Killer Applications - Killer Apps That Weren't

Oftentimes the missing killer app is considered a harbinger of failure. A classic example comes from Apple Computer's Newton. Sophisticated and highly featured for its time, this handheld computer was unveiled with great fanfare in 1993 only to suffer disappointing sales and cancellation a few years later. Some attribute the Newton's demise to being too revolutionary, but its failure to catch on—as with other PDAs at the time—can also be traced to a dearth of clear, motivating benefits. It had a variety of uses, including an address book, a word processor, and a calendar, but for the most part didn't offer compelling new capabilities of wide interest.

More recent victims, lacking a killer app, may include DSL and cable Internet services, as suggested earlier. In the early 2000s, following a dash to roll out these high-bandwidth offerings, growth in new subscriptions began to taper off quickly and service providers faced losses and cash shortages in the wake of their heavy investments. Nonetheless they were far from failing altogether, and some believed that demand for high-speed services would rebound once a true killer app, such as movies on demand, reliable voice-over-Internet services, or new interactive video applications, took hold. Similarly, a driving application for wireless Internet services and devices, notably those offering Web browsing on handheld machines, has been called into question. Clearly these benefit certain types of businesses with personnel constantly on the move and in hard-to-network settings, but general devices were not meeting with overwhelming demand, at least in their early stages.