July 17, 2007 4:00 AM PDT
No list of disappointing gadgets would be complete without the Apple Newton MessagePad, the personal digital assistant that Apple manufactured in the 1990s. One of Apple's most notorious flops, the Newton was undoubtedly ahead of its time, but it just didn't sell. Maybe it was the high price (which peaked at $1,000) or the fact that the Doonesbury comics relentlessly mocked it much as Arrested Development poked fun at the Segway.
Its Scientific Revolution-inspired name (get it? Newton's Apple?) carried the obvious connotations of discovery, innovation and enlightenment. Unfortunately, this Apple landed on the ground with a thud.
But some still say the Newton's spirit lives on: in the form of the already-legendary iPhone.
Photo by Apple
