shared across multiple devices; there was family sharing so your phone could report on the presence of your partner’s bag; and if you lost your keys, the TrackR community could look for them on your behalf.
Skybell Video Doorbell
Launched in 2015, the Skybell video doorbell sends a live video feed to your smartphone when somebody presses the button, and allows you to initiate a two-way conversation with the person at your door. It installs in minutes and offers motion detection and on-demand video, but otherwise falls far short of the Ring. The SkyBell is missing a few important features such as cloud-based recording of calls and motion events, and its picture quality is barely adequate.
Ring is a more comprehensive and fully contained home security setup. Ring’s video doorbells also come with a customizable motion sensor, which is not available with Skybell. Whereas the Ring doorbell can be powered by either internal batteries or a low-voltage doorbell transformer, the SkyBell must be wired to a doorbell transformer using the two wires protruding from the back of the device. If your home is not currently wired for a doorbell you’ll have to run wires and install a transformer to use it.
Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight
Launched in 2015 and discontinued in 2019, the Leeo allowed you to use a couple of sensors and link it to actions that would give you text alerts and a phone call. For instance, it could listen for smoke alarms and call you when it heard them, or it can let you know when it got too humid or hot at your house. However, the company had the wrong business model as it only charged $50 for the device and had no recurring revenue. Plus they were unable to come up with additional products.
Lighthouse (interactive assistant)
Launched in 2017, the Lighthouse interactive assistant provides insight to three core things: what has happened, what is happening and what is happening that shouldn’t be happening. Lighthouse uses deep learning and 3D sensing technology to introduce an unprecedented level of awareness within the home while you’re away, accurately distinguishing between adults, children, pets and objects, known and unknown faces, and actions. However, Lighthouse couldn’t effectively compete with the capabilities and distribution of Amazon Alexa, which was launched in 2018. Alexa is capable of natural language processing for tasks such as voice interaction, music playback, creating to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, providing weather, traffic, sports, other real-time information and news. Alexa can also control several smart devices as a home automation system.
Tile (location tracker)
Launched in 2013, Tile was a square-shaped location-based tracker. It syncs to an app on a user’s smartphone, which sends the owner of a tracker an update on its location if the device is reported as lost or stolen. However, Tile didn’t have adequate safeguards to prohibit stalkers from using the products to follow victims’ movements in real time leading to various lawsuits.
marchFIRST
In 2000, marchFIRST launch with 8500 employees and $1.13B in revenue after a merger of two firms. Due to challenges integrating the cultures and tough market conditions, the company folded in 2001.
The company provided professional services related brand strategy, B2B commerce, operational effectiveness and performance improvement, user experience, and digital design.
The market for e-commerce services in North America alone was projected to grow to $80 billion by 2003. With its global network of offices organized into five geographic operating units, marchFIRST was positioned to capitalize on the growth opportunities of the internet and e-commerce services market. Its clients represented a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, transportation, financial and business services, retail, and communications.
People Express Airlines
Launched in 1981 and discontinued in 1986, the airline seemed to be getting good mileage out of the cross-use of its work force. Pilots took turns hefting baggage. So did flight attendants. Sales representatives worked check-in counters. Headquarters personnel doubled as helpers at the airport.
Employee productivity was among the best in the industry. The fact that the employees each owned a piece of the action may have had something to do with that.
People’s no-frills service enabled it to keep its overhead, and fares, down. It was making a living out of “unbundling” the various components of air travel. In other words, its passengers paid for what they wanted. And, more importantly, they didn’t pay for what they didn’t want.
The management of People Express was betting that travelers without baggage and those who didn’t find airline food enticing would be prepared to give the company a try to save big on the fare.
Somewhere along the way, though, People Express forgot its roots. Or, at any rate, its routes. The routes that made it such an instant hit and hiked its load factors into the mid-70% range were from Newark to cities such as Buffalo, N.Y.; Columbus, Ohio; Sarasota, Fla., and Norfolk, Va. There wasn’t much competition on routes like these.
Had People been content to stay with a winner, the vast secondary market tier represented by communities such as those, the majors would probably have left it pretty much to its own devices.
But People couldn’t resist the temptation to take on the big boys in their own playground. Soon the People livery was being seen in Chicago, where United holds sway, and in Dallas, where it came into competition with American.
It went into the Atlanta market, and suddenly Delta began to take notice. It bought a 747 and started charging less than $300 round-trip between Newark and London.
Lesson No. 1 was that American, United, et al., do not surrender turf easily. No. 2 was that when you take on these behemoths you’re no longer competing on the basis of price, because they won’t let you charge less than they do; they’ll match you dollar for dollar, no matter how low you go.
Instead, you find yourself competing with their automated reservations systems, their interline agreements with other airlines and, perhaps most crippling for People Express, with their frequent-flier programs.
Apple iPod + HP
Launched in 2004 and discontinued in 2005, the Apple iPod+HP was a line of Hewlett-Packard–branded iPods, distributed through HP. As part of the deal, Apple was to have its iPod manufactured for HP and iTunes would be pre-installed on all HP computers. As these were officially HP products rather than Apple products, Apple Store Genius Bars were not authorized to repair Apple iPod+HP iPods, and they had to be sent to an HP Authorized Service Center for repair, despite identical designs.