Disruptive Innovation

Displaced or Marginalized technology

Notes

Hydraulic excavators

Cable-operated excavators

Hydraulic excavators were clearly innovative at the time of introduction but they gain widespread use only decades after. However, cable-operated excavators are still used in some cases, mainly for large excavations.

Mini steel mills

vertically integrated Steel mills

By using mostly locally available scrap and power sources these mills can be cost effective even though not large.

Desktop publishing

Traditional publishing

Early desktop-publishing systems could not match high-end professional systems in either features or quality. Nevertheless, they lowered the cost of entry to the publishing business, and economies of scale eventually enabled them to match, and then surpass, the functionality of the older dedicated publishing systems.

Digital photography

originally, instant photography, now increasingly all chemical photography

Early digital cameras suffered from low picture quality and resolution and long shutter lag. Quality and resolution are no longer major issues and shutter lag is much less than what it used to be. The convenience of small memory cards and portable hard drives that hold hundreds or thousands of pictures, as well as the lack of the need to develop these pictures, also helped. Digital cameras have a high power consumption (but several lightweight battery packs can provide enough power for thousands of pictures). Cameras for classic photography are stand-alone devices. In the same manner, high-resolution digital video recording has replaced film stock, except for high-budget motion pictures.

Minicomputers

Mainframes

Though mainframes survive in a niche market which persists to this day, minicomputers have themselves been disrupted into extinction.

Personal computers

Minicomputers, Workstations

Workstations still exist, but are increasingly assembled from high-end personal computer parts, to the point that the distinction is fading

High speed CMOS video sensors

Photographic film

When first introduced, high speed CMOS sensors were less sensitive, had lower resolution, and cameras based on them had less duration (record time). The advantage of rapid setup time, editing in the camera, and nearly-instantaneous review quickly eliminated 16 mm high speed film systems. CMOS-based cameras also require less power (single phase 110 V AC and a few amps for CMOS, vs. 240 V single- or three-phase at 20-50 A for film cameras). Continuing advances have overtaken 35 mm film and are challenging 70 mm film applications.

Muskets

Crossbows, longbows and the Knight military unit

Though early muskets had less fire rate, range, accuracy and reliability than crossbows and longbows, firearms allowed essentially anyone to become an effective soldier with very little training. Earlier military units like bowmen and knights needed years of practice to master the skills.

Steamships

Sailing ships

The first steamships were deployed on inland waters where sailing ships were less effective, instead of on the higher profit margin seagoing routes. Hence steamships originally only competed in traditional shipping lines' "worst" markets.

Telephones

Telegraphy

When Western Union infamously declined to purchase Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patents for $100,000, their highest-profit market was long-distance telegraphy. Telephones were only useful for very local calls. Short-distance telegraphy barely existed as a market segment, if at all. So Western Union's decision was quite understandable at the time.

Paper

Parchment

Paper is significantly cheaper than parchment, and got its great breakthrough with the printing press. Parchment is stronger, more durable, and still used until today for diplomas and other high-value documents.

Automobiles

Rail transport

By the beginning of the 20th century, rail (including streetcars) was the fastest and most cost-efficient means of land transportation for goods and passengers in industrialized countries. The first cars, buses and trucks were used for local transportation in suburban areas, where they often replaced streetcars and industrial tracks. As highways expanded, medium- and later long-distance transports were relocated to road traffic, and some railways closed down. As rail traffic has a lower ton-kilometer cost, but a higher investment and operating cost than road traffic, rail is still preferred for large-scale bulk cargo (such as minerals). Since rail has always been faster than contemporary road vehicles, it is viable for passengers in populated regions like Western Europe, south and east Asia and the Northeast Corridor. When urban density increases, rail systems often become more attractive, and make a comeback.

High-speed trains

Airliners

Aircraft were once a revolutionary technology that replaced trans-continental rail traffic, and became a serious competitor even on medium range (500 km and more). Today, as airlines are burdened by increasing fuel costs and tightened airport security, and train speed increases with new infrastructure, trains in Europe and Asia are disrupting short-range flights. Future trains could be competitive on trans-continental distance too.

Private jet

Supersonic transport

The Concorde has so far been the only supersonic airliner in extensive commercial traffic. However, it catered to a small customer segment, which could later afford small private sub-sonic jets. The loss of speed was compensated by flexibility. The Concorde was withdrawn in 2003.

Computer printers

Offset printing

Offset printing has a high overhead cost, but very low unit cost compared to computer printers, and superior quality. But as printers, especially laser printers, have improved in speed and quality, they have become increasingly useful for creating documents in limited issues.

Plastic

Metal, wood, glass etc

Bakelite and other early plastics had very limited use - their main advantages were electric insulation and low cost. New forms had advantages such as transparency, elasticity and combustibility. In the early 21st century, plastics can be used for nearly all household items previously made of metal, wood and glass.

Missile weapons

Artillery

Early missile weapons, like Congreve rockets, were unreliable, and more or less experimental. They however had some intrinsic advantages - no recoil, and smaller launcher units. Guidance systems made missiles more efficient, and made most artillery pieces obsolete on land, at sea and in the air. Artillery still has the advantage of cheaper ammunition and greater accuracy, but modern warships rely entirely on missiles for long-range combat.

Television / Home cinema

Movie theaters

The first television channels mainly aired news, and began to replace newsreels. As television featured soap operas, animated shorts and other low-budget drama, demand for B movies declined, and concentrated on feature films with high budget. Pornography is another genre which has gradually moved from the silver screen to home television, as video recorders appeared (mostly since home systems offer more privacy than theaters). Cable and digital encoding has increased the range of television programs. Multiplexes increased cinema's range, at the cost of nearness. Currently, the budgets of Hollywood TV series are closing up on the budgets of feature films. Also, since audio-visual performance of television sets has improved more than movie theaters (as cinema technologies such as Cinemascope, 3D cinema, IMAX, THX have had limited commercial success), the box office mainly survives from the artificial time gap between cinema openings and DVD releases, together with snack sales.

Light-emitting diodes

Light bulbs

An LED is significantly smaller and less power-consuming than a light bulb. The first optical LEDs were weak, and only useful as indicator lights. Later models could be used for indoor lighting, and current ones are strong enough to serve as street lights. Classical light bulbs remain since they fit to existing light fixtures.

Digital synthesizer

Electronic organ and piano

Synthesizers were initially low-cost, low-weight alternatives to electronic organs and acoustic pianos. Today's synthesizers feature many automatized functions, and have replaced them for home and hobby users.

Downloadable Digital Media

CDs, DVDs

In the 1990s, the music industry phased out the single. This left consumers with no means to purchase individual songs. This market was filled by filesharing technologies, which were initially free, and then by inexpensive online retailers such as the iTunes music store. This low end disruption eventually undermined the sales of physical CDs.^[6]

Mobile VoIP

GSM and Roaming

VoIP technology over a wifi network, can cost next to nothing for the user and the network used in data traffic on a unit basis; compared to the standard GSM network, especially for roaming calls.

Where GSM providers would charge what is widely considered ludicrous pricing for services such as calling international countries, installing a small application on compatible mobile phones, can cost the user nothing. However, this service cannot replace GSM fully, since it relies in the ever expanding wifi enabled areas.

Word processor

Typewriter

Flexible word processors with high-quality printers have superseded typewriters in all but the simplest applications, or where electrical power is not available, and manual equipment is the only practical alternative to pens and pencils.

LCD

CRT

Liquid crystal displays (LCD) (and other planar technologies) have largely replaced the dominant cathode ray tube (CRT) technology for computer displays and television sets, although CRT technologies have improved with advances like true-flat panels and digital controls only recently.

Mobile Telephony

Mobile Discount Operators

Mobile Discount / No Frills Operators (MDOs aka. MVNOs) first focused on a low-distribution-cost-through-internet sales model. In later times, innovations like low-priced mobile-internet tariffs were brought to market. This tripped the development of a new discount category in the market which was later entered by the large discount retail chains with own branded offerings leveraging their distribution power in the lower tier of the market.