BusinessWeek and the Boston Consulting Group have released the results of their second annual ranking of the 25 most innovative companies. Apple’s iPod and iTunes put the company at the top of the list this year. “To launch the iPod, says innovation consultant Larry Keeley of Doblin Inc., Apple used no fewer than seven types of innovation,” reports BusinessWeek. “They included networking (a novel agreement among music companies to sell their songs online), business model (songs sold for a buck each online), and branding (how cool are those white ear buds and wires?). Consumers love the ease and feel of the iPod, but it is the simplicity of the iTunes software platform that turned a great MP3 player into a revenue-gushing phenomenon.”
Apple tops list of world’s most innovative companies
6 comments
Yeah, Apple just got another $400 to gush out of my wallet for a 5G 60GB Video. I have to admit though that it’s a great little gizmo, it’s just too expensive!
D
Ok…Ok…Ok…I give it up for Apple and the iPod. But, isn’t it getting a little tired to see every award of this type go to Apple. There are other innovations out there. And, what does it say about a publication who simply follows in the footsteps of so many other publications and list makers?
Not trying to hate…it’s just that many writers are acting like Apple discovered the cure to cancer.
As much as I enjoy my iPods, I think I would’ve put Toyota ahead of Apple on this list. iPods may rule the DAP universe but their focus is almost entirely egocentric; it’s innovations like Toyota’s hybrid technology that are the things that REALLY stand to make an impact that matters to everyone, even if it’s more than likely only a delaying action that’s keeping Venice and the entire state of Florida from becoming the lost city of Atlantis’ inevitable suburbs.
i think media players get called “mp3 players” by the media for the same reason any brand of facial tissue gets called a Kleenex – it’s just the word sounded right so everyone keeps using it.
Brad J, I agree with u completely that they should just just call AAC files “mp4’s”… it would better illustrate what they are: the evolution of mp3’s. i bet more companies would feel the need to support them too.
regarding apple selling lossless audio, i’ve though about taking my iTunes purchases, burning to audio cd’s and re-ripping to eliminate the DRM. but they’re 128 Kbps, which is decent, but borderline quality. if they were higher quality, i wouldn’t mind going down to 128. but i’d rather keep the DRM than suffer re-ripping at the same bitrate.
i bet they figure people would be more likely to undermine their DRM if they offered higher quality purchases.
Innovation is more mainstream in electronics and digital entertainment. Guess who dominates in digital music. Apple of course.
So naturally, the iPod/iTunes model is still king. You must make it easy and reliable for the model to survive. And Apple still do.