Asia Innovation

March 06, 2008

Mini-Laptops: The Next Big Thing?

Computer makers are now taking tiny laptops seriously, due to the success of Taiwan's Asustek and India's HCL. Acer will soon join the fray.

February 14, 2008

Tata's Nano: An Ingenious Coup

Critics who focus on cost, environmental, or safety aspects of the Indian automaker's "people's car" are missing the point.

January 10, 2008

Tata Unveils the World's Cheapest Car

The $2,500 Nano, met with extreme enthusiasm, will have lighter steel and innovative distribution. It also could further snarl India's roads.

August 16, 2007

NEC's 'Big Brother' Lab

To boost innovation and discover how good ideas are generated, NEC has set up a lab where researchers will work under high-tech surveillance.

July 05, 2007

NEC Pushes Plastics Made From Crops

The Japanese electronics maker says it's close to a bioplastics breakthrough. But can greener gadgets be good for earnings?.

January 30, 2007

India and China Wise Up to Innovation

Harold Sirkin of Boston Consulting says rapidly developing economies, once content to copy and improve, are institutionalizing new thinking.

January 26, 2007

Nintendo Storms the Gaming World

Hot new consoles and smash hit titles take the company to new heights in the $30 billion video game biz.

December 21, 2006

Matsushita's Green Strategy

As part of Japan's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, the consumer-electronics maker aims to cut CO2 emissions in both its factories and products.

December 12, 2006

DoCoMo's Betting on the All-in-One Gizmo

The telecom's VP, Takeshi Natsuno, wants to build a single wireless device to fill a consumer's every need. HP and others call that unrealistic.

December 12, 2006

China, R&D Superpower? Think Again

The mainland's research and development spending may outrank Japan's this year, but a lot of that money goes overseas for equipment.

December 07, 2006

Telecoms Hungry for Next Billion Callers

Emerging markets look like the best bet for the next wave of wireless customers, according to talk at ITU Telecom World in Hong Kong.

August 25, 2006

LCD Fights Plasma for Giant TV Market

Samsung's going 70 inches; Sony and Sharp are also going mammoth. The LCD makers won't sit tight as plasma screens reach triple-digit sizes.

June 09, 2006

Yamanaka: A Free Design Spirit

Work for corporate clients is steady, but Japan's acclaimed designer Shunji Yamanaka remains devoted to nonprofit projects -- like robot prototypes.

May 10, 2006

R&D Offshoring: Is It Working?

Companies are increasingly moving projects to India and China, but they haven't fully integrated or exploited this brainpower potential.

May 01, 2006

Nurturing Success in India

On the campus of the IIT in Bombay sits the Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, incubator for the country's global business aspirations.

March 31, 2006

Blinding Science: China's Race to Innovate

The country is making a move to be a leader in science, medicine, technology, R&D, and energy -- and the government is behind the charge.