(Column) - Innovation is great. Regardless the industry, the concept of innovation is to improve technologies, and thus products to better facilitate our society with productive devices for the future. I doubt there’s anyone who would disagree with this basic, yet novel concept. However, there are times when companies are coming up with products for the sake of innovation that are utterly ridiculous.

Take Nike’s Cuff Wristband Watch, for instance. The idea behind the Cuff Wristband Watch is to place a digital watch on the wristband, thereby making it easier for athletes to look at time, while still having their wristband on. And get this; the wristband is sweat and waterproof to prevent the watch from drowning in liquid byproducts.

This is exactly the scenario where companies are coming up with ways to turn innovation into perfectly useless products. It’s certainly a subjective observation, but seriously, how many athletes (whether amateur or professional) would actually purchase these $39.00 wristbands just to look at time. There are better ways to gauge one’s performance (read: stopwatch), so that can’t be the reason. I’m confident athletes wouldn’t want these just to get home on time. From where I stand, there is no pragmatic reason for anyone to opt for these "next-generation" wristbands.

There are unfortunately better examples than what’s stated above. Have a look at Eurotech’s Wrist PC, and you’ll be disappointed with the technology sector. It’s a wearable computer with a touch screen, Bluetooth capability and GPS system weighing in at seven ounces. Everything might be rosy until you look at the physical attributes of this next-generation PC - it’s insanely humongous for wrists, and no one in their right mind would wear this around regularly. Just like Microsoft’s Digital Watches, the Wrist PC is a disgrace to innovation.

There are countless other examples where companies are literally wasting millions in R&D for proof-of-concept products. In a race to outdo each other, we are left with the iPod effect. This is when companies start offering the exact same features and functionalities once they realize the potential, much like the iPod and countless iPod-like music players we saw and are continuing to see every quarter.

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