Unsustainable Ideas

I was reading about the Firefly - not the insect but the newest phone to tap the burgeoning cellular market. Considering that it targets the niche market of children within the age bracket of 8-12 and is designed to ensure safety and misuse, it certainly is a radical innovation or as they say disruptive innovation. Imagine a child who can reach his/her parents with the press of a button? And, no frills attached to disturb him or the class during lessons, ie, no texting, no MMS etc. It's a glorified toy or a stripped down cellular phone - depending on which side of the phone you belong.

There is a catch in categorising the firefly as a disruptive innovation. Some basic questions like how large is the market? Can it threaten incumbents? will provide the answer. Let us take the example of Nokia. How long does it take for Nokia to displace this emerging player. With no entry barrier at all, firefly cannot be termed as a disruptive innovation.

It's yet another PR ploy, with lot of ink shed on somebody's weird idea of making a quick buck.