I suspect it was rather the combination of cost (around $1000 1990's dollars), weight (>500g) and battery time (apparently only 30 minutes) which was the problem.
> and it looks a bit underwhelming in general
...only from today's perspective.
Don't forget size. Didn't reasonably fit in any non coat/jacket pocket.
Don't forget size. Didn't reasonably fit in any non coat/jacket pocket.