The Worst 'Best of CES' Picks From the 2010s - PCMag.com
Every year, we pull together a Best of CES roundup, but they can't all be winners. These buzzy CES product reveals from the 2010s couldn't stick the landing.
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Las Vegas is an appropriate venue for CES. There are flashing lights everywhere, alarms are going off all around you, and every product on display is a gamble.
Every January, tech companies head to the desert and shell out big bucks for a booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center in the hopes that their latest and greatest will be on everyone's must-have list for that year.
As each show concludes, we at PCMag pick our favorite innovations for a Best of CES roundup. But they can't all be winners; even products with huge buzz don't survive when they hit store shelves. As we head into a new decade, let's take a look back at the worst of our "Best of CES" picks.
2010: HP Slate 500
When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage at CES 2010, the audience was expecting the Courier—a book-like, dual-screen tablet PC. What they got was Ballmer briefly showing three unnamed HP tablets. They were clearly positioned as iPad killers, but Ballmer had few details except that they ran on Windows 7. A few months later, the HP Slate 500 emerged, but we found that "HP's first tablet isn't really an Apple iPad competitor at all." In a twist, however, we might get that Courier in 2020 after all with the upcoming Microsoft Surface Neo.
Honorable Mention: 3D TVs
Remember when 3D TVs were going to be the next big thing? It was hard to escape them at CES 2010, but the need for goofy glasses and a lack of 3D content doomed them from the start.
2011: Motorola Atrix
In 2011, people were still getting used to the idea that their phones were truly computers. So Motorola tried the hybrid approach with the Atrix—a then-powerful cell phone that transformed into a laptop or a desktop PC. In our Best of CES 2011, we declared the Atrix an "entirely new computing paradigm" and "truly revolutionary." When we reviewed it later that year, we said the Atrix "shows how we'll likely be using our mobile devices in the year 2020." But it committed a cardinal sin of the era—AT&T exclusivity plus pricey accessories—not to mention some bugs. By 2012, the "Webtop" app powering the Atrix was dead, and similar efforts since then, like the Samsung DeX, haven't exactly taken the tech world by storm.
Honorable Mention: Motorola Xoom Tablet
Not a great year for Motorola products. The Xoom tablet made headlines because it was the first tablet to run Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), a multitasking, tablet-friendly OS. But like the HP Slate 500 before it, the Xoom couldn't measure up to the iPad. Apple then dragged the Xoom into its patent battle with Motorola.
2012: Google TV
Google's first attempt at interactive TV was in October 2010 with Logitech and Sony on board. Logitech later called it a "mistake of implementation," and perhaps Google should've listened. Instead, four manufacturers tipped Google TV products at CES 2012—Vizio, LG, Sony, and Samsung. With backing from such high-profile companies, we suggested in our Best of CES 2012 that "Google TV could become the unifying system for connected HDTVs." But it wasn't what passive TV wanted, especially not in such a clunky interface. By 2014, Android TV had taken over to power digital video streaming for smart TVs and media hubs.
Honorable Mention: Nokia Lumia 900
The most buzzed-about product at CES 2012 was a Windows Phone.
Nokia's first high-end Windows Phone 7 device, the LTE-equipped Lumia 900 sported an 8MP camera, Carl Zeiss optics, and a 4.3-inch AMOLED display. "As part of Microsoft's last CES keynote, the powerful Lumia 900 may be a fitting sendoff and just what the Windows Phone platform needs," we said that time. When we finally got our hands on it, we loved the Lumia 900, but AT&T exclusivity (why?!) and a doomed mobile OS sunk the promising smartphone.
(Photo Credit: Emmanual Dunard AFP via Getty Images)
2013: YotaPhone
Over the years, a number of niche smartphone makers have tried to shake up the mobile space, and Yotaphone's approach was a dual-screen device that featured a traditional touch screen on one side and an E Ink display on the other. At CES 2013, we found the first YotaPhone's display system to be "surprisingly well thought out." But the Russia-based company, mired by a lawsuit, went belly up in 2019.
Honorable Mention: Razer Edge Gaming Tablet
The Razer Edge was intended to be a Windows 8 tablet gamers would want to use around the house and on campus. We found that it "injects some much-needed excitement into the tablet space," but it started at $1,000 and had a somewhat hefty form factor. Nvidia's Project Shield tried something similar at CES 2013, but on Android. A few years later, the Nintendo Switch arrived in a smaller package at a more affordable price point.
2014: Steam Machines
Steam proved to be a popular way to distribute PC games, so Steam-based hardware seemed like a natural evolution. But despite showing off 13 different Steam Machine living room gaming PCs from 13 different manufacturers at CES 2014, they didn't ship for over a year. And when they did arrive, even from big names in gaming like Alienware (above), they didn't sell. Perhaps because Steam put itself in competition with its own (now-discontinued) Steam Link set-top box for TVs. By 2018, Steam itself removed the Steam Machines page from its nav bar, despite claiming that Machines are still a thing.
Honorable Mention: Typo Keyboard
In 2014, BlackBerry nostalgia helped the Ryan Seacrest-backed Typo Keyboard earn a best-of nod in our roundup. Simply put, this $99 accessory added a BlackBerry keyboard to your iPhone. As you might expect, BlackBerry filed suit, and the add-on was dead a year later.
2015: Dell Venue 8 7000 Tablet
In 2015, hardware makers were still trying their best to top the iPad and Dell's solution was the Venue 8 7000. At the time, it was the thinnest tablet we'd seen—a hair slimmer than the Apple iPad 2. The 8-inch slate had a sharp screen and a gimmicky, but interesting depth-sensing camera. "But most importantly, it's the only Android tablet that can compete on design with our current Editors' Choice for Android tablets, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4," PCMag's Sascha Segan said. Consumers didn't really agree, though; Dell discontinued its Venue Android tablets in 2016.
2016: Laundroid
A machine that folds your laundry? Sign me up! Seven Dreamers' Laundroid used computer vision to identify pieces of clothing and robotic hands to arrange them. Unfortunately, it cost $16,000. A cool idea the company couldn't quite get off the ground. (Image: Yoshikazu Tsuno / Getty Contributor)
2017: Faraday Future FF 91
Faraday Future is the second electric car company named after a scientist but its distinction is that it doesn't actually have any cars on the road. Since its founding in 2014, the company has been plagued by problems that have led to it not having any vehicles in production. That track record did not stop it from introducing the FF 91 at CES 2017. The super speedy crossover vehicle was on the show floor and available for test drives, but it still hasn't entered production. The company is $45 million in debt but is somehow still taking reservations for the FF 91, albeit with the caveat: "Although we are making all efforts to deliver the FF 91 as soon as reasonably possible, you understand and agree that placing this reservation does not guarantee receipt of an FF 91 or a specific delivery date."
Honorable Mention: Kuri Robot
The adorable Kuri robot by Mayfield Robotics caught our eye at CES 2017. It was pitched as a personal assistant robot you could relate to and would feel comfortable having in your home every day. We had high hopes for Kuri, but cute doesn't pay the bills, and Mayfield announced in July 2018 that it would "pause operations" and stop producing Kuri.
2018: Lenovo Mirage Solo
The Lenovo Mirage Solo is a standalone VR headset that works with Google's Daydream platform. "It's far less kludgey to use than dropping your phone into a headset, and [could be] the future of mobile VR," we said at the time. But as standalone VR headsets emerged, demand for phone-based VR diminished. In October 2019, Google discontinued the Daydream VR headset, pointing to the lack of adoption. Lenovo said it plans to continue selling the Mirage Solo, though only while supplies last.
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