Polaroid, R.I.P Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Polaroid, R.I.P - Essay Example Post SX-70 Polaroid faced a number of unsuccessful inventions and business ventures which crafted the fall of the once hugely successful and innovative company which failed to keep pace with the even newer technologies developed in the industry (Whitford, 2001). The article gave all the credits of the rise and fall of Polaroid to its founder Edwin Land. According to Whitford it was he who had the vision of realizing the idea which was only a dream of a child at that time. The article cited Elkan Blout, the then vice president of research of Polaroid saying that Land had a unique ability to differentiate between an excellent idea and an excellent product. Keeping in mind the concept of value capture he was aware of the fact that not all the excellent ideas can be turned into an excellent commercial product and until commercialized any good invention remains latent without any profitability (Chesbrough and Rosenbloom, n.d.). While inventing new technologies Polaroid showed the successful application of the techniques of capturing values. Its first unique product was Model 95 which was accepted exceptionally in the photography market. But Polaroid did not stop here, it recognized the requirement of constant innovation and improvement to remain and grow in the market as a company. Thus it practiced constant research and development procedures under the supervision of Edwin Land to ultimately invent a product SX-70 which was stated to be a bundle of inventions including new motor, new power source, new optical system and most importantly a thoroughly new film with the ability to be dispensed with the need for timers and peel-away negatives to produce color print instantly. The SX-70 cameras were recognized as the most revolutionary product in the history of photography and were compared with the revolution humankind experienced with the visit to the moon (Whitford, 2001). This invention