London, UK based Insight Media colleague, George Isaacs has a wonderful habit of sending over clips from time to time that inspire us here "across the pond." His most recent contribution, a two-column story on a "digital stethoscope iPhone App written on a whim, by British researcher Peter Bentley of the Computer Science Dept. at University College London."

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor

Turns out this 59 pence (yep 99 cents US) application performs better than stand-alone devices costing thousands of dollars. In fact, the article quotes "US cardiologist, and specialist in digital stethoscopes at the University of Minnesota" Glenn Nordehn, saying, "This is the best thing to come around in terms of medical equipment for a very long time. [His] closest competitor charges 8000 times as much."

Part of Nordehn’s enthusiasm comes from the fact that the audio quality from the iPhone "…was far superior to that from digital stethoscopes" according to the article. The writers explanation: "Mobile phones are a huge market compared with digital stethoscopes, and economies of scale mean they are made with better hardware" writes Jeremy Laurance. But that’s only partly true (if true at all for an $8000 device).

Bentley said "the idea began as an experiment, …it was intended as a fun toy but to my astonishment, it was downloaded by several million people all over the world in the first six months."

To us the app, (indeed many Apple iPhone / iTouch apps) represents the creative power of unintended consequences. A highly sophisticated audio circuit and other electronics embedded in a smart phone, just happen to serve as an excellent audio pick-up with all of the electronic infrastructure needed for a digital stethoscope. Even more remarkable, the development and distribution mechanism (ecosystem) allows this to be sold in mass distribution for 59 pence. Is there any doubt why Apple and its circle of friends are making good money? They are enabling the creation of much greater wealth than the cost of the device. In the process Job’s was named "Marketer of the Decade" and Apple was named the "Brand of the Decade" by Adweek, with the comment: "The embodiment of a living, breathing person."

But Apple doesn’t have a franchise on creativity. Turns out the new Barnes and Noble (B&N) "Nook" e-Book reader (EBR) is developing a like following simply based on the device’s unique combination of components.

We are seeing a community develop around the slick new dual screen technology that boasts Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, expandable memory (MicroSD) but more importantly, what has been described as the "gem of the Nook" - its Android mobile operating system (O/S). It’s the first EBR to feature this platform and a new web community calling themselves "nookDevs" has emerged "…to use the full potential of the Android platform." The Blog format uses MediaWiki allowing users to edit and improve the site.

Already the group has sponsored a tear-down of the Nook to discover just how the hardware stacks up, and trying to "root" the Nook ("to take control and get complete system rights as the ‘root’ or super user.") This is precisely the same process used in hacking the iPhone, the thread continues, so will B&N support this?

The group is looking to develop new applications like a web browser to start, and like the iPhone hackers, XBox "modders" and the untold number of creative minds looking to pursue happiness through "geeky" creative means, this will happen either with, or without support from the corporate halls of B&N. The question is, will the company choose to profit from the enthusiasm by monetizing the process like Apple did?

As the example above demonstrates, we think B&N would be well served in opening up the platform to the brave new world of independent software developers and the wonderful unintended consequences (and new wealth) they bring to us all. - Steve Sechrist