Readers’ Choice Awards: Biggest Fail of 2014
With less than two days left in the year, we are down to our penultimate category in our 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards. It is now time to announce the winner for the one category where last place would be a better finish than first. Ladies and gentlemen, your choice for the Biggest Fail of 2014.
(Don’t forget to check out the rest of the winners as voted on by over 1,700 of your fellow readers!)
Honorable Mention: Bendgate
Apple’s latest iPhones were the talk of the town when they launched earlier this year, but it wasn’t all for good. As stories spread of customer experiences that included phones that would warp and bend in your pocket, the next “-gate” was born. The craze reached its peak as YouTube was overrun with videos of people attempting to bend any piece of tech they could get their hands on. Android fans never miss an opportunity to rub dirt in Apple’s wounds, so it’s not surprising #bendgate captured 12% of the total vote. What is surprising is that the controversy didn’t land any higher than an honorable mention.
Runner-up: OnePlus marketing and promotion
While there is no denying the OnePlus One’s place as one of the best smartphones to launch in 2014, its arrival was marred by a series of marketing blunders. There was no worse moment for OnePlus than a promotional campaign targeting women and the backlash that surrounded the questionably sexist attempt at giving away invites to purchase a smartphone.
And the winner is: Amazon Fire Phone
Hating on the Amazon Fire Phone for being an Android-based device that has barely anything to do with Android would be a bit unfair. Hating on the Amazon Fire Phone for being one of the most terrible smartphones launched not only in 2014 but quite possibly ever is more than justified. Despite Amazon’s best efforts to suggest otherwise, the company had trouble getting consumers to take the Fire Phone off their hands. It’s launch was quickly followed by steep discounts to get stock moving.
Here is how the voting went for Biggest Fail of 2014:
