Innovation & Design

Apple: More Than a Pretty Face

Consumer electronics companies need to do more than pare product lines and make cool stuff. What Apple offers is a complete ecosystem

Gadget lovers take note: Consumer electronics (CE) companies are cutting back their product lines. Gone are the days when manufacturers created a dozen in-line products to cover every price point. Rather than spreading chips across the table, CE brands like Sony (SNE) and Samsung are following Apple's (AAPL) lead by stacking more chips on a few well-placed bets. Sony, for example, now offers just three models of ultra-slim point-and-shoot cameras in its CyberShot line. But will such paring enable Sony and others to succeed the way Apple has? Will this mean more products we love or more dross on the shelves?

Maybe you're thinking, "Not more Apple hype." But it's hard not to think of Apple as the innovator in the CE space. Apple is driving digital lifestyle on a global scale, and it's doing so in the face of economic adversity. The National Retail Federation reported that consumer spending on Black Friday dropped 3.5% compared with 2006. According to a MasterCard (MA) Spending Pulse report, sales of electronics rose just 2.7% from Thanksgiving to Dec. 24, 2007, over the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, Apple anticipates holiday-quarter sales of $9.2 billion, a 29% increase over 2006, while the Mac operating system hit a record 8% market share in the closing days of the year. With the annual Consumer Electronics Show fast approaching, Apple is once again sure to be the talk of a trade show it doesn't even attend (More…)

The State of Innovation

It's not just a buzzword—three recent surveys find innovation is still a high priority with a majority of executives across industries and across the World

For most business leaders, the dusk of 2007 is a time of transition and, well, uncertainty: Will the U.S. dollar continue its slide? How deeply will the problems of the home mortgage market affect the broader international economy? Do China, Google (GOOG), and the next presidential administration pose threats or opportunities?

But when it comes to "innovation," there is at least some agreement among senior executives. This year (2007), surveys from three leading consultancies—Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, and Booz Allen Hamilton—show innovation remains a high priority for most corporate leaders around the world. There's consensus across industries that innovation is a key growth driver. Unfortunately, the surveys also reflect a broad belief that most companies don't have the leadership, systems, or tools to successfully and consistently innovate (More…)