1 Sony Rolly
Apple’s introduction of the iPod was bad news for Sony, who for decades prior had been making a killing with its popular Walkman tape and CD players. Undeterred, the Japanese tech-giant figured it could still cash in on the growing MP3 market of the post-millennium; however it’s plan to capture a slice didn’t turn out so well.
In September, 2007, at the height of MP3 mania, Sony unveiled its Rolly music player device amid much fan-fare. Rolly is a small, football-shaped unit which not only packed a whopping 2 GB of storage for your songs, but, just press play, and the title thing spins, twirls and grooves-out in all different directions, flashing “700 colors in strobe-like tempos” as it essentially dances to the rhythm of your tunes.
Unfortunately, while it may seem cool and hip, at a whopping $399, Rolly enjoyed a short but sweet stint in the limelight — mainly admired for its myriad of unique frills — but it never really caught on with general consumers, either. Though you can still pick one up on eBay to this day, if you’re feeling nostalgic.