Discontinuing a piece of consumer electronics is completely different to discontinuing a service. Firstly, your electronics don't disappear when they stop makin

Discontinuing a piece of consumer electronics is completely different to discontinuing a service. Firstly, your electronics don't disappear when they stop making them. You just can't buy a new one. Plus, many of those had direct replacements that were obvious iterations of their predecessor. Sure, Apple discontinued the iPod Mini, but they released the iPod Nano. Sure, Apple discontinued MobileMe, but they released iCloud. Google just quietly abandons services and products and if they ever replace anything, they appear to have started from scratch. Plus, the item in question is not a free service, it's an expensive physical device with a costly subscription service.