What was the main weakness of Colt revolvers, comparing to its competitors?

Samuel Colt missed a great opportunity in firearms development when he dismissed an idea from one of his gunsmiths, Rollin White. White proposed a "bored-through" revolver cylinder to allow the use of metallic cartridges in a handgun. After Colt fired White for suggesting an improvement to his revolver, White took his idea to Colt's competitor, Smith & Wesson, who patented his invention and kept Colt from being able to build cartridge firearms for almost 20 years.