We give more importance to news of new product launches because as famous poet Barney Stinson said "new is better than old". But throughout 2022 there are many technologies and services that are now just memories in the folds of history. At the beginning of 2023 it is good for us to remember the technologies, devices, services and products that were buried for various reasons.
1. 3G network
The era of 3G network in Malaysia ended completely last December. The process of shutting down the 3G network has been done since October 2021. In May 2022, SKMM said that 99.3% of the 3G network had already been terminated. The 3G network has been offered in Malaysia since 2003 through Celcom. Although now considered slow, 3G behavior opened the door to the popularity of video streaming and even video calling which is now a normal part of everyday life.
2. Altel Prepaid Service
Altel's prepaid service has officially been terminated on December 31, 2022. Customers were given a reminder of the termination of operations of this telecommunications company last October with the option of transferring the number to Celcom. The sudden decision was made with customers given a short period to switch lines or be transferred by default to Celcom on December 1.
3. Blackberry phone
Blackberry stopped producing self-produced devices since 2016 with only the license using the name being leased to TCL for several years. The attempt to revive the Blackberry name this time with the Android operating system did not get a favorable response with the license then held by with plans to sell 5G devices.
OnwardMobility in February of last year officially announced they are shutting down the company, and will no longer develop any smartphones with physical keyboards. With this announcement, it also officially confirms that we will no longer see BlackBerry phones in the market after this. Previously, BlackBerry itself had sold a number of their patents, in addition to announcing that they would end support for their Android applications.
4. Internet Explorer
The "old man" web browser Internet Explorer also ended its life last year. Since its launch in 1995, it has probably been downloaded billions of times. By giving it away for free with the Windows operating system, Microsoft managed to win the web browser war against Netscape Communicator.
Official support for Internet Explorer ends in June 2022 with Microsoft recommending users move to Edge. Throughout its life Explorer became the browser with the largest share and must be used if you want to browse official government websites. The introduction of Firefox and Chrome began to chip away at Explorer's hold. The end of IE support by Microsoft created a dilemma in Japan as more than half of the country's businesses still rely on this classic web browser.
5. Kaodim
Kaodim, which offers search services for plumbers, housekeepers, air conditioner maintenance and more, announced the closure of their operations starting July 1. This resulted in their operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In a note shared by company founder Choong Fui Yu, operations had to be halted due to the impact of the pandemic for more than two years. Cost increases, labor shortages and operational disruptions due to the pandemic caused the number of customers to decrease, which led to the company incurring losses.
6. HappyFresh
HappyFresh today announced they have ended operations in Malaysia, effective immediately last September. HappyFresh says they are taking this step due to the current economic situation. During its 7 years of operation, HappyFresh says it has provided jobs for 850 workers, as well as helping many in getting grocery supplies straight to their homes.
7. Apple iPod
Apple announced it was discontinuing the iPod Touch in May last year, ceasing to produce new products for the world's most popular MP3 player. Apple will only offer the iPod Touch until their existing stock is sold out. After the announcement, all stocks of the iPod Touch sold out quickly worldwide.
With this move, Apple ended the era of the iPod which was once very popular as a portable music player that was compact and easy to carry anywhere. The last iPod Touch introduced was in 2019, where it was powered by the A10 Fusion chip at that time. The iPod Touch series was first introduced in 2007.
8. Google Stadia
The announcement that Google Stadia will be discontinued was made last September after about three years of operation. It started life as a video game streaming platform with us testing it ourselves at Google I/O. There's a lot more potential in a world with a chronic shortage of consoles. But with the closure of several Stadia studios and teams within Google itself, Stadia's future looks bleak from 2021 onwards.
The grave has been dug and the coffin has been carried since September. This service will officially be stopped on January 18 next. Ubisoft came up with a solution allowing players who bought games on Stadia to transfer them to Ubisoft Connect. With Stadia buried, Google's video game streaming technology will be rented out to interested customers.
9. Facebook Campus
Facebook Campus was announced in 2020 as Facebook's effort to return to nature. Through it students on the university campus can relate to each other in their own community. The test was conducted behind closed doors and after more than a year, Facebook Campus was terminated starting March 10, 2022.
Facebook Campus is only open to users with email addresses from participating universities. With the closure of Campus, existing users are advised to download all data that has been uploaded because all of it will be deleted by Facebook. Users will then be advised to join their university's Facebook Group instead.
This isn't Facebook's first experiment trying to appeal to younger users that has ended. Four years ago Lifestage which tried to challenge Snapchat was shut down and this year also Facebook Instant Articles was announced to be stopped from April 2023.
10. Pixy Snap Drone
Snap launched the Pixy camera drone at the beginning of April last year with which it can be controlled using gestures and share footage directly to the Snapchat application. But in August, four months after going on sale Snap stopped development of Pixy.
The decision to stop development of Pixy was announced by Evan Spiegel to the staff in order to realign the company's resources. The Pixy is still available for purchase through Snap's website in the United States and France but it is likely that no new stock will be added after the drone stock is sold out.
11. The 17-year collaboration between Nokia and Zeiss is over
The Nokia camera became a favorite of many in the early days of mobile phones because it used Zeiss lenses. The Nokia N93, for example, was one of the first to have the ability to record video at DVD quality equipped with a Zeiss lens. But Nokia and Zeiss' close relationship of 17 years ended in July last year.
Zeiss lenses are now used on Sony and Vivo cameras as well as raising the profile of the Xperia 1 IV and X80 Pro devices sold this year. The Zeiss lens by far produces better smartphone photos especially at night.
12. Huawei And Leica Cooperation Also Ends
In addition to Nokia and Zeiss, the collaboration between Huawei and Leica also ended in May last year. The collaboration between the two companies has been very fruitful as it has successfully elevated the name of Huawei from a company from China to a smartphone manufacturer with the best camera capabilities in the market.
After no longer working with Leica, Huawei launched XMage as a replacement. This is used on the Mate 50 series of devices. Meanwhile, Leica also collaborated with Xiaomi with the 12S Ultra being the first phone produced by both companies. Among the interesting features offered is a 12S Ultra prototype that can use Leica M-mount camera lenses.
13. Spotify CarThing
Spotify Car Thing testing began in 2019 before open sales began in February last year. But like Snap Pixy, Car Thing also suffered the same fate of being canceled after less than a year on sale.
Supply and demand chain challenges forced Spotify to halt production of the product in July. A loss of €31 million (~RM140 million) was recorded due to the decision to terminate the manufacturer Car Thig. The product is still on sale through the Car Thing site and it can now be had for $50 which is about half the original price of $90 apiece.
14. CNN+
Spotify Car Thing and Snap Pixy are two products that are less than a year old. But they have a longer lifespan than CNN+ which ceased operations in April last year after just before. CNN's paid streaming platform has a shorter lifespan than Quibi.
Among the factors why this platform failed was that 24-hour news content already existed and adding another streaming channel for original content was not requested by users. Post-launch, CNN+ reportedly only had 100,000 subscribers and 10,000 daily active users. A very low number for CNN which was the leader of 24 hour satellite news in the 1980s.
15. Intel Optane
Intel announced the closure of their Optane memory business with a loss of $559 million (~RM 2.5 billion) in the form of inventory that is still being held. This decision is not surprising because in 2020, Intel will no longer sell Optane memory to consumers with a focus on business customers only.
Micron, which produces Optane memory and storage for Intel, has sold a factory that produces chips to HK Hynix. Although no new chips are being produced, Intel reportedly still has several years worth of inventory. Intel will continue to provide support to existing customers.