When you’ve been covering technology for as long as I have, it’s easy to amass a trove of long-since-abandoned gadgets. Let’s look back on these ambitious but doomed products.
Consumer tech is a brutal business. For every blockbuster hit like Samsung’s Galaxy phones or Apple’s iPads, there’s an Amazon Fire Phone or HP TouchPad waiting to flame out.
We’re constantly inundated by the latest and greatest, so it can feel like a bit of a fever dream to look back on products from even a few years ago. Recently, I found myself digging through a box of old gadgets and uncovered several of these modern relics. Devices that were once highly touted have now been forgotten. Take a journey with me down this road of blink-and-you-missed-it technology. Long-time enthusiasts will likely still have a fondness for at least a few of them.Coin Card
The Coin Card was a universal card that debuted in late 2013. A magnetic strip on the back could be flashed, so you could store multiple cards on it and then rotate through them. An e-paper display on the front showed things like expiration date and the name of the card.
This device started as a crowdfunded project, which was common for devices of the time. The problem the Coin Card ran into was the broad rollout of EMV chips, which made any credit card without one outdated. I used the Coin Card for a few months before a cashier refused to accept it, saying it looked like some kind of counterfeiting device.
In 2016, Fitbit acquired Coin’s wearables payment platform as it worked toward what would eventually become Fitbit Pay. (That was later replaced by Google Wallet after the search giant bought Fitbit in 2019.) The Coin card, however, ultimately fizzled out.Google Wallet Debit Card
Before mobile payments became the norm in the US, Google also tried its hand at a physical credit card. When it debuted, it served as a prepaid card that allowed you to more easily spend funds stored in your Google Wallet at brick-and-mortar stores. I requested the physical card and kept it in my wallet for a while, but I don’t remember ever using it. It seems a lot of people did the same thing, and Google discontinued the card in 2016.MoviePass Debit Card
The original MoviePass service was fairly straightforward. You paid $30 to $50 per month, which let you watch one movie per day. Purchasing a ticket was slightly more convoluted, however, at least by 2026 standards. First, you used the MoviePass app on your phone to reserve your showtime.
