You could say iPod, xServe, AirPort or Pippin in the same vein. Companies lose/get out of entire markets and move to others, that's a natural (and probably healthy) thing.

Otherwise, I forgot about TabletPC, hut given they have the Surface line now, is it a failure ?

Thanks for the reminder: Zune. You think iPod belongs in the same breath as the others?

Random protocols aren’t products.

Surface is a strategic failure because it didn’t define the tablet market a decade ago, and iPad / Chromebook is what every grade school kid uses. Now it gets to cannibalize sales from their PC partners, who I’m sure are thrilled to be competing with their OS supplier.

iPod ended killed, so yes I'd ship it in the same category as we others. For what it's worth, to this day I'm still more salty about the AirPort line getting killed than the iPod.

> Random protocols

I didn't understand this bit.

> Surface

It's not taking the world by storm, but is a solid product line that is well received, has its loyal community, and continues to ship new products for 9 generations now. And the windows tablet market itself expanded around it, when it just didn't exist 10 years ago. I'd compare it to Google's Pixel line, it's not going to take half of the market, but it's alive, keeps fullfilling its role, get recognition and user satisfaction, so I wouldn't call it a failure.

On iPad/Chromebook, they're a different device category. The same way Chromebooks and Macbooks aren't the same category.