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The techs that went missing in 2009

Posted on 30 Dec 2009 at 11:00

Some much-hyped products failed to materialise in 2009. Which will still be arriving and which have died a death this Christmas?

We hear about a lot of exciting products early. They're unveiled at trade shows and exhibitions; they're teased in press releases and preview sites. The really brave ones slap on a release date, even though what they're showing off is often little more than a prototype. Then, inevitably, some of them vanish into thin air.

Apple tablet

We'll get this one out of the way first, mainly because we're as bored of the persistent rumours as everyone else. It's now supposedly due in Spring 2010, and analysts have studied Apple's supply chain and predicted it will be a 10.1in multitouch device.

The big question is what it's going to be for? Apple has supposedly approached publishers with a view to distributing eBooks, but the device's use of LCD rather than E Ink for the screen suggests that surely won't be its main focus. If it is, Amazon et al will be watching with interest. Either way, it'll probably be beautiful and it'll probably sell millions – even if when it does finally appear it's a ghastly MID that costs two grand.

Windows Mobile 7

We were expecting Windows Mobile 7 this year, but in March Steve Ballmer tacitly conceded that wasn't going to happen. Instead we'd get a 6.5 interim version, which Ballmer admitted was "not the full release we wanted to have." Surely it would still be a big step forward, though? A version of Windows Mobile that finally had the speed, interface and features to challenge the brilliance of the iPhone?

Short answer: no. Long answer: absolutely, 100%, not in a million years of trying. We wanted Windows Mobile 7; what we got was Windows Phone (if you want to confuse a shop assistant, try asking for a Windows Phone phone). Windows Mobile 7 proper has been pushed back to the first half of 2010, but even with the extra year of polish we're not exactly confident.