Vaporware -- Engadget

vaporware posts

Switched On: Developing a sense of rumor

by Ross Rubin posted Nov 7th 2009 at 12:00PM

We're proud to congratulate Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) on five years of Switched On, a column about consumer technology. Check out the first-ever Switched On right here -- we're looking forward to five more years!

Good morning, students. My name is Dr. John Fleming and I welcome you all to MKTG 503: Fictional Technology Product Development. Hopefully, you've all fulfilled the prerequisites to this class, MTG 324: New Product Development and any accredited undergraduate Government class in plausible deniability. As your professor this semester, I'd like to provide a brief overview of the material we will be covering in the emerging field of developing and marketing products that generate incredible amounts of media attention and consumer interest but do not actually exist.

Phase 1: Customer Requirements. Disciplined product development requires acute attention to addressing both stated and unstated customer needs and creating products that fulfill the promise of expectations while maximizing profitability for the organization. In our class, we will learn how to ignore these goals and create figments that have incredible gee-whiz factors that safely ignore considerations such as marketplace pricing and target demographics. Students will generate buzz for a three-paneled OLED ereader that is powered by solar energy while acting as a tanning bed for the burgeoning tween market.

Continue reading Switched On: Developing a sense of rumor

Millenniata's Millennial Disk should last longer than you, your memory

by Darren Murph posted Jul 18th 2009 at 11:09AM

Considering that we're still waiting ~~patiently~~ for any company (we're looking at you, Call/Recall) to produce a commercially viable holographic storage solution, we're required to tackle Millenniata's newest assertion with a sprinkle of skepticism. The claim? It's specially lubricated, fortified and homogenized Millennial Disk is said to last some 1,000 years, making it the world's finest and most longevous archive solution. If it's legitimate. We're told that digital information is carved into layers of hard, "persistent" materials, and somehow, those carvings are able to stay fresh and readable for more years than you care to count. Still, we reckon the robot apocalypse will be in full effect by the time 3009 rolls around, so even if it only lives up to half of its claims, we'll still be impressed.

[Via Slashdot]

Morega's curious Qew may or may not eventually stream your media

by Darren Murph posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 3:37PM

Call us skeptical, but we're not so sure that Morega's Qew is anything more than a mere figment of someone's imagination. The outfit has a thing for showing up just before CES in an apparent attempt to drum up interest, but the outfit's Qew teaser site just screams vaporware. We're never actually shown what it is, though we're told that it can stream, archive, transport and share multimedia. Hmm, sounds a lot like the abilities of some other box we know of.

[Thanks, Mark]

InPhase delays Tapestry holographic storage solution to late 2009

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 9:33AM

Wait, wait -- you're telling us InPhase Technologies may be the latest and greatest poster child for vaporware? Say it ain't so! After promising (and promising) a holographic storage solution for upwards of three years now, the outfit is delaying its dead-to-the-world Tapestry solution yet again, this time to late 2009. In theory, the company would introduce a drive that could record up to 300GB on a $180 CD-sized disc around this time next year, but with Blu-ray already up to 50GB and Royal Digital Media introducing a 100GB alternative, who's to say 300GB won't look puny by November '09? And besides, we're also hearing that GE's Polymer Systems Lab is developing a "layered approach to holographic storage" that will soon result in -- you guessed it -- 300GB discs. The difference? GE is a real company.

CherryPal $249 cloud PC delayed again, gets 8GB SSD as consolation

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 16th 2008 at 1:49PM

Continuing its long, slow trek into computing infamy, CherryPal has now let out word that its $249 Cloud PC has been delayed yet again, with the new, anything-but-certain release date now listed as November 4th of this year. In an apparent attempt to prevent a wave of cancellations, the company has also announced that the previous 4GB C100 model is being replaced with a new 8GB C114 model, and that all previous orders would be automatically upgraded to the new model free of charge. If you're ready to take the chance, you can get your order in at the link below.

[Thanks, Simon K]

CherryPal's $249 cloud PC delayed for another fortnight, vaporware status achieved

by Darren Murph posted Sep 23rd 2008 at 7:22AM

Okay, so we're pretty sure a fortnight after August 7th was August 21st, and while CherryPal was adamant it would finally release its $249 cloud PC then, it has since hit another snag. This go 'round, the company is blaming a "glitch with the graphics processor," which "absolutely needed to be addressed." Comically enough, it's suggesting that the unit will now ship -- gasp! -- two weeks from now, though we're more apt to believe you'd want to make out with Android if given the chance than to trust anything coming from the doors of CherryPal.

MTI Micro showcases fuel cell-powered GPS prototype

by Darren Murph posted May 2nd 2008 at 11:14AM

MTI Micro is edging dangerously close to vaporware status, but until 2009 comes and goes, we suspect we still owe it the benefit of the doubt. The ever-boastful company is at it once again, this time showing off a purported fuel cell powered-GPS prototype at the International Small Fuel Cells Conference in Atlanta. The Mobion-powered device promises to provide "three times as much energy as GPS devices powered by four disposable AA batteries," meaning that users could see up to 60-hours of continuous use on a large, full-color screen navigator. You'll also find an integrated USB port for using it as an energy source, so you could theoretically utilize your NAV to charge your handset / PMP / ray gun. At this point, however, we wouldn't get too excited here -- it's not like there's any guarantee that we'll ever see this thing in commercial form.

[Via I4U News, image courtesy of John S.]

Is Axiotron's ModBook actually about to ship?

by Joshua Topolsky posted Dec 26th 2007 at 7:33PM

For a device which has lived solely in the hearts and minds of hopeful buyers for such a long time, the ModBook has certainly seen its fair share of news. The latest dispatch comes in the form of a letter from the "Other World Computing Team," marketers for the Axiotron-made tablet Mac, detailing expected shipment dates and new configuration options which are being made available. If you believe what you read, actual ModBook hardware will be shipping to buyers starting January 11th -- of course, they've been claiming a ship date for about a year, so we recommend you take this one with a hefty grain of you-know-what.

Call/Recall boasts of 1TB optical disc, reeks of vaporware

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2007 at 10:52PM

Our vaporware alert hit yellow earlier this year when Call/Recall bragged about a multi-terabyte optical storage solution while providing no real proof that it existed, but now we're afraid that's been ratcheted up to orange. The latest from the company -- which still seems to believe that no pictures are necessary to substantiate its claims -- is the "industry's first 1TB optical disc." This device has reportedly been developed and tested behind closed doors, and unsurprisingly relies on its own 2-Photon-3D technology. Additionally, the company purports that it is "entering into product design and discussion with leading manufacturing partners," so we ought to see something coming down the pike relatively soon if all of this is legit.

[Via PCLaunches]

McPerson's 37-inch I-TV does it all... or nothing

by Darren Murph posted Nov 8th 2007 at 6:57PM

There's a select group of red flags that appear when a product is, or is dangerously close to becoming, vaporware, and we've seen just about all of 'em when looking at McPerson's I-TV. Apparently, this so-called do-it-all LCD TV first appeared last year, but now it sports a different look and a flashy website that will make you wish your speakers were inoperative. The set supposedly functions as a home automation controller, DVR, DVD player and Media Center PC, and just in case you doubted its prowess, this thing is somehow Viiv-certified and able to run OS X. Specs wise, you'll find a 37-inch 1080p panel, dual 40-watt speakers (um, right), 7.1-channel audio out, built-in WiFi / Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet and a slew of ports. Considering McPerson threw nearly everything in here save for the proverbial kitchen sink, it's not all that shocking to find a £3,924.49 ($8,235) pricetag floating around the intarweb, and if anyone has any actual proof that this thing exists, feel free to dash our doubts in comments.

[Thanks, Giorgio]

Phantom Entertainment returns, aims to infiltrate hotel rooms

by Darren Murph posted Aug 22nd 2007 at 5:36PM

Those terribly saddened by the recent drought of Phantom Entertainment news now have something to celebrate, as the current king of vaporware has seemingly inked an utterly worthless marketing agreement with ProGames Network to "place the Lapboard and Phantom Game Service content in [select] hotels." Reportedly, the two have agreed to place Phantom's not-yet-available wares into hotels found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia (fancy, huh?), but to no one's surprise, neither firm mentions a target launch date.

Medison promises money back if it can't deliver... in three months

by Darren Murph posted Jul 27th 2007 at 9:45AM

That $150 Medison Celebrity we glanced a few days back seemed to smell a bit fishy from the get-go, and a recent press release from the firm does a fairly terrible job of assuring us all otherwise. Typically, one's in dire straits if it has to address mass concerns of scamming, and Medison is now blaming the unexpectedly large amount of orders and "tremendous" amount of website hits and support calls for an apparent "shift in the time frame" in which customers will receive their orders. Granted, the company still promises that it will deliver, and now claims that your money will be returned if your machine isn't received in three months. Ah well, it's not like you had better things to do with your cash than let someone else earn interest on it while you fret over ever seeing it (or a laptop in its place) ever again, right?

[Thanks, Valdi I.]

Phantom inks $1.3 million in funding to do more nothing

by Darren Murph posted Jul 10th 2007 at 1:41PM

There's just no way to celebrate the ushering in of a new CEO than to ink a loan agreement worth some $1.3 million, right? Just a day after Phantom Entertainment's, um, head honcho, stepped aside and gave the reigns of the vaporware wagon to Greg Koler, the outfit has now announced that it will be using the newfound fundage to "manufacture product lines this year with Alienware and IONE Technologies." We know, it's hard to stifle the chuckling, but apparently Phantom really believes that this time will be different, as it's busting out radical plans to "initiate marketing, sales, and distribution of the Phantom Lapboard." We'd feel sorry for the lenders, but they should have known better.

Timothy Roberts steps down as Chairman, Director of Phantom, which has yet to do something

by Ryan Block posted Jul 9th 2007 at 10:14PM

You can't keep a good snake oil salesman down -- well, until he jumps right the hell overboard from his company. Maybe possibly actually on the eve of -- gasp -- actually shipping something, vaporware stock scamming pump and dump frontrunner Phantom Entertainment (aka Infinium Labs, aka the dudes Gizmondo like sooo looked up to) announced today that its founder, Chairman, and Director Tim Roberts is peaceing out just in time to not screw up their non-sales during this week's E3 conference.

Lovely fluff ensues: "'We are grateful for Tim's vision and his service in helping to guide the Company since its inception' noted Greg Koler, CEO and President of Phantom Entertainment, Inc. 'We will miss Tim's counsel and insightful views on the direction of technology and we wish him well with his new endeavors.'" Vision? In producting what, bupkis? Service? In doing what, leaving the company in 2005 with a booty load of stock making the whole business look like a scam? Man, you can't even make this shlock up.

Read - press release
Read - CNN says dude's a crook (2006)
Bonus: check out dude's LinkedIn profile. He really seems to believe he's a "Proven Leader in Sales." Sales of what, exactly?

ZAP announces mysterious high-performance electric car

by Joshua Topolsky posted Jun 23rd 2007 at 11:01AM

ZAP (which stands for Zero Air Pollution) announced another new entry to its electric car stable, an as-yet-unnamed sedan that will apparently sell for $30,000. The California based company claims their new model will reach a top speed of 100 mph, and will have a 100-mile range between charges. But here's where this story gets really interesting: ZAP announced a different model back in January which still hasn't seen the light of day, and AutoblogGreen questions whether the company has been using press releases as a method of increasing their stock price for short term cash-flow. Competitors like Tesla have prototypes on the road, but no such luck with ZAP, which certainly raises a number of questions, and definitely gets you thinking about the word vaporware.

Read -- ZAP press release
Read -- AutoblogGreen's take on ZAP