1. Broken part (display glass) A consumer will replace his gadget much sooner when the glass is broken than when it’s not.
2. Unavailable spare parts The customer service kindly tells you that the required spare part isn’t available anymore and that the service for that device has been discontinued.
3. Massive repair costs Repair costs of electronics are so high that often it isn’t worth getting them repaired.
4. Omitted features New and better features boost sales.
5. Planned Life span The manual did not explicitly instruct the user to trash the device once the battery has died—but that’s implied if you cannot change the battery
6. Wear and tear Therefore producers try to design electronic gadgets in a way that they look brand new for a short time only
7. Heat placement of heat-sensitive capacitors in the hottest area on a circuit board, next to the heat sink. So basically, the worthiest of protection is put in the danger zone. These devices will fail sooner than others which are better designed. Normal customers don’t base their buying decision on circuit board design.
8. Incompatibility - software versions, MS OFfice, connectors, …
9. Moral Obsolescence - Marketers employing style obsolescence are able to set new trends.
10. Warranty procedure - One must keep the receipt and find it when needed. Even with a valid receipt it is time-consuming and bothersome to get to the store to claim the warranty.

source: http://listverse.com/2013/04/02/10-ways-products-are-designed-to-fail/