A disruptive technology or innovation can be found in both emerging and existing markets. Historically, these new technologies introduce a different platform of capabilities that traditional customers are not accustomed to. Typically, an emerging market will make it easier for disruptive technology to enter the mainstream since consumers have not developed a taste or addiction for a particular product. Traditional customers are typically unwilling to use a disruptive product in applications they know and understand. If we want to use a relatively recent example, Apple's iPhone, when it was first introduced, was initially met with skepticism and criticism. At the time, flip phones with both a touch screen and a keypad were the most attractive options when it came to cell phones. People (including myself) were not ready to accept a full touch screen phone as a mobile phone as they felt it was unreliable and prone to breakage. The problem is that managers continue to do what has worked in the past: meet the rapidly growing needs of their current customers. The processes that successful, well-managed companies have developed to allocate resources among proposed investments are unable to channel resources into programs that current customers explicitly do not want and whose profit margins appear unattractive. This is what prevents these established companies from evolving and ultimately leads to their failure as companies within these emerging markets begin to take over. Disruptive technologies typically start with low performance measures. The key to their success is the gradual adaptation by the market, where their expected performance trajectory will accelerate beyond mainstream market performance levels such as... half the card... or the device to use a mobile connection instead WiFi to access the online library. If these companies were to compete with Amazon, they should provide a similar, user-friendly interface. As far as alternatives go, these other companies didn't have much of a chance. A portable device similar in size to the kindle had not been found anywhere previously, so that product size would have to be imitated. Beyond that, imitability should be kept to a minimum. The strategy with disruptive technology is to try to keep it independent, and creating a Kindle spin-off would ruin that independence. To successfully roll out a device that can combat the disruption caused by the Kindle, these competitors will have to go beyond what the market is accustomed to, utilizing their various technological advantages.