I contend that concept products correlate highly with companies that have a high cash/agility ratio. GM and Ford, despite their dire financial situation, have

I contend that concept products correlate highly with companies that have a high cash/agility ratio. GM and Ford, despite their dire financial situation, have such low agility that they pass this test. Toyota had some Scion car at the last Seattle auto show that was shaped like a bank vault. WTF. Attaboy guys -- you just let your guard down and gave the signal that the Koreans (Kia and Hyundai) have an entry into that segment. Microsoft is flush with cash but won't make the hard choice -- cut the anchor to the desktop OS and productivity software business to transition into whatever their next fortune would be. Windows Mobile exists to sell Windows NT licenses. MS Surface is a UI device for some corporate middleware thing that is currently shown on 15" CRTs in cubicles across the world? This must be what it's like to paint yourself into a corner. I can't say too much about Nokia because I don't think I even know one person who owns a Nokia phone anymore, and I certainly can't think of anyone who owns a Nokia Smartphone. My perception is that they basically make trusty but crusty candybar phones for people who learned a phone UI in 1997 and don't want to change. Ultimately I think it's inevitable. GM, Ford, MS, Nokia and now Toyota are all huge behemoths in their markets. They have the blessings of huge volumes, but the curse of not having a focused market direction (other than "yes"). Apple has the luxury of a small enough and well enough tended market definition (premium phones + audio players + consumer PCs) that they can tell a story with the release of each product. The sheer volume of MS or GM products makes that impossible. Perhaps concept products are (an impotent) attempt to simulate the same thing for companies that can't.