[skmurphy]

The original iPod was an outside design. MP3 players had existed for several years. The initial perception was that it was a dud. See for example http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/10/23/1816257&#3... "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

But they did keep at it, and the iTunes app was a much the innovation as the iPod.

My take is that as a small player you have to be strategic. Not everything that you try (your tactics) will succeed. As to how long a new technology takes, it's worth reading "The Long Nose of Innovation" http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jan2008/id20080... on how long an invention takes to become a successful product. Ten years is a reasonable time frame. Google and Apple built on considerable earlier work. Google's money making innovation was their advertising model, without that having the best search engine technology might not have allowed them to prosper.