日本陷入创新泥潭

    由此导致的后果令人触目惊心。上周夏普公司（Sharp）和松下公司（Panasonic）的评级都遭下调，同时索尼公司（Sony）于近期宣布要厉行重组以摆脱赤字。夏普现在面临政府救助，不过在此之前它还努力来了最后一次重振旗鼓，打造所谓的“加拉帕戈斯”（Galapagos）系列产品——这个命名或许带有罕见的黑色幽默感（厄瓜多尔国的加拉帕戈斯岛位于茫茫大海深处）。然而，这些产品并没获得成功。

    松下也指望着自己的实验室，并推出了难以令人信服的举措，要开发所谓的“环保”产品。索尼也有自己的败笔，包括其所谓的“幸福雪柜”（HappinessCounter）冰箱，它最近夺得了日本的一项设计大奖。索尼用惯用的、让人抓狂的翻译腔（日本企业向国外推广其研发成果时，这种语言往往是家常便饭），说这台自命不凡的家电是“幸福雪柜：让人微笑，提升情绪情绪的家电。”（说通俗点儿，它就是一台冰箱，要打开它，得冲着它微笑。）

    像这类产品都不免令人沮丧地提醒我们，那些被浪费的才智到底能创造出什么产品。虽然日本的创新成就早已经得到世界的认可，但日本的工程师似乎越来越难以创造出成功的产品。当然，除非你需要的就是一台能当守门员的马桶。

    译者：清远

    The results are stark. Sharp and Panasonic were downgraded by agencies last week, while Sony (SNE) recently promised radical restructuring to rid itself of red ink. Sharp now faces a bailout, but not before it tried a last bid for re-invention by creating the Galapagos product range -- named in a rare display of gallows humor perhaps. (The island is in the middle of nowhere.) Those products have not been successful.

    Panasonic also looked to its labs and came up with an unconvincing move into "eco" products. Sony has had its own misses, including its "HappinessCounter" fridge which recently won a top Japanese design prize. As it explains in the usual distressing translation that often accompanies Japan's attempts to market its research abroad, this perky appliance is a "HappinessCounter: Smile-Encouraging Appliance to Increase Positive Mood." (Basically it is a refrigerator that does not open unless one smiles at it.)

    Products like these are a depressing reminder of what wasted talent can produce. With a proven track record for innovation, Japan's engineers are seemingly finding it much harder to create successful products. Unless of course you are looking for a toilet than can play goalie.