Check out six schemes that never quite made it in the world of cell phones.

The tech world is for dreamers, schemers, and sometimes, scammers. This week Israeli mobile-phone firm Modu shut its doors and Gizmodo slammed the door on possible scam Peep Wireless, showing that for every great new phone that hits the market, there's a shady promise that never gets realized.

In my years in the mobile industry, I've seen plenty of ambitious phones bite the dust, or never rise from it in the first place. I've picked out six of my favorites here, including a company with "particulated media" and inflatable cars, a company where every rep appeared to be ex-Israeli Special Forces, and a company with a $225,000 phone.

That's not even counting some of the other great failures I've seenthe Gizmondo gaming firm with its embezzlements and crashed cars, or the alleged pump-and-dump scam that was Pegasus Wireless. Click through to see some of the best failed cell phone firms, and please add your own stories to the comments.

A Blaze of Failure

Emblaze First Else

The Claim: Emblaze is an Israeli mobile-phone firm that showed off a Linux-based cell phone with a radically new interface, backed by a super-hip Web site and marketing campaign.

The Character: Israeli mobile entrepreneurs are always entertaining. Emblaze had big personalities, threw flashy parties, and every rep I met had this special-forces look to him that made me feel he could break me in half.

The Outcome: Emblaze killed the project in June 2010 because "management was not able to confirm a deal on terms acceptable to Emblaze to proceed to the production of the device." They're trying to sell their software platform to other manufacturers.

Mod-U-Later

Modu

The Claim: Modu produced a tiny "modular" phone that could be dressed in various "jackets" to give it new features. Planned jackets included one with stereo speakers, a digital picture frame, and a ruggedized jacket for kids.

The Character: Modu was much less insane than some of the other firms listed here. When I met with them they were enthusiastic and basically realistic; they just bit off more than they could chew.

The Story:

The Outcome: Modu actually shipped phones in several countries, including Israel, El Salvador and the Philippines. But like many startup companies, their big dreams outstripped their resources, and Modu shut down this week.

Not a Peep of Sanity

Peep Wireless

The Claim: Hilariously incoherent, Peep Wireless claims to use phones to create a peer-to-peer, mesh network that would eliminate the need for wireless carriers. Sample phrase: "Our issued patents cover particulated media."

The Character: Scott Redmond, a serial entrepreneur of sorts with a track record of coming up with (and demanding funding for) insane schemes like inflatable electric cars. After our Jamie Lendino debunked that one, Redmond popped up in our comments section to attack him.

The Story:

The Possible Scam: Redmond seems to try to use his ideas to get government grants or cash from venture capitalists.

The Outcome: Gizmodo basically dismantled Peep Wireless with a great blog post this week running through Redmond's past projects.

Verizon On Board With This One

Saygus VPhone

The Claim: An Android smartphone using a super-duper new VOIP and video calling technology that would come out on Verizon Wireless's network.

The Character: Chad Sayers, whose previous business was a shopping-deals Web site. James Kendrick at GigaOm dug into his past.

The Story:

The Outcome: Saygus demonstrated their phone at trade shows last year, but then went underground. We haven't heard a word from Saygus since last March, and their Twitter feed and Web site haven't been updated in months. Calling them gave me an answering machine; I'll update this story if I hear from them.

Zero Chance of Success

Zer01

The Claim: A new wireless carrier offering unlimited data and VOIP calling on a range of unlocked smartphones at somewhat lower rates than the major carriers did.

The Character: Ben Piilani, a "technology industry expert" who previously founded I-Net, a "a large-scale internet technology and networking corporation" that nobody can find a trace of anywhere on the Internet.

The Story:

The Possible Scam: Zer01 was involved in a multi-level marketing system where "sales associates" pay to retail the service.

The Outcome: Zer01 actually won Laptop Magazine's Best of CTIA award, but a July 2009 Computerworld article did some research and found the company to be full of shady characters with inconsistent documentation. Zer01's Web site has since disappeared, though its parent company, Unified Technologies still cites Zer01 as a subsidiary.

And The Last Place Goes To

zzzPhone

The Claim: Cheap smartphones custom made in China. The specs kept changing: first they were feature phones, then Windows Mobile, then Android. They promised phones with analog TV tuners (and giant antennas), super-high-res cameras, and a $225,000 solid-gold model. One of the phones I looked at had buttons that I genuinely couldn't figure out.

The Character: Larry Horowitz, a shady serial entrepreneur with a Las Vegas address who hinted to me that he used to work in the global arms industry.

The Story:

The Outcome: zzzPhone took some orders and shipped a small number of very low-quality phones. I heard crazier and crazier stories about Horowitz, all second-hand. For instance, he apparently hired a carver to make him a cell phone out of wood that he tried to insert working phone components into.

Eventually Horowitz disappeared; the last word I heard had him running a call center in the Philippines. His ex-partner, Matt Hammond, now runs AndroidGold.com, a site which sells Android tablets that apparently, this time, exist.