In Pictures: 10 technologies that disappointed in 2012

Here are 10 technologies that fell short of expectations in 2012

Near-field communications

Near-field communications (NFC) has been highly touted for years, but 2012 was supposed to be the year it went mainstream. Smartphone penetration continued its rapid growth, and NFC was widely expected to be a new feature for Apple’s iPhone 5. Then Apple introduced its own barcode-based mobile payment app, Passbook, and snubbed NFC on the iPhone 5 altogether. Google Wallet still uses NFC, but the snub from Apple was a step backwards for NFC’s long-awaited introduction to the mainstream.

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