10 Smartphones, Tablets, Laptops That Need to Be Discontinued Right Now - Mobile and Wireless - News & Reviews - eWeek.com

RIM BlackBerry Bold

RIM BlackBerry Bold
Written By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Jul 27, 2012
3 minute read
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RIM BlackBerry Bold

Online

Research In Motion’s BlackBerry Bold was once the best smartphone option for enterprise users. But with its outdated software that lacks a solid browser and old-style hardware design with its physical keyboard, it’s falling short in far too many ways. It’s time for RIM to discontinue the Bold.


Apple iPhone 3GS

2

Apple’s iPhone 3GS is a fine product for consumers who are on a budget. But the device is getting extremely old. It lacks Apple’s latest design flare and comes with components that are too outdated. Worse yet, it won’t even be able to work with iOS 6. Need any other evidence?


Amazon Kindle DX

3

Amazon’s Kindle DX has proven popular among those who are buying e-readers, but at $379, it’s awfully expensive. What’s worse, it’s not immediately clear what consumers are actually getting for that price. The e-reader’s e-ink technology leaves much to be desired, and its design is subpar. It needs to be replaced.


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Amazon Kindle Fire

4

It’s also important for Amazon to either discontinue or update the Kindle Fire sooner rather than later. The tablet was all the rage back in the 2011 holiday season, but now, it’s being hit extremely hard by Google’s Nexus 7. Amazon needs something fresh to take on its emerging chief competitor.


Apple iPod Classic

5

Can Apple finally get around to killing the iPod Classic? The device comes with a small display, the old track wheel, and really only plays music. That’s so 2005. It’s about time Apple realizes that and kills the Classic once and for all, even if it was the first of an amazing string of products leading up to the iPhone and iPad that put Apple at the top of the tech world.


Apple iPad 2

6

Apple’s iPad 2 is becoming unnecessary in the company’s mobile lineup. Sure, at $399, it’s a more affordable option than the latest iPad model, but its components are less powerful than the $199 to $249 Nexus 7. And without a Retina display, the device doesn’t deliver the visuals consumers are looking for in a tablet these days. Sorry, but the iPad 2 is already obsolete.


Dell XPS 13

7

The Dell XPS 13 was supposed to be the Ultrabook that would define the marketplace. And for a while, it did. But new Ultrabooks are on the way, and Dell has been having difficulty fully realizing the potential of its PC division. Maybe it’s time for it to try something new.


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Pick a Chromebook, Any Chromebook

8

It’s hard to choose just one Chromebook that should be discontinued. After all, these lightweight notebooks with Google’s Chrome OS are running an operating system that most people just don’t care about. It might be a good time to retire Chromebooks once and for all.


Nokia Lumia 900

9

The Nokia Lumia 900 is arguably the best Windows Phone handset on the market. However, because it’s running Windows Phone 7, it won’t be upgradeable to Windows Phone 8. In other words, it’s already obsolete. If that’s not a good enough reason to pull it from the market, what is?


webOS

10

After HP decided to get out of the mobile business, the company said that it would open up webOS and allow developers to improve it and prepare it for their devices. There’s just one issue: webOS has been ignored, and no one wants to run the software. Can we all just forget that webOS ever existed?

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