New Year is round the corner; the technology front remains very active throughout the year. With the launch of devices like the iPad 2, Kindle Fire, and countless smartphones, 2011 has been a big year for technology. It is observed that the success of some devices brings failure for others. Some gadgets in 2011 performed very well, while some other became dead. So, tech vendors have witnessed both pride and infamy in this departing year. Bidding adieu to the year 2011, let’s check out some gadgets that died in 2011.

Microsoft June:

Microsoft's reply to Apple’s iPod bid farewell in October 2011, almost five years after its arrival. Zune nonetheless failed to capture a significant market share. As a result, Microsoft killed off the whole line of devices, both large and small.

Reason: Sources revealed that Apple’s iPod has proved its dominance in the market and grabbed around 77 percent of the market share. Secondly, Zune arrived in the electronic market very late in comparison to the iPod. In addition, the promotional strategy of Zune can be blamed as Microsoft never advertised Zune beyond the United States, making it less known than the iPod.

HP TouchPad: 

HP designed a tablet, TouchPad to suffice the needs of both the enterprise systems and consumer electronics. No doubt HP’s TouchPad is a unique gadget that captured user’s interest  after it had met its end. Discontinued in August, the TouchPad's life was just seven weeks. While HP has decided to discontinue its webOS hardware ambitions the future of the operating system is still up in the air. 

Reason: HP TouchPad got a lukewarm response for poor battery life, slow processing speed and dearth of interesting apps.

Sony PSP Go:

Released in October 2009, the PSP Go ditched the traditional PlayStation’s UMD drive and experimented with a distribution strategy based entirely on downloadable content. Although its design was significantly different from other PSPs available, on April 20, 2011, the manufacturer announced that the PSP Go would be discontinued so that they may concentrate on the next device PlayStation Vita. 

Reason:  Reviewers believe, big price tag is the significant reason that brought PSP Go to an end. The device was originally introduced for $249, $80 higher than what its predecessor PSP-3000 sold for. Its smaller screen and inability to transfer previously-purchased titles are some other significant reasons.  

Dell Streak 5 & Streak 7:

Successful player in the personal computer space, Dell has decided to discontinue Streak 7 tablet in December 2011. With 5-inch screen, the Streak 5 looked odd between the smartphone and tablet, making it tough to advertise and slightly tougher to justify buying. Now, the Streak 5 and Streak 7 product page simply urging visitors to “browse other mobile devices similar products.” 

Reason: Analysts believe, Dell tablet is facing tough competition from Amazon's new Kindle Fire which has significantly heated up the tech industry dominated by Apple's iPad.

Apple MacBook

First introduced in May 2006, it replaced the iBook and 12-inch PowerBook series of notebooks. Apple MacBook was aimed at the consumer and education markets. After 5 years of its launch, on July 20, 2011, Apple quietly discontinued for consumer purchase in favor of the new MacBook Air. However, Apple still offers the MacBook to educational institutions

Reason: MacBook's place in Apple's hardware lineup has been taken up by the lighter MacBook Air, which sells for the same price as MacBook. Obviously, users will prefer for the better option. 

Satinder kaur