MIT's Technology Review 2010: The World's Most Innovative Companies ...

[szh]

Only two car companies made the list: Nissan and Tesla Motors.

See here: http://www.technologyreview.com/companywatch/tr50/

Good Stuff™!

Z

[MellowZ32]

good read!

[MinisterofDOOM]

Apple's on the list? WHY? What the hell have they done recently that's innovative? All they do is take existing ideas and dumb them down so average people can use them without needing to ask for help finding the on switch.Sure, 5+ years ago they were doing neat things with their hardware...but they've long since abandoned anything cutting edge in that department for selling lots of iphones.

[Jesda]

The Leaf is an electric car. Nothing new.

What -will- be interesting is how they influence electric infrastructure development. The idea of fresh battery swaps at gas stations looks interesting.

[RCA]

Not sure why Cisco isn't on their...

Good read though.

[szh]

Apple's on the list? WHY? What the hell have they done recently that's innovative? All they do is take existing ideas and dumb them down so average people can use them without needing to ask for help finding the on switch.Sure, 5+ years ago they were doing neat things with their hardware...but they've long since abandoned anything cutting edge in that department for selling lots of iphones.

Also had to do with the Itunes and App Store business model, I bet. (Remember that the criterion included non-technology stuff. Else, companies like Zynga would not have made it on the list either. )

And, yes, this Apple business model is very, very innovative. It has had a major impact on the music sales industry ... as well as how small applications are sold for mobile devices. Nobody else has comparable number of [iPhone/iPod] apps, and volumes of sales are very high - they had sold a billion apps by a few months ago.

Z

[szh]

The Leaf is an electric car. Nothing new.

The flat battery is quite different interesting, though - makes more room inside the car.

So is the concept of leasing the battery rather than including it in the price of the car - that lowers the consumer "out-the-door" price a lot.

Z

[szh]

Not sure why Cisco isn't on their...

Good read though.

List was limited to 50 companies ...

Z

[Urabus GodofTraction]

Tesla? Seriously? List is under suspicion.

[szh]

Of course, Tesla. They did some innovative battery technology, came out with a decent pretty darn high-performance all-electric car. Still pricey, but a reasonable selection.

So, the list is still quite valid.

Z

[Onizuka]

The flat battery is quite different interesting, though - makes more room inside the car.

So is the concept of leasing the battery rather than including it in the price of the car - that lowers the consumer "out-the-door" price a lot.

Z

Unfortunately, they nixed the battery leasing option. That said, after the $7500 tax credit (or more depending on individual state credits) the car only costs $25,000. For a highway capable car that covers 90% of peoples driving needs, thats a great price. One could easily save $1500 or more in gas costs every year.

I'm thinking we are not long off from $20,000 commuter electrics without any need for tax credits. Nissan and Tesla will probably be leading the pack.

[Jesda]

The flat battery is quite different interesting, though - makes more room inside the car.

So is the concept of leasing the battery rather than including it in the price of the car - that lowers the consumer "out-the-door" price a lot.

Z

Yeah, but it kills Renault's plans for battery swap stations all over the US and EU.

[szh]

Yeah, but it kills Renault's plans for battery swap stations all over the US and EU.

Ah! I did not know they were planning to do that ...

Z