It's been impossible not to notice Apple's iPad announcement last week. Somehow this is an event worthy of front page stories and passionate emotions about breakthrough innovations. You have to give Steve Jobs credit for finding ways to get the world's attention.
On the other hand, where some people see a game-changing innovation, we see the continuation of a long evolution of markets and technologies. A process that certainly does not start or end with the iPad.
So how do you feel about the iPad? Revolution or evolution? A stroll through the dustbins of "pad" computers takes us through the GRiDPAD, Momenta and the AT&T EO (with the infamous GO operating system), not to mention our favorite flameout - MODA Systems. We were about to put together a brief history - but no need as it already exists at "The Long Fail: A Brief History of Unsuccessful Tablet Computers."
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Our point? Innovation for innovation's sake is a false idol. Most products that carry that label wear it as a badge of positioning and marketing, not as the result of invention. Products like this are taking advantage of being in the right place at the right time more than being the first to market with the newest technology. History tells us that being too early to market is more costly than being too late. Not that there's anything wrong with being first, but too many of us forget that exciting new products that capture marketplace success are built on a trail blazed by innovations of the past.
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