Thanksgiving is by far and away my favorite holiday of the year. I love being with family, my dad's famous turkey recipe, the football, the colors--everything. Thanksgiving also offers an opportunity for reflection, and as the holiday rolls around the Fierce editorial team is of course thinking of one thing: turkeys.
Now in its fourth annual incarnation (check out our lists from 2008, 2009 and 2010) we decided to reflect on the products, strategies and operations that resulted in missteps, flops and outright failures.
This is our list of the top wireless turkeys of 2011--the products, concepts and business plans that either failed to meet expectations or were so poorly executed that they flopped with the consumer.
Some of these turkeys are bigger than others, which is why we have ranked them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the biggest calamity.
We know it's never nice to point out the faults and failures of others, but we believe that the wireless industry might learn from the foibles of those on this year's list. Additionally, this is becoming something of a tradition, and Thanksgiving revolves heavily around tradition.
While this list is by no means exhaustive, it does include some of what we believe were the biggest flops of 2011. As always, we welcome your comments and criticisms. --Phil