Top 5 Overhyped Services of 2009

OMG. Sarah Lane is on Current now? :D
I'm a bit late, better catch-up.

Bing is actually quite good. I'd totally give up Google if Bing offered e-mail and YES I know that MSN is Microsoft's email service but still...

You Sarah Lane just failed. Spotify is the best thing ever since sliced bread. The only ones claiming Spotify is overhyped are Americans who haven't actually tried it. Maybe thats because you guys are so jealous such a fine service is only available for Europeans? Hmmm... :)

Crunchpad would've been droolworthy if it came out.
Palm Pre + Canada = fail. Bell was all "it's way better than iPhone" during the first few months. Then when they completed their HSDPA network, they went iPhone crazy and threw the Pre into the trash.
Bing is pretty. Thats about it. The fact that the majority of the site functions aren't availible in the Canadian version means I'm not gonna bother. And also, WHATS SO SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR iPHONE APP AND WEBSITE THAT IT CANT BE ACCESSED OUTSIDE OF THE US?!

And Sarah, most of us understand the failure of Google Wave, but don't put something like Google Voice on this list if you haven't even USED it properly. When it seems that you don't even understand the reason Voice exists, one must question whether or not you are actually fit to cover the tech news.

Bing is really useful for Travel....and I love the Palm Pre. It's not the iPhone killers by any means but I definitely think its a strong Smart Phone.

I think Bing is overhyped...

Agreed. But still think google is guilty of listening to the wrong people with these other ideas. Can't think the original think tank would have chose these ideas.

Though I would not stoop to insulting you and saying you should be fired, I must disagree with you on Google Voice. GV is absolutely awesome. I first started using it because I wanted to easily record interviews I did over the phone (with permission of course) and it's great for that.

The transcription isn't useful, I agree, but I didn't start using the service for that in the first place.

The thing that really sold me on Google Voice was the ability to deal with my voicemail easily. Maybe you have an iPhone, Sarah, and thus visual voice mail, and you are lucky, omg, lucky. I have a Verizon phone, and navigating the seven circles of hell just to manage my messages meant that I never, ever checked them which pissed everyone I knew off. Now when people leave a voice mail I get an email or a text, I can listen online and delete or save easily. I can record different greetings for different groups of people ( my family gets a special one that apologizes for not calling on birthdays and holidays). And I can set it to ring both my home phone and my cell phone.

Plus, with Google Voice you gain call screening back. Remember with answering machines you could listen to someone leaving a message and decide if you want to pick up? You can do that with GV. And when people call you can answer the phone without worrying that it might be someone you don't want to talk to (if the # isn't recognizable). Google Voice tells you who it is and gives you the option to send to VM or connect or whatever.

I also like being able to send and get texts from the website.

And finally (I know this is long, sorry) Google Voice is really useful to me as a tech reviewer. Now whenever I get a new Android Phone to test, I add it to GV and people can call or text me at my same number even though I'm using a different phone. It's a really specific application, I know. Still, it's a big deal for me.

Anyway, Google Voice is an awesome service and while it may not be useful to everyone, it's not overhyped or useless!

What happened old current applications,
Please answer to it,

I totally agree that twitter should be on this list if not top it!

hmmm i wonder if real cloud computing will catch on for more businesses or really really go mainstream.... so far this year i think that it has been over-hyped

The annoying part is that Palm is one of the sponsors of the videos here on Current and I am SICK OF THAT STUPID AD WITH THE CHIPMUNK SINGER! The sooner that ad goes away the better.

Merry Christmas to: Sarah, the Current team and all. I usually just nod along with Sarah, the Libra she is, but regarding Google Voice I’m not in agreement. I maybe missing something, or uninformed, but I resent data plans. I’d like a smart phone, PDA like phone but would like to pick up WiFi for free, I resent they force users to buy their data plan in order to access your own WiFi.. That said, Google’s, voice service may be an alternative to wireless carriers. It’ll be cool to text with a handheld video game. Fully enjoying the nog.

Google Wave was definitely over-hyped. The only conceivable use I've come up with for it so far is as a business tool for people in multiple locations trying to collaborate on a project (and really, isn't that what email is for?!)

I would definitely say that the Crunchpad wins this particular contest. I have to admit that I'm personally a huge Bing fan. As Sarah said, I still use Google, but I always try Bing first, and 90% of the time, I find what I'm looking for there in less time than I would've spent looking on Google. Plus, the picture/video search on Bing is about 456.34 times better than the one Google currently has.

Maybe it's just the WAY I tend to use google, but not only have I found Bing useless, I've actually found it UNhelpful. I did, however, enjoy their ad campaign. And the palm ad campaign, too.

I love Google Voice, especially the fact that I can text at the website (which comes in handy when I'm at work and can't use my phone to text)... I'll go with Bing as number five. :)

i definitely agree on sarah's list!

THE most annoying service is Stumble. The annoying tool and sidebar whenever I open anything from you make me physically angry. Pointless.

I'd have to say Twitter. Just think of how much hype that service has gotten in 2009. All for a service that's mostly people self-promoting other services, spamming links, or shouting in the dark about their bowel movements.

Don't get me wrong - I like twitter and use it (mostly to spam links or shout in the dark). But, if we're looking for "Overhyped"... I can't think of any other service catapulted to such a lofty and untenable height this year by the hype machine.

That's my 2 cents, anyway.

I would not put GoogleWave in there because it is till in the preview stage ( not even Beta yet)

Umm, obviously you don't even understand what google voice is. maybe you should check it out before you bash it. how is a mobile phone a service? i hope you get fired...

Wait a second, how is the Palm Pre a service? :-p

I love my google voice. I use a blackberry and make most of my calls/data in the office or home where wifi is plentiful. I have been saving close to $80 per month by using google voice for every call and wifi for data. I cut my minutes from 1400 to only about 60 per mo. I also love having the custom phone numbers. Who else can say that?

I would have included Wolfram Alpha in there somewhere as well. The things Wolfram claimed about that just didn't match what it is.