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LCD-based devices are based on glass screens. Now an LCD supplier is developing plastic screens, allowing cheaper, lighter and more robust devices to be developed. This could be an interesting turning point for e-book readers, and is a nice example of the interplay between performance and diffusion. At the same time, it could become a disruptive element in the value chain, given greater bargaining power to the suppliers and taking it away from device manufacturers.

Interesting discussion on the diffusion of solar energy around the world and especially in the US. The main point is: is solar energy a valid energy source, and is just in need to have some economies of scale and learning to kick in? If so, government subsidies may be helpful... but don't they bring the risk of locking us into a wrong technology, or simply the wrong technological generation?

The diffusion of netbooks exhibits many interesting traits of radical and disruptive innovation: the change in technical tradeoffs and product architecture (though not of core technology), the downsizing in performance (good enough for a new market), the inertia shown by incumbents.

Another take on e-book readers. We definitely are in the fluid phase of innovation, with a flurry of competing alternatives coming out, sales growing, price slowly decreasing (but still far from the level acceptable for mass diffusion)... but absolutely no agreement on dominant design. Will it be black-and-white, or must we wait for color? Will it be dedicated readers or tablet PCs?

Augmented reality in 2010 is a typical technology in the "incubation" phase. The technology is there, the basic building blocks (e.g. GPS-enabled smartphones cum camera) are already widely diffused... but it is now necessary to find a real application that people will be willing to pay for.

It seems that someone around the world has come up with some interesting applications in the field of gaming! Check out these links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZvxIjdyyII, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lHOHYhp6b4. Simply …uaohhh!

Renault-Nissan probably is the most outspoken carmaker supporting the shift to electric vehicles. It is interesting to notice its understanding of the role of complementary goods (i.e. recharging stations) in supporting diffusion, and of the value of high vertical integration during the fluid phase of innovation (e.g. batteries).

Can "Universal Expositions", or EXPOs as they are now known stimulate innovation? This was the case 100 years ago, and it might happen now too, if one looks at the concepts for "future cities" being showcased in Shanghai. However, it is also true that the lead time from showing an invention at such events to actual diffusion is often very long.

An interesting article on the social impact of technology diffusion. In this case it is the way with which (mostly young) Chinese are behaving when they become adopters of motor cars and enjoy the freedom of individual mobility. The business implication is that the way with which a product is used creates demand for complementary goods that are specific to the same behavior. So, understanding such behavior can provide interesting guidance for new products and services

3d television is emerging as a radical and potentially disruptive innovation. As usual, availability of complementary goods (content) is a key element in stimulating diffusion, but this time Panasonic is taking an interesting twist to this story. Instead of relying on partnerships with traditional creators and distributors of content (movie producers and broadcasting operators), it is wondering whether a 3d YouTube coiuld be the real solution. Of course, this could lead to completely different business models.

A strange battle is coming up. Apple's portable devices cannot access Flash content on websites. The declared reason is that Apple thinks HTML5 content would work better on mobile devices and wants to force website developers to adopt this standard instead of Flash. This looks like a dangerous position: why should a company engaged in a standards batlle look for the "technically best" solution and forego the advantage of compatibility with the main complementary asset (the Internet)? Apple made a big mistake a few decades ago with a similar stance. Or, could it be that Apple thinks that the diffusion of the Flash proprietary standard is a threat?

It seems clear that cars are going to go electric ... but when and exactly based on which dominant design? Apart from this there is a huge issue related to time. While in high-tech change is very fast and there is a clear strategic case for being fast, this might not be true in "hard" manufacturing, where diffusion is likely to be slow and painful for early movers, and subject so a significant "sailing ship effect". 

The article covers Netflix, whose CEO was named "Business person of the year" for 2010. Netflix is an interesting case study from the perspective of innovation. It has entered the DVD rental market with a business model innovation (i.e. sending DVDs to subscribers through the postal service) that disrupted incumbents such as Blockbuster. At the same time, it has realized that this innovation could be only transient, since the diffusion of broadband would have quickly led to the new paradigm of "on demand" or "streaming" content. So, it is a case of a disruptive innovator that is not afraid of rapidly disrupting the same business model on which it has built its own fortune.

Toyota is maintaining its ambitious targets on the diffusion of hybrid cars. Some competitors are pushing the full-electric concept, guess why?

Since decades, diffusion of operating systems depends on the avilability of the complementary asset called "applications", and allowing independent developers to work on them can help a lot. Now Samsung is realizing they are late to the game and are going to open up their OS. However, they might still have a chance because they are competing on the still uncrowded low-end segment.

Describes the state of the art in the implementation of IT systems in healthcare, and the associated change management problems.

Interesting perspective on one of the (possibly) disruptive innovations of the coming decade: e-paper. Some players are wondering about the time it will take to truly disrupt traditional books and, most of all, on what will the dominant design for products based on e-ink.

Talking about s-curves, we now have an s-curve that is not going up. The shfit from DVDs to online movies seemed to be a no-brainer because of evident advantages in the overall economics and convenience. However, the industry is getting tangled up in the issue of multiple and competing DRM standards and devices, and customers are sitting on the sidelines.

Smartphones are about to overcome traditional "feature phones" in the US. When inovation happens so fast, with new product generations emerging at intervals that are roughly twice the average replacement lifetime of a product, it becomes difficult to understand whether we are operating within a broad s-curve (mobile phones) or within a succession of s-curves. Could be an interesting topic for research.

The iPad has finally been launched. It will be interesting to see whether this new type of product will carve itself a niche along to existing products (smartphones on the one side, PCs on the other) or whether it will become a substitute to them. Of course, this doesn't only depend on its own merits, but on features like connectivity, availability of applications and content and - not to be neglected - performance of the supply chain.

Nuclear technology is a strange beast in the field of innovation. Based on science and complex technology, characterized by huge advantages but also marked by huge disadvantages, it has never gained widespread acceptance in the market. Now there might be a new application, in the field of civilian shipping.