Apple's 'Next Big Thing' Will Be An Innovation, Not An Invention

Click banner for more info

Lots of people are wondering what Apple will invent next. If it’s true to its own history, it won’t invent a new type of product but will improve on one someone else already brought to market.

I’ve never questioned that Apple is an innovator. Its iPod, iPhone and iPad were all very innovative products. But all of them were improvements of other companies’ products or concepts in the same categories.

The iPod, introduced in October 2001, was not the first digital music player. Diamond Multimedia announced the Rio PMP 300 in 1998, and the Creative Nomad Jukebox and Archos Jukebox came out in 2000. None of these products would have been possible were it not for innovations in storage, compression and battery life from scores of scientists and inventors.

Apple Loses Copyright Lawsuit, Fined ¥1million

Click banner for more info

A Chinese court has fined Apple Inc. 1 million Yuan for hosting third-party applications on its App Store that were selling pirated electronic books, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Apple is to pay compensation of $165,000 (U.S.) to eight Chinese writers and two companies for violating their copyrights, the Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court ruled on Thursday, Xinhua said. Earlier in the year, a group of Chinese authors filed the suit against Apple, saying an unidentified number of apps on its App Store sold unlicensed copies of their books. The group of eight authors was seeking 10 million Yuan in damages.