Innovation Management

It's rush hour, and you're headed due West on your evening commute -- the sun burning holes in your eyes. You could flip down a window visor, trading your field of view for visibility. Or, with a prototype shown off at Intel's 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair, you could simply let the windshield darken on its own. Two San Diego students (both accustomed to copious amounts of sunshine) rigged a Toyota Prius to do just that by stringing up electrochromic panels, which dim when voltage is applied. The trick is figuring out when and where to apply it, because when the sun is shining the panels themselves all receive the same amount of light. So instead of gauging it at the glass, Aaron Schild and Rafael Cosman found that an ultrasonic range finder could track the driver's position while a VGA webcam measured the light coming through, and darken the sections liable to cause the most eyestrain. We saw a prototype in person, and it most certainly works... albeit slowly. If you're rearing to roll your own, it seems raw materials are reasonably affordable -- Schild told us electrochromic segments cost $0.25 per square inch -- but you may not need to DIY. Having won $4,000 in prize money at the Fair, the teens say they intend to commercialize the technology, and envision it natively embedded in window glass in the not-too-distant future. Here's hoping GM gives them a call. See pics of the Prius below, or check out a video demo of their prototype right after the break.

Details are unfortunately light on this one, but Intel has closed out the week with one interesting tidbit of news -- it's apparently planning to bring its wireless display technology (a.k.a. WiDi) to netbooks, tablets and other mobile devices. That word comes straight from Intel wireless display product manager Kerry Forrell, who says that "we fully expect to take the technology there," but that he can't yet provide a specific time frame. Those plans are further backed up by Intel CEO Paul Otellini himself, who told investors this week that "what we'll be doing over the next few years is take the Wi-Di capability that's in the laptop today and extend that into all the Intel platforms." Intel doesn't even seem to be stopping there, however, with Forrell further adding that the company even sees the technology being built into to TVs "over time."

Successful innovators do not all follow the same strategy. What matters most is deciding what kind of innovator you are

Outsourcing has succeeded because of its ability to industrialize business activities - reduce risk, drive standardization, increase productivity, and improve predictability.

Mobile devices, social networking applications and other consumer-related innovations have gained notoriety and generated significant revenues for high-tech, communications and content companies in recent years. These devices and applications are dramatically reshaping the way consumers communicate, learn and entertain themselves.

New-product development challenges are especially acute in the communications industry. Companies in this sector are struggling to cope with falling margins from traditional products, rising consumer expectations and a marketplace in which they are increasingly competing head-to-head with high-tech, software and content players much more highly skilled at the product development game.

I clienti continuano a chiedere più valore a costi sempre inferiori. Molte aziende, tuttavia, stanno esaurendo la capacità di risparmiare attraverso le misure più tradizionali di taglio dei costi. la soluzione è combinare queste misure con attività di progettazione e sviluppo, facendo leva su un'innovazione di prodotti e servizi orientata a costi per generare nuovi flussi di crescita profittevole.

Il retailing, ovvero la vendita diretta di beni e servizi ai consumatori, si sta trasformando nel "me-tailing", la ricerca di opportunità di acquisto on-demand rapide e lineari, associata a nuove esperienze praticamente infinite e resa possibile da una tecnologia che offre a chi acquista una gamma senza precedenti di prodotti e servizi in grado di soddisfare una moltitudine di bisogni. Ma questa stessa tecnologia alimenta anche il flusso ininterrotto di quei bisogni. Per il settore retail, le implicazioni di questo ribaltamento del rapporto di forza tra venditore e cliente sono enormi. I mantra dei retailer tradizionali di oggi - centralità del cliente e ottimizzazione della supply chain - non basteranno per conservare la lealtà di acquirenti sempre più volubili e liberi, in cerca di appagamento immediato. In effetti, i retailer devono sapersi reinventare in modo radicale. E alcuni stanno cominciando a farlo. Interagiscono con i propri clienti in modi sempre più creativi sfruttando gli stessi mezzi digitali e di telecomunicazione che hanno trasformato così profondamente la vita dei consumatori. Entro i prossimi anni, in seguito all'accelerare di questa trasformazione, Accenture prevede cambiamenti ancora più radicali. Per esempio, il "fast fashion", la moda "mordi e fuggi" già segno distintivo di retailer di abbigliamento in grado di soddisfare la domanda appena nasce il bisogno, diventerà lo standard de facto del settore, con conseguenze importanti sui livelli di scorte dei punti vendita. Di fatto, i punti vendita così come li conosciamo - spazi fisici - diventeranno semplici estensioni di altri canali, più nuovi, che consentono ai consumatori di configurare e controllare la propria esperienza di acquisto da luoghi diversi, modificando efficacemente la scelta dei prodotti. Amazon.com, per esempio, offre già ai propri clienti l'opportunità di inviare la foto di un prodotto che desiderano e li aiuta a trovarlo.

Google has announced that it will soon bring an end to its online sales of its Nexus One handset. The company will still show off Android phones on its site, but purchases will be done the old-fashioned way: through mobile service providers. Google's direct sales model was an attempt to radically alter the business model for mobile handsets. Instead of buying a phone from a carrier, with a contract and a subsidized up-front cost, the company was hoping to cut out the network. Customers would buy the phone directly from Google, paying the full fee up-front, and then putting in a SIM of their choice. This, however, ignored the realities of the phone market, as the company soon discovered. Its approach to tech support-send an e-mail and maybe get an answer eventually-was always doomed to failure. Given how important phones are to our lives and our lifestyles, that was never going to be acceptable. Customers might not like calling call centers, but if there's one thing worse than being stuck on hold waiting for the muzak to end, it's not being stuck on hold at all, because there isn't even anyone to call. A month after launching the phone the company relented, giving its customers the ability to talk to someone. But this was not the only problem with its sales model. As it wrote in the announcement, "it's clear that many customers like a hands-on experience before buying a phone." A phone is something that people want to touch, to see how heavy it is, what it looks like in person, how good the screen is, if it fits nicely in their pocket-for many of us, the phone is an extension of ourselves, which is why we see so many different shapes and styles of handset on the market. So expecting people to be happy buying a handset that they cannot even touch, much less play around with, was a bridge too far.

"La nascita dello store dedicato all'editoria digitale - ha dichiarato Franco Bernabè, Amministratore Delegato di Telecom Italia - rappresenta un'importante opportunità per costruire assieme agli editori un nuovo modello di business, completamente diverso da quelli già adottati in altri Paesi, lasciando alle case editrici la più ampia autonomia in termini di scelte commerciali e di determinazione dei prezzi".

Mac and Linux users are still being asked to hold their horses, but Windows loyalists can begin testing out that hotly-anticipated group video calling feature today. Skype's latest beta, which was detailed earlier in the month, is now available to download for those willing to take the risk, with Skype 5.0 Beta adding support for "group video calls with up to four people." Hit that source link to get things rolling, and be sure to drop us a line once you and your four besties have had a chance to give 'er a go.

At the Intel Investor Conference on Tuesday, Intel's Paul Otellini opened his remarks by taking a step back to survey the results of the major restructuring that Intel has been implementing since 2006. This change has turned Intel from a company that makes chips into a company that sells platforms, software, and services-the whole stack. "The company has been transformed in a way that is remarkable, and in the aggregate reflects a different kind of company than we've ever had before," Otellini said. Much of this transformation was about getting costs down (read: layoffs) and boosting per-worker productivity, but the most interesting and important part of the story was the software and services piece. Early on in his talk, Otellini set the tone by naming silicon process technology and software as two of Intel's key differentiators from the competition. At a later point in the talk, he went on to explain that back in 2000, "we were just a chip company... over the years we've added a number of things. We've got platforms, software, and services increasingly being added."

After a period of research, Jacuzzi has come to IUNGO, the Smarten's software and business solution for managing the supply chain. They chose IUNGO instead of SAP first of all because it's Italian, and moreover because it's more customizable and easier to use. Furthermore IUNGO is fully integrable with the management software currently in use and did not require any customization of the ERP.

Porsche plans to grow quite a bit between now and 2015, with a goal to hit 150,000 global sales: Detlev von Platen, CEO of Porsche Cars North America, reportedly told Automotive News that the task could be accomplished with the help of Volkswagen technology. Von Platen says, "It makes sense to think about some synergies in terms of research and development, and these discussions are taking place at the moment with VW."

HTC Corporation today filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) to halt the importation and sale of the iPhone, iPad and iPod in the United States. HTC claims five HTC patents are being infringed on by Apple. "We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones."

Slowly but surely, LED light bulbs have been getting brighter and more efficient, but price has always been a major factor staying their adoption. Back in 2007, a single 308 lumen bulb cost $65, and the more things changed, the more they've stayed the same. Now, out of the blue, The Home Depot has stepped forward with a cost-effective alternative. For $20, the new EcoSmart LED bulb promises a 429 lumen, 40W equivalent with a 50,000 hour expected lifetime, making it cheaper and nearly as powerful as the 450 lumen, $40-50 design industry heavyweight GE unveiled last month. Best of all, it's already available for purchase (though backordered) at our source link. Honestly, we're starting to wonder what the catch is. PR after the break.

Within the next two years, BMW will save 5.2 billion dollars thanks to the agreement with Mercedes for the development and sharing of components not visible to the customer including, for example, air conditioners or window regulator motors. According to Bloomberg agency reported, this target would be the result of a conservative estimate and might even generate a substantial surplus. This result is convincing largely attribute to the new 7 Series, with full sales and first recipient model of joint activities. That kind of odd alliance means the two carmakers are going to share component suppliers, so instead of a two actors alliance it could be considered a three subjects agreement. The third part involved are the common suppliers.

Is private ownership of cars going to decline, in favor of pay-as-you drive car sharing schemes? The shfit from products to services seems to be making the first inroads - at least for younger generations - in what usually was considered a key status symbol and must-have object. Such a shift would of course require a completely different approach by carmakers. Moreover, it is likely to become a powerful force driving the change from traditional to electric cars. 

The burgeoning legal challenges to Apple over its rapid advances in mobile computing mounted on Friday when Finland's Nokia launched a patent infringement suit over the iPad. Nokia accused Apple in a US federal court in Wisconsin of infringing five patents in the iPad, which has sold 1m units since its US debut in March. Nokia's suit cites technology used to enhance speech and data transmission and antenna innovations that allow for more compact devices. "These patented innovations are important to Nokia's success as they allow improved product performance and design," the Finnish company said in a statement. Apple had no immediate response. The Finnish company, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, is already in dispute with Apple over alleged patent infringement in the iPhone. IDC said on Friday that Nokia's smartphone market share in the first quarter was flat at 39 per cent, while Apple saw its share of the shipments jump to 16 per cent from 11 per cent a year ago, closing in on Canada's Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, which occupies second spot. Overall, smartphone sales rose 57 per cent in the quarter. The iPad is Apple's bid to leverage its smartphone success into a new category of mobile computing, with fingertip control instead of a mouse and an interface designed for consuming digital content. Apple announced on Friday that the device would go on sale outside the US at the end of the month in nine other countries. The US technology group is planning to charge more for the iPad in other countries than it does in the US, with UK prices starting at £429 ($632) for tablet devices, which currently only offers a WiFi connection to the internet. Prices in continental Europe will begin at €499 ($630). This compares with $499 in the US. The latest patent dispute, as well as the earlier cases, will aim to establish whether the intellectual property that powers Apple's mobile devices owes more to the world of mobile

The so-called BlackPad RIM tablet is being pushed out to early next year. The move marks the third time in two weeks that a would-be tablet maker has shelved product preparations aimed at challenging the Apple iPad. Last week, Hewlett-Packard pulled the plug on its Slate tablet and Microsoft reportedly withdrew plans for the Courier device.