1. Can You Measure Disruption in Degrees?
The modern technology landscape looks
significantly different than it did five years
ago. Tablets and smartphones are the
norm, as more people embrace a highly
mobile lifestyle. Still, recent innovations to
these fields are relatively stagnant,
particularly in the tablet field. Apple remains
the major player despite numerous
attempts to unseat the iPad from its throne. Regardless, competitors
continue to search for the new killer feature or app that will reconfigure the
marketplace. The ultimate question is: is it possible to be disruptive in the
current mobile environment?
Apple stands at the forefront of both the smartphone and tablet markets. Of
course, the Android OS has surpassed iOS for smarthones, but iOS still
holds the lion’s share of the tablet marketplace. Even with Android’s lead in
OS, no individual smartphone matches the popularity of the iPhone. This is
true even though Apple has been critiqued for resting on their laurels and
simply adding aesthetic and incremental updates to the iPhone. Of course,
this is partially true because the iPhone is built on a highly successful
platform that is already full to the brim with improvements.
In any case, Android has been successful in differentiating itself as the
platform for users who want complete customization options. This is hardly
a disruptive approach, however. In fact, in some ways it can be seen as a
regression considering the iPhone built its OS for mobile simplicity in a
world where the somewhat annoying complexity of Windows still

2. dominated. Both platforms attempt to “wow” customers based on tech
specs which is vastly less impressive than early innovations like highly
sensitive touchscreen controls and Internet integrations.
These approaches to innovation are similar for both the iOS and Android-
based tablets, with the primary difference being that Android OS has
largely failed to capture a significant portion of marketshare. Still it is
interesting to note that, despite remaining the world’s most popular tablet
maker, Apple incorporates both design and interactive elements that
Android users enjoy. The notification bar can now be found on all up-to-
date iOS devices, and the release of the iPadMiniis a nod to the moderate
success of the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. Still, these responses do not
necessarily mean that Apple feels threatened, but rather that they are able
to recognize and cash in on sustaining innovations in the marketplace.
For more information visit: http://technorati.com/technology/article/can-you-
measure-disruption-in-degrees/