This tweet by Timothy Lee got me thinking:
Disruptive innovations are simpler and cheaper than than what they replace. Laptops have always been more expensive & complex than desktops.
Are laptops disruptive innovations? Well, innovation can occur in multiple ways, and I like to think of innovation in two veins:
- Innovation in technology - new electronics, parts, components, etc. that accomplishes the same thing as their predecessors and do so smaller, cheaper, and more effectively
- Innovation in meaning* - new and different experiences that users have when using things that in turn change how, what, and why they do things
Cellular phones are a classic example of disruptive innovation. They are both (1) clearly technologically superior to landline phones and (2) offer new meanings to their users—talk to anyone, anywhere.
With laptops, however, it’s not so cut and dry. Laptops aren’t really technologically superior than desktops, but they definitely offer new meanings to their users. Laptops facilitate portable computing, which changes the way people work (in airports, in coffee shops, etc.) and in turn has driven the demand for wi-fi (and all the cool stuff it affords) and even things like cloud computing.
Where things really get interesting is if we don’t limit the scope to a particular type of device and look at the concept of portable computing. So not just laptops but also smartphones and tablets. Laptops—by creating new meanings and experiences for computer users—have paved the way for iPhones and iPads. These devices and their ilk are the beneficiaries of laptop innovation. Without the user experiences introduced by laptops, where would smartphones be?
So in the broader sense, laptops are part of the innovation story of portable computing. They introduced new meanings that future technological innovations leveraged to become truly disruptive devices.
Of course, smartphones have introduced new meanings beyond those of laptops. Internet in your pocket, geolocation, etc. And smartphones are also technologically superior to their computing predecessors (desktops and laptops). So smartphones meet the definition of innovation in technology and innovation in meaning.
So are laptops disruptive? Technologically, no. But in terms of meaning, yes. And ultimately the innovation in meaning has helped pave the way for not just portable but truly mobile computers to become the dominant forms of computing.
* Roberto Verganti wrote the book on innovations in meaning, and I think it is an important and often overlooked aspect of innovation. I highly recommend his book “Design-Driven Innovation.”
