3-D TV is officially dead

Sometimes the consumer electronics industry tries to sell a new technology that consumers thoroughly reject — and as a result, it goes on the trash pile of products that were "before their time," to put it nicely.

Here's a great example: 3-D TV, which is officially dead. There are no more major TV-makers that make 3-D TVs anymore.

The last two TV-makers to build 3-D functionality into their sets, LG and Sony, will not build any new sets this year that can show 3-D movies and TV shows, CNET reports.

LG and Sony follow other TV-makers, including Vizio, Sharp, and TCL, that previously removed 3-D technology from their product lines.

In 2010, shortly after the success of "Avatar," the first 3-D blockbuster, TV companies started throwing their entire engineering and marketing might behind the 3-D tech. But ultimately, seven years later, "3-D capability was never really universally embraced in the industry for home use, and it's just not a key buying factor when selecting a new TV," an LG product director told CNET.

Now the TV industry is focusing on 4K, HDR, and smart-TV features as ways to entice buyers to upgrade their sets. In 2012, 3-D TVs accounted for 23% of all dollars spent on TVs, according to NPD Group.

Today, 3-D TV is used in the industry as a shorthand warning to those backing buzzy technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, and wearables: Even if everyone is doing it doesn't mean it will catch on with consumers.

Some possible reasons 3-D TV never caught on:

Not enough content. DirecTV and ESPN stopped broadcasting their 3-D channels in 2013.

The glasses needed for 3-D were clunky and annoying, and they made people feel self-conscious while wearing them.

3-D TVs were and are perfectly good 2-D TVs, so 3-D features weren't often used.

3-D movies were closely associated with Blu-Ray discs as movie streaming started to gain traction.

3-D TVs need careful calibration and can cause eye strain.

Maybe it was always a gimmick. Ask yourself: Have 3-D effects ever really impressed you or affected your viewing experience?

Samsung sued after Galaxy Note 7 explodes in pocket

Samsung sued after Galaxy Note 7 explodes in pocket

With all those reports about Note 7s burningflesh and setting vehicles on fire, you're probably wondering when you'll hear about a lawsuit. Well, here you go. A man from Florida named Jonathan Strobel has filed a lawsuit against Samsung over an exploding Note 7, and it could be the first of its kind in the US. According to Reuters, the phone blew up in the plaintiff's pocket while he was in a Costco on September 9th. It reportedly caused deep second-degree burns to his right thigh that's about the size of the phone, as well as to his thumb.

That's a week after Samsung announced its recall program and the same day the company started planning for an official recall in the country with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC finally launched an official, nationwide recall program for Note 7s on September 15th. "Unfortunately," Strobel's lawyer said, "for my client [it] came too late."

When Samsung first announced that it's taking back units it already shipped, there were only 35 reported cases of batteries overheating. That number climbed until it reached 92 cases, according to the CPSC. Since replacement Note 7s won't be available until September 21st, though, most buyers still haven't turned theirs in yet. A Samsung spokesperson refused to talk about the case with Reuters, but she urged "all Note 7 owners to power their device down and exchange it immediately." As for Strobel, he's now seeking damages for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, along with other injuries.