Buy a Segway... Please 836
aedunn writes "Wired has an article about everyone's favorite Human Transporter - Segway. Seems as though the company is looking at some hard times. Among other things, the article cites Segway's price, low speed and tightened spending in the corporate world as reasons for Segway's slow sales."
I think we all (Score:5, Insightful)
It's no wonder (Score:3, Insightful)
How about the fact... (Score:4, Insightful)
wake up! (Score:3, Insightful)
This guy makes more money than I do?
I've only seen those things in use in bad sitcoms. They're ugly, awkward, expensive, and completely unneccessary for living today. I've seen fifth graders come up with better inventions.
The FIRST mistake they made was (Score:4, Insightful)
If they just stuck a seat on it everything would be different.
Is this honestly a surprise? (Score:5, Insightful)
Toss in the down economy, and it's no surprise.
I don't think the plans for selling Segway were any more than "it's so cool and the guy behind it has a great reputation," and that is NOT enough.
It's basic economics.
Ha ha (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:this just in (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Overhype a useless product.
2. A miracle occurs.
3. Profit!!!
I wonder what type of business degree you need to come up with such complex business strategies?
Wait a minute... (Score:3, Insightful)
Market Backlash (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
A company with an overpriced useless product and no business plan is having trouble surviving. Film at 11.
Actually, he had a business plan. He makes accessibility machines for people who are disabled. His stair climbing machine, Fred Estaire, gave rise to the name of Segway, "Ginger". The plan was basically this - selling Fred Estaires to disabled people restricts your target market. Ginger could be marketed to anyone, so the market would be immensely larger. The flaw is that this equipment is expensive to design and manufacture, which makes its price point well outside the range of what fully mobile people would consider paying for a simple vehicle. Disabled people will spend four figures on something that restores lost mobility and independence. Other people won't drop that much cash on what is for them a toy.
justice for an ethically flawed product? (Score:1, Insightful)
while people all over the world rely on the bicycle to get around -- and get some exercise -- only a greedy and fat US company would dare offer a $5000 no-exercise pod mobile.
you can also think of a segway as a little coal power plant. the power electricity we use, the more pollution. or if you don't like coal, how about a nuclear power plant? it certainly doesn't run on solar power.
segway's leverage of the corrupt government markets is another part of this company's devious business plan. by making industrial models that sell for far more than the standard $5000 model and then getting the public to pay for them.
maybe the many millions of dollars that went into segway and all the hype could have used to build more bikepaths and walkways?
all in all, a segway is nothing but a expensive toy that meets no actual societal needs. it is antoher remnant of the dotcom era meeting its just demise.
Re:this just in (Score:3, Insightful)
East/west coast yuppie people (I'm stereotyping, I know!) apparently don't seem to know that times are tough in other parts.
As a broadband provider to part of fly-over country, I can attest that things are tight. I just had a fellow who's been overanxious for broadband to come to his town announce yesterday that he's "holding off, paying down a few credit cards, and taking it cautiously with the war coming and all the new taxes they're dumping on us."
People have done an amazing job cutting luxuries, and are even tightning the belt on necessities. Tons of layoffs to bump stock prices and all the other factors have finally done their trick. It's ultimately self-defeating though.
Certainly Segway knew it was a luxury item, right? (Yea, I know, "everyone's gotta have one" culture inside, right?)
*scoove*
Re:Ha ha (Score:5, Insightful)
Cars faced similar problems (Score:1, Insightful)
Another Miss, Clever Nonetheless (Score:1, Insightful)
The Segway isn't so expensive, but it has simple social stigmas attached to it: it looks utterly ridiculous, and does present a hazard to pedestrians, regardless of what the company might say to the contrary.
Sure Jobs got excited about it... he's another guy who thinks outside the box. Most people prefer the comfort of their boxes, however. God bless 'em both for having the courage to be original in a world that rewards conformity, and languishes in complacency.
Re:How about the fact... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:this just in (Score:4, Insightful)
This is the dead on truth. When I first saw the unveiling of the Segway my immediate thought was, "This will be great for the disabled" and NOT, "Wow I can't wait to ride on that thing!"
Kamen erred in attempting to mass market an invention that occupies a niche in the entire scheme of things. Add to that fact design flaws like low top speed, crummy battery life and you have a piece of overpriced junk.
Segway. Nothing to see here. (Score:3, Insightful)
Segway:
Top Speed: 12MPH
Range : 10 Miles
Max Occupants: 1
Honda Civic:
Top Speed: 110MPH
Max Occupants: 5 (Plus a huge trunk for storage)
Range : Unlimited (or until I run out of gas money)
Considering my Honda Civic cost only 3 times as much as a segway, and I get much more utility from it. I live in Florida, so an A/C is required (or it is no better than my bike).
Useful in 10% of the Planet (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a highly impractical toy (Score:2, Insightful)
I already have the ORIGINAL Segway! (Score:2, Insightful)
Tried and true technology, been around since the 19th century, with plenty of refinements that have made it better over the years...
Oh, and no %$#@$#% batteries to charge...EVER!
It's called a bicycle!
Goddammit! (Score:5, Insightful)
Look - the Segway is an attempt to alleviate the total unmitigated disaster that is modern automotive traffic.
If you could all be so kind as to take a step back.. waaayyy back. Think of cars, particularly in cities. The fatalities. The noise. The pollution. The cost. The traffic. The space they take up. Were a self-respecting geek to examine this system from above, encountering it for the first time, I imagine they would recoil in horror. I can't see it as anything but a giant cluster-fuck.
Look at New York, downtown. Practically everyone living there would tell you that traffic is nigh-on impossible. But still, we tolerate it. We love our cars. We cannot give them up, not now, not ever... in fact, we want bigger ones!
People will not come to terms with the fact that the responsible thing to do is to explore these options. We simply must.
Now, I am fully aware of the Segway's limitations. Obviously it has problems with inclement weather, battery life, etc. Again, I must remind the reader that this is the first of it's kind. The arguments presented against the Segway are often ludicrous:
- "i can't use my hands".. you can't when you drive either
- "i've gotta stand up".. that's part of the point, they take up less room
- "they'll kill people on sidewalks".. amazing, this argument. It's a total non-starter. Anyone on rollerblades or a bike is much more of a danger.
Come on! We are the ones who should be embracing this! Who's gonna convince Kamen to invent the Segway you really want? You know, the chariot version, that gets 5x the distance, and is 1/5 the price? It cannot get here by itself.
I'm sorry for the rant, but frankly the blank-faced pessimism disgusts me. Where is your sense of wonder, Slashdot? Don't be like those fucking lemmings who close the case on new technology before it's even been tried.
Denial Mode (Score:5, Insightful)
At 80 pounds how do you get it out of your car's trunk? "It's easy," Smith chirps. "I grab one side and get a friend to lift the other."
Tell those engineers to put away the happy pills.
Re:Product in search of a market (Score:3, Insightful)
In other words: People just aren't willing to even consider giving up The Car. I'm not pointing to you specifically, but people keep pointing out -- WHY NOT WALK. Well, would obviously extend the range / ease of getting to nearby shops etc.
I think this may have been Mr. Karmen's primary blind spot. He was looking at replacing the car. People see this as "better walking".
I don't need $3,000 shoes even if they do make my walking twice as easy.
Unfortunately... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
Kamen's wheel chair design is excellent and well worth the money for the disabled, since it gives them much greater access to the existing infrastructure by allowing them to climb stairs. And it lets look people in the eye too, which I guess is good.
Unfortunately with all they hype, the statements that Ginger aka IT would "change the way future cities are designed," good ideas like the wheelchair were lost in the typical dot-com boom of investors trying to join the revolution. Unfortunately revolutions in urban design don't happen, cities are big and people don't like to redesign them very often. (I'd argue that this is why fuel cell/electric/gas/etc. cars will be a long time in coming.)
The amazing thing is that people "in the know" about what "IT" were willing to join the hype. Oh, well just call this natural evolution in business...
Sour Grapes (Score:5, Insightful)
I think that the 'angry' responses are from people who would buy one if they could easily afford one - much like linux users who put down macs, while secretly drooling over one.
Did it deserve the huge media hype? Does American Idol? Probably not. Will it make you fat? No. Will cities tear out roads to accomadate it? No. Was it overhyped? Yes. Is there any reason to kick it when its down? No.
The Segway seems to be a good product that is trying to fill a niche. Since it *is* overpriced, and fighting a cultural battle (SUVs driven to get the mail at the end of the driveway), it won't do well. I think the idea is ahead of its time. Change the way cities are built? Maybe. But not now.
Just remember, the Segway didn't have sex with your mom. I did.
Where did this poor guy go wrong? (Score:4, Insightful)
I still wonder, what changed? What caused him to suddenly try to take over the world like this? I prefer to think that it was just the pressure of the dotcom boom that got to him. Too many venture capitalists whispering in his ear that he was missing out on the big picture. It's a shame, really. If this thing came out with about a hundredth of the fan fare, then he'd probably be doing fine, and none of us would be looking at him like a crackpot -- and a few years from now we'd all have one. But this nonsense about hiring thousands of lobbyists and such was really pretty ridiculous. He knows full well that "good for you" technology cannot be shoved down the public's throats. I just don't understand what he was thinking.
Cars faced similar problems but offered advantages (Score:2, Insightful)
Because the automobile offered so many advantages over walking and the horse and buggy, people were willing to pay the price of building and rebuilding roads to suit the new vehicle. But, who is willing to rebuild our cities to use a Segway? Because of weather our cities would have to be domed. Are you willing to pay for that?
If not, are businesses willing to provide showers and changing rooms for employees who drive in on Segways? No way. Currently their employees get to work via cars, busses and trains. Why should businesses be compelled to spend MORE money so employees could get there via Segways?! There is no advantage to change.
Similarly, there is no advantage to change our streets, because we are currently getting where we need to be without changing them.
And right now I can go shopping and actually have room in my car to bring home enough groceries for a family of 4. There is no advantage for me to suddenly change my shopping practices and go every day, getting only a few things at a time. Wasting MORE time at the supermarket is certainly not an advantage in my book!
I could go on and on, but it's a simple fact that the automobile offered huge advantages that the horse and buggy did not. That is why we changed our society to suit the automobile. We will never do that for the Segway because doing so would mostly offer disadvantages, not advantages.
Re:I almost bought one... (Score:5, Insightful)
What's wrong with the Hummer H2, and what about it would make the buyer an idiot?
Well, we are offtopic here, but since you asked...
The H2 is a Chevy Tahoe in some fancy body cladding that they are charging twice the money for. It doesn't have half of the offroad capabilities of the real Hummer (HMMWV), which was selected by the U.S. military because it was the best wheeled offroad vehicle they could get.
So, the people who are buying the H2 are doing it for the look-cool factor, but all they are getting is a minivan that uses three times as much gas. Sure, people might buy the original Hummer for the look-cool factor too, but at least they are getting the real deal.
Re:I almost bought one... (Score:3, Insightful)
Aside from the fact that SUVs are proven to be unsafe to other drivers on the roads? The fact that most people who drive SUVs don't know how to drive well, especially a vehicle that big. The difference between the H2 and the Hummer is the H2 is a luxury car. It is not made to go off-roading. For that you buy an H1.
H2s aren't that expensive, when it comes to status symbols either. You look much cooler going around in a CLK55, S600, SL600, BMW 7 series, etc. H2s make you look like a total dork. The only girls who will think your H2 is a cool car are those who don't understand Little-dick-syndrome, and that the H2 doesn't really make your dick bigger.
I wouldn't say that the buyer is an idiot, I would say it is a dumbass choice in a vehicle. Unless you use an SUV for sport purposes, I think the person makes a dumbass choice if they buy one. If you are driving around town, get a fucking car and save the other drivers on the road and a few bucks in gas.
Re:this just in (Score:2, Insightful)
http://www.bookofseg.com [bookofseg.com]
cheers,
pt
Re:Read about 'em (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Fills a need... (Score:5, Insightful)
That is just so wrong.
Walking: Americans simply will not walk even a couple blocks to the corner store. Take it out of the equation.
Biking: In the US, bicycles are required to remain on the streets. Probably 95% of bike riders will not venture onto the typical American suburban thoroughfare, which in most cases is the only route between home and work.
Driving: If you think driving a car is relatively cheap, you make too much money off that pr0n site, 9-9. The incremental cost of driving a few miles may be low, but the overall cost is very high.
We drive a hell of a lot of short trips under 5 miles that would be just perfect for SHT. In fact, many short trips would be better on SHT than in a car, because parking would be no problem. I ride my bike all summer long and love the freedom of wheeling right up to the door of some establishment and leaning my bike against the wall outside the door. But we know people will not ride bikes for short trips, will they? I regularly ride 75 mi in a day on my bike, but most people think that is insane. Most people will not ride 5 miles on their bike. Many people cannot. Even if they are willing, they are afraid to do it in the traffic.
Re:Goddammit! (Score:2, Insightful)
There are some people who drive into the city but most of the traffic in the city is cabs, trucks, and buses and those are three things that aren't going to be replace by segways. I can just see some tourists coming in from the airport with their luggage being dragged behind them on its rollers.
As for safety, cars and bicycles don't ride on the sidewalk (at least not legally). There is only interaction between pedestrians and automobiles when people cross the street. With segways the idea is that pedestrians and segways would be interwoven.
There is a big difference between being realistic and being closed minded.
Re:It's the economy, stupid! (Score:3, Insightful)
No doubt in my mind, Segway is suitable only for perfect weather, and probably for summer only. It was raining this morning, for example, and I was very glad to find myself in a comfortable, warm car instead of a shaking, slippery Segway.
Re:Fills a need... (Score:3, Insightful)
how about:
"walking, only in very mild weather"
?
Who'd want to ride a Segway in 6" of snow, with 30 mph wind at 10 deg. F?
Then, not be able to park it indoors, and later come out to find it stolen.
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
Can your fully functional legs carry you 12 mph for 5 miles?
The self-balance thing is what makes it different from the typical scooter that has a much larger footprint and turning radius, requires active balance by the rider, and generally prevents them from being used by anyone who doesn't have good mobility to begin with.
I fail to understand the hostility in the responses to Segway. Is it really that threatening to people's sensibility that there might be a real alternative to driving cars on short trips or in places where it is too congested to drive a car. Wasn't it like yesterday that they started charging a usage fee for driving in downtown London? I think it was something like US$8 a day just to enter the busiest part of town in a car, and that doesnt' include parking it once you're there.
I could be wrong with the figures but wouldn't a Segway pay for itself in a couple years if you could save $8 a day on that one fee alone? ($5000/8=625)
unmitigated disasters (Score:3, Insightful)
Compared to other alternative forms of transportation, the Segway ranks pretty low. It involves no real user-power, so it isn't particularly healthy. It weighs 80 pounds, so it isn't particularly portable. It involves pretty extensive electronics, so it is impossible to work on. It requires user intervention, so you can't read a book. Compare that to Electric bikes, which have longer ranges, lower weight, can utilize user power, cost nearly one-tenth as much money, and can carry a sizable number of groceries. Or to the subway, which requires a high initial investment and understandable traffic loads, but which can carry hundreds of thousands of people to their destinations faster than automobiles, and free the user to do with their time what they wish. Or motorized scooters, which can travel faster than the segway for much longer distances at about the same cost. Really, the only thing the Segway has over current alternative transportation options is the ability to go backwards. The balancing mechanism at the core keeps the price too high to be a real alternative to anything, but remove that and the entire design is gone.
The Segway's obvious limitations as transportation are not why people are venomous about it, but people are venomous about hype that doesn't pan out. Look at the backlash against the commercial that hyped the second-to-last Joe Millionaire as if it were the last. Many people spent the last 5 years being taken in by hucksters who believed their own exaggerations, then exaggerated thoes until they believed their exaggerations^2, then exaggerated those... We've had people claim that a way to complain publically about websites would revolutionize human communication, a way of selling dogfood online would make all public shopping spaces obsolete, a system of releasing odors into the air on cue would necessitate the re-purchasing of all human interface displays, and a way of trading low-quality recordings online would revolutionize world law. Dean Kamen's IT falls squarely with the former three examples, as a hype machine that grew monstrously out of control. A market valuation of 650 million dollars? Two-hundred sixty times gross revenue? The yearly salry of 16,320 people? For an expensive electric bike company?
I don't think most people here are closing the case on this new technology. I think most people here are closing the case on another company that grossly overpromised, tremendously underdelivered, and stood there blankly wondering where their fortune was. If they can redesign the entire internal mechanism to run on inexpensive mechanical principles and low-cost electronics, can get the range AND SPEED up to 30 miles at roadway speeds, and can sell the thing at real stores rather than online, they still would need to readjust their expectations from inherited world domination to working eagerly to satisfy the customer's needs.
Kamen us all to flock to his new invention like so many lemmings just makes us feel cheap. He should be working his tail off if he wants our money. He contributed greatly to the health of many Americans, but if he wants to break into this new market he needs to drop the entitlement.
The problem with SUVs. (Score:2, Insightful)
They could have put a more efficient engine in the H2 without a major drop in performance (if any at all), but no... People want to show off they can afford the extra fuel. Of course, having people buy these increases the demand for fuel and drives the price up (it's already high enough IMHO.) This makes a few rich white fellows rich and happy, but also helps make heating oil too expensive for the poor.
If you must know I drive an '89 Volvo 240 that gets about 20 mpg in the city. I spend $20 a week on gas, so about $1,040 per year (and that's if the price doesn't go up as it already has.) I'm by no means a rich fella (just out of college and paying back loans.) so I can't afford a new car for a while (I want to pay off my student loans before commiting to any new loans)
If I could, I would buy a civic hybrid (about 40 mpg) I'd pay half of that $1,400... $520 a year... plus a one time $2,000 tax deduction. If the civic lasts for 10 years. that means I'd have saved $7,000.
Or, I could buy a Honda Insight. 61 mpg in the city means I'd be paying 1/3rd of that $1,040, or about $650 in savings a year (plus the one tme $2000 tax ditty) 10 years would mean $8,500 in savings.
Now, some freak on CNN is estimating that if America goes to war gas could go up to $5.00 a gallon. I'm guessing that's a bit extreme, so $3.50/gallon is a fair guess. $20 a week at $1.40/gallon means I'm buying 14 gallons o' gas. 14 * 3.50 = 49, so, 49 * 52 weeks in a year = $2,548 a year on gas with my Volvo. or $849 a year with the insight. $1,698 of savings isn't bad at all. Over a 10 year period I'd save $16,980 on gas plus the $2,000. nearly the price of the car ($20,000 with manual trans, AC and stereo.) That'd be like buying the car for $1,020. damn... my Volvo is worth more than that.
Heh... just calculated savings at $5.00/gallon... $26,270 over 10 years.
But keep in mind I'm not much of a super self image kinda guy... I don't have fancy rims on my car, I don't dye my hair or dress in crazy clothes, I don't wear logos (what a great idea! pay some rich asshole extra money so you can be his bitch... I mean billboard.) I don't like being ripped off by rich guys who don't need more of my money. My guess is that it's fashionable to buy fuel inefficient veicles because of the amount of cash oil companies are sending car companies who never seem to make a nice looking car that's fuel efficient. Why not? They could use their more efficient engines in SUVs. People don't need a 340 horse power engine in a 3/4 ton Suburban. My Volvo weighs about 1.5 tons and has a 114 horse power engine. It can tow 3,300 lbs and has a gross vehicle weight of 4800 pounds. Typical suburbanites will never need to tow that much.
Re:this just in (Score:4, Insightful)
It looks stupid.
Its the price of a decent (second hand) car.
Battery power is ridiculous.
Large&heavy, so hard to stow away once you get where you`re going.
"wouldn't a Segway pay for itself in a couple years"
A couple of years? A lot of people don't intend on keeping their cars that long. This is new tech - you think they`re going to be working in 2 years? Where can you get one - online? So you can't check them out first? How about repairs. Advertising the company might have helped - I'm pretty well read on this sort of thing and i`ve not heard about them. Well, I heard the name.
Which bit didn't you understand again?
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
New Jersey/Long Island/Other Major Suburban Areas have alot more room, and most of the people living there own cars that are more than handy enough for getting here and there.
Corporate spending? WTF? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
On a bicycle, easily. On foot, at half that speed easily.
I could be wrong with the figures but wouldn't a Segway pay for itself in a couple years if you could save $8 a day on that one fee alone? ($5000/8=625)
Or you could buy a really really nice bicycle for half that price (or a really nice one for under 1/5 the price). As an added bonus, you wouldn't be a fat lump looking stupid standing on a self balancing Jetsonesque piece of kitch.
Re:The segway may stink... but the hype is impress (Score:2, Insightful)
Here's why I think the Segway is failing: Those who can afford it and those who would use it are two separate markets. The people who can afford it would tend to be successful professionals who have cars to drive to work and live in suburbia. Are they going to drive their cars to the edge of the city, pull their 80-pound Segway out of the trunk, and cruise to work that way? I think not. Those who would use it would most likely live in the city where they work and would cruise there in a Segway. The problem is that when you are paying $2100/mo for 600 sq ft [springstreet.com], you might want to think about stretching your legs and walking instead of racking up another $5000 bill. Also to consider is the fact that most city dwellings are in highrise buildings...Are you going to haul your Segway up the stairs?
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
This product is perfect for people who:
-Need to travel 5-10 miles (any less and walking's less hassle and doesn't take much longer)
-Are in enough of a hurry to use powered transport, but not so much of a hurry that they need to drive.
-Are solvent enough to plunk down $5k IN ADDITION TO a car
-Are environmentally conscious enough to bother using this instead of a car
-Live in a flat area (hilly neighborhoods drastically cut battery life)
-Live in an area that doesn't have regular rain or snow
-Live in an area with either wide streets or well-maintained sidewalks
-Can do their travelling in the daytime
-Live in an area without a decent public transportation system
-Lives in and travels to areas that provide a safe place to park a segway
Here in Pittsburgh, there are hills, it rains a lot, it gets dark early this time of year, the roads are narrow and the sidewalks are often cracked, we have a good bus system, and the places that are close enough to reach via a segway don't have any good places to park the thing. I could afford one, and I like the concept, but it's just too much hassle.
If they really want this thing to take off, they'll work with the parking authorities and malls to provide "segway locks" where people can leave their segways while they shop.
Re:Goddammit! (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, I understand the "early-adopter" model of sales and everything,and that's fine. That tends to work because early adopters still end up with a product they want, and were willing to pay a premium for the utility and the cache of being first. However, you seem to be suggesting that we should support a product that we don't want so that a company can develop a product that we do want. If I'm going to be Dean Kamen's venture capitalist, I'd like to get more for my money than an 40 kg plastic scooter.
Re:Goddammit! (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, it just happens to be a really, really lousy attempt.
There are no quick fixes. Any road infrastructure that is dominated by 1 ton chunks of speeding metal is not going to permit alternative transportation to co-exist; the road and transportation infrastructure itself needs to be fixed. Putting additional chunks of speeding metal onto the sidewalks will only serve to scare away pedestrians even further.
- "they'll kill people on sidewalks".. amazing, this argument. It's a total non-starter. Anyone on rollerblades or a bike is much more of a danger.
That's why rollerblades and bikes are not permitted on sidewalks in most places.
I'm sorry for the rant, but frankly the blank-faced pessimism disgusts me. Where is your sense of wonder, Slashdot? Don't be like those fucking lemmings who close the case on new technology before it's even been tried.
I don't want these overpriced things taking over the sidewalks. It's bad enough that cars have taken over the roads.
We already know what to do about cars and how to improve transportation: create pedestrian zones, create bicycle lanes, improve public transportation, and improve train service. When there is decent coverage by quality public transportation, people use it. In most places in the US, your choice is a dirty, rickety bus that goes roughly from where you aren't to roughly where you don't want to go. No wonder people stick with the car. And no gadget is going to fix that.
Re:Read about 'em (Score:3, Insightful)
He'd definitely lose more weight, but as for the money (and time), it wouldn't be as clear-cut as you suppose. It would depend greatly on the practical lifespan of a segway, which I suppose is still an unknown, and the cost of charging it, which, from what I have read, isn't too much.
Commuting by bicycle over a medium/long distance gets you to a point where you'd probably want a higher quality bike, some decent riding clothes (they do make a difference), and a means to clean up before getting into the office (showering in a nearby gym, if there is one, for example), and then there's regular maintenance to the bike, all of which add to the cost.
Also, I'm willing to bet money that most office buildings wouldn't have a problem with someone bringing a segway into their office, but for some reason it is a sin against a higher god to bring a bicycle into many buildings, so having a secure place to keep a bike when commuting is an issue.
Not that I think riding a bike is a bad idea; I did it almost every day when I lived in california, 1:10 each way, and I loved it (driving, with traffic, bridge tolls etc. took about :45). It wasn't uncommon to not touch my car a week or two at a time. However, the weather in california is very predictable and not a concern for bike commuters. I'll admit that living in the pacific northwest has made me less enthusiastic about riding that much every day.
Right now (once I find a decent job!) I would definitely consider a segway as a 'second car' for myself and the gfriend, as the fella with the site did. I can't see it being good for long distances, but short/medium, it would be perfect.
Re:Goddammit! (Score:2, Insightful)
Bullshit. You cannot compare the redness or an apple to the redness of an orange in a favorable way. But as a piece of fruit or as a snack, the two can be compared. Similarly, as a 'revolutionary transportation device', the Segway can be compared quite easily to just about any powered or unpowered vehicle that I, the parent, and many others have mentioned.
it is the first of its kind and while it has problems for sure, it should be improved, not scorned.
Without criticism, how can it improve? If Kamen knew it could be better, why not make it better in the first go round?
I can't remember from your other postings, but do you have one of these scooters now? If not, why not? If so, how do you address family transportation, trips longer than about 10 miles, etc? The best I can see is that the Segway may be an accessory to much of the population, but again, the bicycle, scooter (like a Riva), motorcycle, or the foot is probably a better value proposition.
Problems with the Segway: (Score:4, Insightful)
2. Bicycles go just as fast and have an effectively infinite range with no recharge necessary (except for that stop at the pub). And, are cheaper.
3. Skateboards can probably go just as fast, are just as maneuverable, don't have to be recharged... Etc.
4. People have had all of the above cheaper, better alternatives to the Segway, but they don't use them because they're dangerous to put in the street and are illegal to use on the sidewalk. Mainly because of the danger to pedestrians. Which is why the Segway won't be legal for sidewalk use either.
Result: The segway doesn't stand a chance. How could it? Can't put it in the road (you'll be roadkill), can't ride it on the sidewalk (you're just as dangerous to pedestrians as an inline skater)...
Kind of makes you wonder how much thought they put into this weirdo pogo-stick-looking thing. Are all the people in startup companies yes men? Did no one speak up and say, "Yes, but if they make riding things on sidewalks legal, can't I use my bike or rollerblades?"
Tsk. Rich people are crazy.
Re:this just in (Score:2, Insightful)
Just a thought.
Re:I think we all (Score:2, Insightful)
So did all my co-workers.
Needless to say, I am not at all shocked that they are not doing that well. I dunno about the rest of you, but I cannot afford 5 grand for a powered wheely machine... and if I did have that much money laying around, that would be the last thing I would purchase.
Urban change - Re:Goddammit! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Fills a need... (Score:2, Insightful)
As far as comparing Segways to my (old) Saab, all I meant was to compare the price between a functional (and very useful) car to this not-so-useful gadget. Honestly, if I want to go on a trip up to, say, 10 miles I'll bike (or maybe bike-bus), unless I'm grocery shopping in which case I'll drive. I really don't see the use of a $5000 vehicle which only goes a few miles at 11 mph and doesn't allow for me to carry anthing but a backpack.
I really hate dissing this invention as it's really a clever design (also, many people in the past have had great doubts about the "next great thing" such as airplanes and cars and I'd hate to be included in that group). But I just have a really hard time imagining that this Segway really will be the next great mode of transportation. Now if it had twice the range and speed and/or at least could carry some cargo, then it might be a different story. But given the slow progress of battery developments, I'm sure that would be years away.
Re:this just in (Score:5, Insightful)
Damn it, stupid (Score:2, Insightful)
I'll give you a tip. You don't "win" the argument by proving that you don't feel any need for a segway. The person is not claiming everyone should need or want one. They are saying it has legitimate uses for people, and the hostility towards this possiblity is really unnecessary.
I'm sure bicycles looked silly when they first were starting to be used. I know cars did... and at the time they were considered redundant and only for the wasteful rich.
Re:Fills a need... (Score:2, Insightful)
So people are afraid to ride a bike on the busy roads, yet you think they should have no problem with the segway, with is a lot wider, less maneuverable, and much slower. Please explain that logic.
How long until someone steals it? (Score:5, Insightful)
How do you lock the dang things? Can someone just hop on your Segway and drive off? Even if you lock it, can't someone (according to the article) "just lift it into a truck"? And if you got a bicycle lock, where would you attach it?
Considering that, in NYC, most delivery people carry heavy chains and locks and drive beat-up bikes so no one steals them, I can't imagine that the lifespan of a Segway on the New York City streets would be much more than 5 minutes.
"Hey, guys! Come down and see my cool Segway. Hey, where did it go??!!!"
Re:Goddammit! (Score:3, Insightful)
"Tonto, we're surrounded by Indians!"
"What do you mean 'we', white man?"
We seem to be agreeing so vehemently that we've started an argument. I hate it when that happens.
Re:H2 is NOT a just Tahoe with ugly cladding (Score:4, Insightful)
recently on Car and Driver Television (on TNN?) they did a comparison of the H2 vs. the Hummer
Don't buy too much into shows like "Car & Driver television" (do they ever give a car a bad review?).
The conclusion was the H2 provided 80% of the capability of the Hummer
The H2 has nothing in common with the H1 besides the name, and the H2 is based off of the Tahoe. No wide wheel base, run-flat capability, engine snorkel. Plastic bumper bits and body cladding. Heck, even a locking rear differential is optional on the H2.
at 50% of the price.. with much more comfort.
No argument there. The H2 is a "luxury SUV" with heated leather seats, sunroof, etc. - something the H1 never claimed to be.
The Hummer folks kept a very close eye on GM to make sure they weren't tarnishing their name.
I call BS here. GM purchased the naming rights from AM General. They took a Tahoe and made the body look as much like the H1 as possible - even fake air intakes and fake lift hooks. Expect to see more of this in the future - the public assoicates the "Hummer" with a quasi-exotic military vehicle. Now that GM has the name they can re-body existing vehicles and call them a "Hummer", hoping to market them on the name recognition. Which is exactly what they have done with the H2.
Re:this just in (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't think it's that impractical. A loading mechanism could be built that quickly inserts and removes the batteries. And with a credit card deposit or whatever you could "guarantee" that the batteries you traded in were in good working order - I am sure that the charging mechanism could detect that somehow before they were handed out to the next customer.