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Worst phones of 2008

Frazier Barretto, Dec 29, 2008 1320 hrs IST

These are some of the phones that were hyped a lot but turned out to be complete failures.

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EXPERT REVIEW

The year 2008 was one the best years that the mobile industry has seen. The number of phones released was way beyond what we've ever seen. Though the number of phones released in the international market is much higher, the situation in India is improving.

Earlier the consumer had to wait for about two or three months for the phone to be released in the Indian market. While many waited for the release, others would go and get the phone from the grey market.

However, all that is changing now. India now sees simultaneous launch of phones or at times early launch of phones. While this may sound good, many a times in a bid to outdo each other, manufacturers make products that fall short of expectations and turns out to be a complete failure.

Today we look at some of the mobile phones that were major failures in the year 2008.

Nokia N96

The Nokia N96 is the first phone that comes to my mind; it's the biggest failure of the year. The Nokia N96 was hyped to such an extent that it was put up to be the flagship model of the company. Obviously, it didn t live up and so features in this article. The only good thing about this phone, i.e. if you have that kind of budget, is its large screen. Other than that there is nothing new this phone has to offer. It didn t manage to overpower or get anything better to the table compared to its earlier flagship model the N95 8GB, which released a year before.

USER COMMENTS

im sorry but a sci phone cheaper better and has all the feature of the iphone and extras

by tomma, london, on Jan 19, 2009 01:00 AM, Report abuse Reply

Are you kidding me? This list is a bit, thats the only way the best selling phone on earth makes the list. Hey Techtree, I trust 20 millions consumers worldwide over your half-baked list. Sorry. The iPhone was, and still is, a quantum leap in the industry.

by Anonymous, Celina, Texas, on Jan 13, 2009 05:12 PM, Report abuse Reply

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by julian john, Delhi, on Jan 11, 2009 02:41 PM, Report abuse Reply

hey man n96 is just shit i wanna say that it does not provide the user with enough features as written in the articles. the camera is just worse than ever. Well in the end i want to say that it is the most vulgar phone i have ever seen

by kool dude, mangalore, on Jan 10, 2009 06:38 PM, Report abuse Reply

are you crazy? this is the worst list i?ve ever seen

by walter, cancun, on Jan 05, 2009 10:04 PM, Report abuse Reply

are you crazy? this list is the worts i`ve ever seen

by walter, cancun, on Jan 05, 2009 10:01 PM, Report abuse Reply

MAYBE you can't afford one but my N96 is one of the best phones i've used in last 9 years. 5MP camera dual led flash, GPS, GPRS, 3G, wifi, big display, accelerometer (look it up n00b), 16gb, 640x480 video capture @ 30fps, WTF else u need ? Money??

by sak500, dubai, on Jan 05, 2009 09:22 AM, Report abuse Reply

N95 8gb has the same (apart for 8Gb more of memory and DVB-T) for a price of 300euro lower.....

by Mauro, Savona, Italy, on Jan 05, 2009 04:46 PM, Report abuse

Iphone isn't the worst cellphone of 2k8.... Is the worst Phone i ever seen in my life!!!: For very first time the Cinese copy of Iphone is 2 times better than original..... Xperia and N96 are very nice smartphone, but price....

by Mauro, Savona, Italy, on Jan 05, 2009 04:32 PM, Report abuse Reply

well first of all , this articxle is being written in a hurry...thats obvious from the fact of including iphone in both best and worst categories..... Xperia shud not have put here.....phone shud be given a lot of time before it cud be declared a worst phone...... IPHONE is hyped we all know..but its also not that bad tooo......its features are gud...we hsud realize what it has..and how well it performs in those areas......and dont cry for features it dont have.....these features might be included in other next gen versions........Apple Ipod still have few features mixing than other creatibve and otehr mp3 players...but stillIPOD rocks,SELLS,hyped...etc..it has it all......one MORE IMP THING NOKIA WAS MY BEST COMPANY FOR CELL PHONES...BUT IN 2008 IT HAS SLIPPED IN IT.......many many reports of increasing problems in nokia phoen is coming....and that a fact...... in case of INNOVATION...nokia still lags behind..even if it has maximum market share because of easy interface and iDIANS have been used to nokia interface.......and all these are factuakl things...no guessing and experimenting !!!! and YAH 3G WILL also be successful soon....when pricing and quality is good......

by tukli, Chandigarh, on Jan 04, 2009 01:00 PM, Report abuse Reply

This article seems to have been written by someone who has never used the iphone for more than 1 hr. Look aside from what it cannot do, and try to embrace what it can do. What ever iphone does, it does superlatively. Before iphone, i had a windows mobile touch phone, one video player, and one mp3 player. iPhone 3G has replaced all of these. It is an amazing phone, an amazing music player, an amazing video player, unparalleled internet browser on a phone. Talking about basic features, iphone has the best virtual keypad, best alarm, best clock, amazing games, the best battery life in smart phones, best battery life in mp3 players, best battery life in video playback. Sending multiparty messages is a breeze. Keeping track of messages is easy. Amazing sync between email addresses, phone numbers, and related information. The list just goes on and on. Please use it and then write a comment. Atleast maintain consistency in your articles, iPhone is amongst your own list of best phones of 2008, how can it also be included in worst?

by P. Girish, Bangalore, on Jan 02, 2009 10:21 AM, Report abuse Reply

N78= Wi-fi, GPS, 3.2 Mp camera with flash and auto focus,external swappable memory card slot with cover and Upto 8 GB memory card support, 3.5 mm jack on the top, 3G support, front facing vga camera, slimmest N-series model, N-gage support, brilliant screen .. since u have mentioned better options tell me other Phones at 15 k with so many features.....

by Bigg, Cochin, on Dec 31, 2008 01:19 PM, Report abuse Reply

its got features but sad keys....they fail....after whc u cant use any of those features ur braggin about...so its got features that u can use for 2months and then the phone only turns un-usable....I faced this problem wen picked one and den picked a E71 whc is awesome....even my dealer said tha same problem bein faced by otheres

by phoolchin, Sheechin, on Dec 31, 2008 02:33 PM, Report abuse

wht u mean by unusable? i have been using it for 3 months and no problems at all...with heavy texting and gaming ....the key pad is its only drawback and u get used to it pretty soon... anyways it doesnt disappear after 2 months....

by Bigg, Cochin, on Dec 31, 2008 04:34 PM, Report abuse

99% users in India don't need/use 3G speeds and you are talking about 4G. Infact, how many users in India even use the basic GPRS ??

by AvIzOnE, Los Angeles - Mumbai, on Dec 29, 2008 09:21 PM, Report abuse Reply

oye desi-firang....ppl in India use GPRS & EDGE as well....not many but dey do....doesnt mean India is far behind cuz ur bottoms in LA....Laadh mai Areai ???

by Anonymous, LooA, on Dec 31, 2008 02:39 PM, Report abuse

It is the same guy who put the 'best phones of 2009' couple of days before. iPhone 3G features in his list for best and worst phones. How can it be possible?

by Sajith, Bangalore, on Dec 29, 2008 01:44 PM, Report abuse Reply

techtree is pathetic in terms of reliability.seriously dont buy into their reviews

by anon, s, on Dec 29, 2008 01:47 PM, Report abuse

YOU GUYS ARE SO FUNNEH HEHEHEHE

by Cheap Tech Free, twelhi, on Dec 30, 2008 10:30 AM, Report abuse

Man you are assholes... Your review sucks..

by Ronit Bhattacha, Gurgaon, on Dec 29, 2008 11:09 PM, Report abuse Reply

I wonder how the moderator can let such obscene language pass. Is he/she on a vacation?

by Sumedh, Thane, on Dec 29, 2008 11:55 PM, Report abuse

I was not surprised to see Iphone 3g here. Actually this is the first phone that comes in my mind in list of worst phones.

by Sunny, bangalore, on Dec 29, 2008 11:32 PM, Report abuse Reply

It's not just great speeds; the iPhone also has one of the best browsers on any mobile phone ever - Mobile Safari. Along with that are the legendary strengths of the iPhone like excellent interface, great touch screen display and gorgeous looks. Plus there is also GPS, Wi-Fi, accelerometer and the seamless integration with iTunes and the App Store. The iPhone is still too expensive, but at least now it is better value for money. The iPhone is priced at Rs. 29,000/- for the 8GB and Rs. 33,000/- for the 16GB version.

by Karthik Kaushik, Gurgaon, on Dec 29, 2008 11:28 PM, Report abuse Reply

Man you are assholes... Your review sucks..

by Karthik Kaushik, Gurgaon, on Dec 29, 2008 11:04 PM, Report abuse Reply

Yes the iPhone 3G is bad if you think about the hype-to-final product ratio. In fact none of these phones are really bad. They just don't live up to the empty hype that preceded them.

by superhobo, Megatown, on Dec 29, 2008 10:04 PM, Report abuse Reply

iPhone 3G might not be useful in India but 3G features are used widely in US. My friend owns it and uses the (2D) GPS, YouTube (without WiFi) and other features. it might not have major improvements over 2G version but most uses are satisfied. Also, 99% don't need and/or use 3G services and the author is talking about 4G.. thats a big LOL !!

by AvIzOnE, Los Angeles - Mumbai, on Dec 29, 2008 09:19 PM, Report abuse Reply

Do you guys read your articles before publishing them? The Apple iPhone 3G is featured in both the best and the worst phones of 2008 list. Check your articles dudes !!! else i love your site.

by Punit Tripathi, Mumbai, on Dec 29, 2008 03:58 PM, Report abuse Reply

the hardware in iphone is not something to brag about.. only the Interface owns!!!! and iphone is considered in worst list considering the indian market and not the foreign market.

by Chintan, Mumbai, on Dec 29, 2008 03:33 PM, Report abuse Reply

tell me techtree... which phone comes with so many feature with such a price as N78? N78 does went into oblivion but certainly not a flop

by n78fan, Pune, on Dec 29, 2008 02:07 PM, Report abuse Reply