Innovative ideas that facilitate and bring color to life

Innovation is a word that has taken some time to be introduced into Turkish and sometimes it has been misunderstood. Although the word “novelty” is used as its equivalent in Turkish, it does not correspond fully. Innovation is actually “a novelty that opens new markets and brings profit with a different point of view.” For example, while the discovery of automobiles or mobile telephones is an invention, discovering an automobile that works on electricity or a mobile phone that takes pictures constitutes an innovation. Apart from such product innovations, if a hospital begins to provide test results via the internet which used to be delivered by hand, this can be referred to as a “service innovation.” When food is ordered via the internet and the orders are then sent to customers, or when a company begins to employ the “kaizen” (continuous improvement) method developed in Japan in the 1990s, this can be referred to as a “marketing innovation” or a “process innovation.”

Apart from such product innovations, if a hospital begins to provide test results via the internet which used to be delivered by hand, this can be referred to as a “service innovation.” When food is ordered via the internet and the orders are then sent to customers, or when a company begins to employ the “kaizen” (continuous improvement) method developed in Japan in the 1990s, this can be referred to as a “marketing innovation” or a “process innovation.”

Although innovations can be of a great variety, people are mainly aware of tangible, visible innovations, that are to say of “product innovations,” and they show more interest in these. Of course nowadays the number of innovations has increased to such a degree that it has become very difficult to follow them. Below are some of the innovative products that have drawn attention over the last few months…

The age of speaking on mobile phones via solar power Sharp’s Solar Phone SH002 mobile phone, for the moment on sale only in Japan but soon to be seen in many important markets, produces 1 minute of talk or 2 hours of standby if held in sunlight for 10 minutes. This phone is a pioneer not only from this point of view but also because it is waterproof. The Solar Phone SH002 includes also sports applications, in that it can tell you the calories you have burned or provide guidance on the golf course. Sharp has also announced the development of a solar panel module to be used with mobile phones. The LR0GC02 module has been developed for small devices such as mobile phones. The module is only 0.8 mm thick and it is the thinnest solar panel on the market.

No stains, no stress Sometimes technology facilitates business life in very indirect ways. For example, if there is a coffee stain on your shirt right before a very important meeting, this is as important as having left your laptop in the office. The nanotechnologic (the technology that carries out studies on 100 nanometres – a billionth of a metre – or smaller sizes) unstainable white shirt produced by the Orka Group saves you from such a nuisance. Thanks to the use of microcapsules, substances spilled on the shirt--such as oil, food and beverage--flow away without leaving any stains. These shirts, produced with “nanocare” fabrics, are the product of a two year long research and development process. The production costs of these shirts, made of natural fibers, are twice those of normal shirts and this is of course reflected in the product price. But isn’t it worth it, if you can be confident that nothing can stain your shirt!

Not a wrist watch but a fingernail watch! A product launched in the USA close to two months ago has introduced a new concept into our lives: a fingernail watch. This fingernail watch has all the features you would expect to have in a wrist watch. You can even change the screen color of the watch, that is to say the colour of the fingernail where the watch is. Called TX54, the watch is a special concept that Japanese designers previously worked on but that American designers have actually developed.

Your parking expenses can be reduced Finding a parking space for your car and parking expenses are most probably among the most vexing problems of city life. Parking expenses, which at times reach aggravating dimensions, may start decreasing first in the USA and then in the whole of Europe. But this depends also on your approach to the reduction of your car. The owners of the approximately 3 meter long and 1.7 metre wide and high “Smart fortwo,” pay half parking fees in the USA. The fact that about 4,000 of the 27,000 “Smart fortwo” sold between January 2008 and April 2009 are in use in big cities has pushed company managers to initiate this practice. The half parking fee practice, launched by four central car park companies in Manhattan, New York jointly with Smart, has spread to Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and New Jersey. The practice, expected to become widespread all over the USA and to be applied to all small cars rather than be limited to Smarts, also encourages people to prefer environmentally friendly cars. Although it would probably take a long time for such a practice to be adopted in Turkey, work has already begun in Europe.

Mirror, mirror, sing me a song Nowadays, many products of daily use do not serve a single purpose anymore. There are many products that are structured in this way, from security belts that measure your heart beat to mobile phones used as medium quality cameras. The mirror called “Maitre,” one of the last products to be launched by the Italian bath accessories company Stocco, is one such multi-purpose product. The mirror, which has a touchscreen in the lower left corner, possesses many features that are useful in a bathroom--such as a radio, a barometer and an auto-demisting device--can also be used for internal or external illumination. The most important additional feature of the mirror, which comes in dimensions varying from 90 centimetres to 2 metres, is that it also includes an mp3 player. The mirror has an aluminium frame and stands out with its elegant design. While this innovative product was only launched two months ago, one of its most important characteristics is that it has pioneered other innovations. Sharp brains that are working on the development of glass or metal platforms with sound connections and touchscreen features for meeting halls can be followed easily from websites on innovations.