by Roger Dennis

Leapfrog Innovation – Zune vs iPod

Apple is a great example – probably the best – of a company that keeps one step ahead of everyone. While other companies rush to copy the current product line, Apple is already about to release the next “big thing.” It not only releases a new product, but it kills off the older lines -the ones the others are copying.

For example while companies were trying to copy the iPod Mini, Apple brings out the Nano. The Mini was the most successful MP3 player of all time. And Apple killed it off.

Now, while others are trying to emulate the iPod Classic, it brings out the iPod Touch. One of the companies desperately trying to play catchup is Microsoft, with it’s Zune player. It has just released a new version of the player – a scant few weeks after Apple leapfrogs once more.

The BBC has an article which contains a quote which captures this nicely :

“This device with the all-too-familiar dial wheel compares reasonably favourably with last generation iPod players,” said Mark Mulligan, analyst with Jupiter Research.

“Microsoft needs to come at Apple from an unexpected angle but at the moment it is Apple with its new iPod touch and nanos that is shaking up the market,” he said.

So how does Microsoft do this? By ignoring what the others are doing, and starting to explore outside the normal design boundaries. At Innovaro we do this with our ‘Futures’ programmes which bring in perspectives from sectors seemingly unrelated to that at hand. For example, with the current Technology Futures programme we ran for Shell Gamechanger this year, we had insights from world experts in areas as diverse as genetic engineering, architecture and superconductivity.

As with the last programme we ran in 2004, this has produced a series of invaluable inputs to Shells strategic planning, so much so that we will now be running the programme with a much shorter gap between the iterations.

But back to Apple – my bet is that within the next 18 months Apple will kill off one it’s current iPod lines and release something that is again revolutionary – and which will catch competitors off guard.

Microsoft trys to copy Apple, but produces a lemon.

by Roger Dennis

Disruptive business models – the music industry

Radiohead is conducting an interesting experiment in business model innovation. While musicians are known to be creative, their contracts with the more conservative parts of the music industry generally stop them innovating their way out of business. As it is not currently tied to a record label, the band is not bound by the same rules, and has decided that not only can fans download their new album online, but they can also decide how much they should pay for it. A spokesman for the band said :

“Although the idea is that you can decide what you want to pay, most people are deciding on a normal retail price with very few trying to buy it for a penny.”

How would your customers react if you made the same offer to them?

UPDATE : IFTF has more here.

by Roger Dennis

Science Fiction as a predictor (again)

From this interview in Wired comes a great quote from Ridley Scott about the influence of the seminal film, Blade Runner

Wired: Blade Runner was prescient in many ways, anticipating globalization, genetic engineering, biometric security. How do you gauge the movie’s influence?

Scott: Enormous. One of the top architects in the world told me he used to run it in his office once a month.

by Roger Dennis

Mesh networks

Back in 2005, Technology Review editor Jason Pontin was looking for ideas for his next column. I suggested that he look at mesh networks, which he did.

Now the latest issue of TR has the TR35 – the top innovators under 35 – has a great profile on twenty five year old Sanjit Biswas of Meraki Networks. He is bringing mesh to the masses – and often the poor masses.

Watch as mesh networks slowly but surely make their way into the mainstream.

by Roger Dennis

The game of saving

On a trip to London a while back I had a coffee with Matt Webb. One of the things I mentally bookmarked was a reference he made to a Nintendo game which featured paying off the mortgage. He was referring to Animal Crossing. I’ve finally had the time to do some research on this and it’s fascinating. You start the game by getting a house – and have to pay off the debt before you can move on. It’s set in a cartoon style setting and apparently is very addictive.

Save me!

There’s a good overview here.

If you look around, financial education ‘games’ are appearing in some interesting places. For example, how about a game on a piggy bank to encourage saving? Look no further than Japan for this little gem :

The Jinsei Ginko is a white cube-shaped bank that accepts only ¥500 coins. It can save up to 200 coins, or ¥100,000 ($830 at ¥120 to the dollar). On the front is a black-and-white LCD screen like that of a handheld game device, which depicts the life of a stick-like character.

by Roger Dennis

Open innovation in virtual worlds

From the BBC comes this fascinating piece about a company that has developed a way for anyone to start their own virtual world in a few minutes. Spearheaded by Ralph Koster, who, if my memory serves me correctly, cut his teeth on developing Star Wars Online, the development is a a classic disruptive innovation.

Want to play at my place?

Rather than needing serious capital to start your own virtual world, anyone can now play – in every sense of the word – in this space.

Quoting Koster, the article says :

Developers, he said, cannot afford to get it wrong when they are juggling multi million pound budgets. He hopes that his free tool will start to solve this.

“We want to see 10,000 virtual worlds so that lots of wild and crazy stuff gets made because that is the only way it will advance as a medium.”

This will certainly pave the way for the development of communities which the corporate world cannot hope to foresee. Expect lots mistakes, but plenty of fringe innovation which leads to bigger things…

by Roger Dennis

Quotes that resonate

In my email signature I have a quote that rung true to me, and it also strikes a chord with many people. The quote is :

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people”
– Admiral Hyman G. Rickover

People feel compelled to add to it, and I thought I’d pass on their additions. The best so far?

Burt Rutan added : “Mindless people discuss the weather”
David Rajan added : “The mindless watch TV”