Japan Consumer Electronics Domination Usurped By South Korea... So Out Come The Patent Fights

from the if-you-can't-innovate,-litigate dept

If you look at the history of innovative societies and patents, you notice a clear pattern that after a burst of innovation, the firms that innovated begin to rely on patents to stop competition from outsiders who innovate. In other words, contrary to what patents are supposed to be for, they are often used to slow down the pace of future innovation, rather than advance it. Take, for example, the situation in Japan. Back in the '70s and '80s, of course, many American consumer electronics firms lost their edge to Japan -- with many often accusing the Japanese players of "stealing" their technology. But what happens now, decades in the future, when South Korea has usurped Japan's throne as the leading consumer electronics maker? Well, apparently it means that Japanese firms are focusing on patent battles with the South Koreans, rather than working on ways to innovate and offer better products for the market. Many believe that the Japanese consumer electronics firms need to seriously restructure and refocus, but at the same time the indications are that those firms prefer to concentrate on patent battles rather than taking those big and necessary steps. Once again, when companies can't innovate to compete, they litigate.

Filed Under: competition, consumer electronics, japan, patents, south korea

Is Planned Obsolescence A Thing Of The Past?

from the thanks-to-software-and-the-internet dept

For years, people have talked about the concept of planned obsolescence, where gadgets you buy are designed to basically wear out or need to be replaced, in an effort to get you to upgrade to the latest version. More recently, we noted that the continual advancement of new features meant that in some areas, people were upgrading even before the old devices hit that "obsolete" stage. Yet, it appears that planned obsolescence may be facing something of an unexpected challenge: easily updating old gadgets to have new features.

Thanks to the fact that many devices these days are connected to the internet in some manner and that many features are software, rather than hardware-dependent, it's possible for companies to continually upgrade "old" hardware, even at the risk of making you perfectly happy with that old hardware, instead of upgrading to the new hardware. Of course, smart companies recognize that this actually makes that old hardware more valuable, meaning that people are more willing to pay for it, knowing that it will be functional (and useful) for a longer period of time. It's unlikely that planned obsolescence is going anywhere soon, but it's nice to see some companies recognizing that people like things that not only last, but that get better with time.

Filed Under: consumer electronics, planned obsolescence, upgrades

Economic Fears Hurting Consumer Electronics Sales?

from the holding-off dept

With inflation a problem, and various economic fears worrying many Americans, it appears that consumer electronics sales may suffer. People who are worried about the economy are realizing that many consumer electronics purchases really are "nice to haves" rather than "need to haves." And, if they are making purchases, they're purchasing lower end models, with folks noting that they don't want to spend much above $200 on a single device. Good timing for Apple, which just released that $199 iPhone.

Filed Under: consumer electronics, economy, recession

Blockbuster In Surprise Bid To Buy Circuit City

from the does-this-make-sense? dept

The news came out early this morning that Blockbuster was making an unsolicited bid to buy Circuit City, which has left many scratching their heads, saying that the synergy isn't all that obvious. Circuit City has been in trouble for a while, and Blockbuster (while a lot healthier than Circuit City) has been facing its own series of challenges. While it's unclear what Blockbuster's plans are, the deal actually could make sense if Blockbuster was really looking distantly into the future about where its market is heading. It knows as well as anybody that video delivery is moving to the internet eventually -- at which point its business model gets a lot trickier. Yet, by owning a retailer selling hardware -- and the rights to content to be distributed to that hardware, things could actually get interesting. Now, I'll say ahead of time that I doubt this is where Blockbuster is heading, but with both movie distribution rights and the ability to sell hardware, it could embrace the economics of infinite goods, by packaging content (infinite) with hardware (scarce), creating a much more compelling offering, than competitors to either firm alone.

Filed Under: consumer electronics, mergers, movies, retail
Companies: blockbuster, circuit city