Are Hackers Innovators?

Today in our class, we looked at the Hiphone: a clone of Apple's iphone. http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=hiphone&category0=

The brand-conscious segments of the class dismissed it quickly as an abomination: nothing more than a cheap knock-off of the original. However, on closer examination, the Hiphone is no mere copy. It boasts dual SIM cards for multi-line use, a more flexible OS than Apple's and, most importantly, unfettered access to the network of oyur choice. Interestingly, Apple has recently announced that they will be adopting many of the features pioneered by the Hiphone and other "i-clones".

If one defines innovation as the creation of a positive, new feature for a product or process, then Hackers and forgers do contribute to the evolution of a product like the iphone.

I would suggest, however, that the ability of hackers to innovate through creation is limited because, by definition, hackers begin with an existing product or service. If I were in charge of a company for whom R&D was a significant cost component, I would bring the lrgest part of my R&D capacity to bear on creation rather than innovation and would let the collective intelligence of the lead user community create the "innovative" iterations of my existing products.