My Segway HT "Month-iversary" 652
Phillip M. Torrone writes "I didn't realize it, but I've been using a Segway HT for one month as of 01/04/03. To put it simply--it's been great and the HT has exceeded all expectations, I'm cautiously optimistic that this was a great purchase and look forward to the next 30 days. You can read, see and hear about my experiences here: http://www.bookofseg.com." I have yet to see one of these in real life, but they do look fun.
Concept (Score:5, Insightful)
But this is just the first model. It's more sort of a proof of concept--a demonstration that the scooter can work, and looks as neat as all get-out in motion. As time goes on, the performance will improve and the price will fall.
Look at the Palm (Pilot). The first model was, what, 128K? With no backlight, no infra-red, or anything? And how high was the price tag? And now the Visor Deluxe, which was at one time the wet dream of anybody who even looked at a Palm, is only $130 brand new.
Look at the DVD player. The original models were expensive enough, the first bunch of discs were glitchy enough, that a lot of people scoffed and made snide remarks. But the DVD went on to become the fastest-adopted new consumer technology ever.
So here we have a relatively slow, electric-powered self-stabilizing scooter, for $3,000. Are very many of us going to buy it? Do very many of us have the money to sink into that sort of gee-gaw? No and no. I know I'm not going to be spending three grand on something like that myself, either. Nor would I be likely to spend two grand, or even one grand.
But by the time it gets to about $500, sign me up.
Re:Concept (Score:4, Insightful)
Incidentally, does anyone know how much weight the Segway is designed to handle? Because if it does become popular, its gonna need to handle much more...
Weight (Score:5, Informative)
From the How Stuff Works Website [howstuffworks.com]:
Weight capacity: 250 pound (110 kg) person with 75 pounds (34 kg) of cargo.
(Good link about more Segway stuff without all of the marketing hype at Howstuffworks, too.)
Re:Weight (Score:3, Interesting)
If the Segway replaces walking for the average person, then the "it will make Americans fatter" argument has some merit unless the users' lifestyle is adjusted to compensate, i.e., more trips to the gym via Segway. If it replaces driving, then we will see environmental benefits. If it replaces biking, we are midway between the two.
I just don't see the point of this technology. It is the most over-hyped invention I've ever seen. I'd rather spend a couple grand on some neat technology that helps me get smarter or at least has some entertainment value (travelling between point A and point B has to get pretty boring pretty fast). I see no value in the Segway.
Re:Weight (Score:5, Interesting)
It's gonna have to do a lot better than that if it's going to succeed. Let's face it, the folks most likely to want one are those who sweat five gallons walking across the street.
The local ambulance company here just got a special ambulance for handling extremely heavy patients. (Extra-heavy rear suspension, extra-large stretcher, electric winch to pull the stretcher in, etc...) They won't even dispatch it unless the patient weighs more than 500 pounds...
The crews assigned to it hate it because they don't get to take a break all day. They run from call to call from the moment shift starts until the shift ends. Regular ambulance crews are still getting calls to handle extremely overweight patients, because there's just so damn many of them.
The way I figure it, if they don't build it to handle at least 450+ pounds, they're going to be dealing with lawsuits because they're breaking, or ADA lawsuits because it won't handle weight-challenged people.
Re:Weight (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Concept (Score:5, Interesting)
That is the worst article I have ever seen in SF Weekly, and that's saying a lot.
A tsunami of Lard? What the hell, like everyone who is going to use a Segway wont just drive in a car? Why is a scooter going to make people fat when they have to stop using it out of safety concerns if they start to weigh in over 110kg.
Their arguments are this, "Segway makes you fat, and cracks marble walls." They have no evidence of either, as I read it. Are they claiming she ran into the wall, or did her segway do it after she jumped off? Either way, it's a stupid remark that seems like she didn't do it because there is zero documentation on her "vandalism."
There are no reasons why it was a waste of time, there were a few speculations and a lot of bitterness. I think whoever wrote the article was probably just pissed his bicycle shop is going to take a hit.
Because if it does become popular, its gonna need to handle much more...
Yeah.. because efficient transporation makes people fat. News flash, people get fat for other reasons. Fat people don't ride bikes, unless it's for excercise. Their fat long before the Segway came along. End of story.
This FUD is worthy of Anti-Microsoft or Anti-Linux posts, you should be proud.
Re:Concept (Score:5, Interesting)
I mean, when Segway's MSRP is being beaten out by Hammecher Schlemmer, it doesn't take a genius to tell who's trying to pull a fast one.
Re:Concept (Score:3, Interesting)
Personally, if I wanted efficient, small, no-effort transportation, I'd look at one of these. They are far more practical than a Segway as well as cheaper.
Re:Concept (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Concept (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Concept (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Concept (Score:2)
At work the marketing folks call these people, "Early Adopters". They make it so the average moms/dads/kiddies can buy them at normal prices. So please keep buying them, and drop the price for us.
Re:Concept (Score:3, Insightful)
I can see segways in uses like mail men chariots, and use in warehouses. But it's not something that the mass public has a use for or can even dream up a use for. If there was the previous electric scooters would have had big impacts allready. Even if a segway in time becomes a $200 dollar item, few people will buy one since they have no use for it, or can't use it do to where they live.
Also walking will always remain popular mode of transportation, this thing will not help reduce the gross national product of fat in the US. Things like palm pilots relived people of trying to remember to much stuff. DVD's replaced a poor techology.
Your anologies work, but not for all things.
Obligatory link to other Diary of a Segway owner (Score:5, Funny)
Innovation (Score:3, Insightful)
Funny you should mention this. I gave up using my Palm about 2 years ago. It's strictly a toy.
Ever buy a fold-up keyboard for a Palm? And use something like WordSmith [bluenomad.com]? Ever just slip the keyboard and the Palm into your pocket, go someplace and just WRITE? Having the keyboard with me everywhere is what made it a killer "app" for me. Meetings, coffeeshops... no more yellow pads. No more searching for information. I've always got it with me. And before I saw the keyboard, I couldn't even imagine it.
The most exciting part, for me, about something new is waiting to see how people innovate. I'd keep watching the Segway...
Re:Concept (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, I got a girlfriend too.
Re:Hell, think of Pocket Calculators (Score:3, Informative)
1970 vintage, 4-function pocket calculator that cost him $400 new
It was probably a "5-function" device: the square root key was the thing that had geeks tossing out their slide rules en masse.
this is science?! (Score:3, Insightful)
Astroturf? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Astroturf? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Astroturf? (Score:2)
In today's depressed economy, he nonetheless has $3000 to blow on the Segway and immense amounts of time to spend describing life with the HT in obscene detail on his website. And he's only had it for a month. This is wrong on so many levels. .
The worst fanboy experience I ever had was seeing some poster on comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy write about Windows 98, without a trace of irony: "Congratulations, Microsoft, you've done it again!" The Segway actually looks cool, but that site is like a giant HTML handjob for Dean Kamen.
Re:Astroturf? (Score:2)
As it happens I got a chance to try out a Segway at a demo, and while it's sort of neat and could be very useful at work it's still a rich kid's toy at the current price.
Re:Astroturf? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Astroturf? (Score:2, Insightful)
Right now, any Segway user (except the mailmen and park rangers, if they have them yet) is an over-amped, obsessive enthusiast. This is probably just one of them.
Re:Astroturf? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Astroturf? (Score:3)
Maybe (Score:2, Interesting)
New Section Idea: Advertisements (Score:5, Funny)
Re:New Section Idea: Advertisements (Score:2)
Re:New Section Idea: Advertisements (Score:2, Insightful)
distributed.net (Score:5, Insightful)
White boyz who can't get on Cribs (Score:2)
C'mon people, Even Dean Kamen says his scooter is a playtoy and totally unlike his staircliming wheelchairs and other assistive technologies that save and improve lives.
Segway Website. (Score:2)
Is it just me or does that look a lot like one of them human powered lawn mowers? Needless to say, I would never be caught dead on one!
Re:Segway Website. (Score:2)
unexciting movie (Score:3, Informative)
Who is Phillip M. Torrone (Score:5, Informative)
XBox live, for one...and the iPod...and large doses of Flash [flashenabled.com], apparently. This gentleman is a one-man press release
Re:Who is Phillip M. Torrone (Score:5, Interesting)
But back on topic, am I the only one who wouldn't be seen dead driving one of these? It's so geeky in a very uncool way. And since you can't really carry anything on it which you could carry yourself, it screams "lazy prick" and is impractical. I predict after the early adopters, the people who think it's neat and people who collect artifacts of the modern age buy one, the company will quietly go out of business.
upright wheelchair (Score:4, Interesting)
A reasonable bicycle can be had for around $100 and will get you anywhere you want to go, and get you into better shape as well. You won't sweat on your bike if you travel at segway speeds either.
I really don't see the appeal of this $3000 upright motoroized wheelchair--what will it do for me that my bike won't?
Can it hop curbs? Is it easy to lock up on the street? I just don't get it, sorry.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Now, please re-read your arguement and make the following subsitutions:
bike -> horse
Segway -> car
(You may wish to ignore the bit of getting sweaty on the horse...)
Your arguement is not new. It's been said and lost before.
Oh please (Score:2)
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:4, Interesting)
At segway speeds on a bike you aren't going to work up a sweat at all, you'll use less energy than walking. Mostly you'll just be coasting along, and you'll pedal only every now and then.
Powered individual transit ought to be able to merge in either with pedestrians or with cars. Otherwise it's too limited--if you can only ride on the road, or only on the sidewalk, if you can't hop curbs, etc., then it's kind of pointless.
A non-motorized scooter, by the way, can hop curbs pretty easily: take your foot off for one second and step over the curb. You can do it smoothly and hardly breaking your speed.
The self-balancing thing, I think, is a boondoggle. I'm not sure it's really that useful: a powered tricycle would also suit you but it wouldn't be so "cool".
Well, if wasting $3000 is cool, welcome to it.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:3, Insightful)
Then there are places that propelled transportation is very desirable (such as where I live, an extremely hilly area - east tennessee) where many hills are kinda long and steep for a bike ride (as a teenager I had a spedometer on my bike, by about halfway down the hill I lived on I got up to 45 MPH coasting - no input from me - and I finally lost nerve and braked - I was still accelerating). I've seen pictures from california where things are pretty dense and steep - so they would be usefull.
The important part of your post is "what will it do for me that my bike won't?" - probably nothing, but that doesn't mean it won't for someone else - not every single person on the planet lives in the same environment that you do.
Bicycles (Score:2, Informative)
If you ever have to ride at night, in the rain, or carry stuff, expect to pay extra for lights (as required by law), full-length fenders (unless you like the "dragged through the mud" look), and luggage racks, possibly panniers or a trailer for larger loads. If you go the Boy Scout method and have lights, speedometer (bikes have to follow the same rules of the road [state.or.us] including speed limits (I learned the hard way in downtown)), luggage rack, fenders, airhorn, and a rear-view mirror, expect to pay closer to $850.
Either way, you're right, bicycles are far more practical and far less expensive than a Segway.
It can go on sidewalks... Legally... (Score:3, Informative)
I honestly dont understand how this got passed, but you can bet someone will be run over in one and that will be the end of it.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:3, Interesting)
Kamen actually has created an upright wheelchair [msnbc.com]. Once it's in mass-production, it should do amazing things for the disabled.
For those of us who can walk
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Just like the Segway.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:3, Insightful)
This is true, but reaks of the "guns don't kill people" argument. What I mean is that, while it's certainly possible to use a bike considerately, and indeed most people do, it takes a bigger concious effort than just walking down the street, since you are much bigger and are moving much faster. Thus, it's much easier to be careless and inconsiderate, just as having a gun makes it infinitely easier to wound or kill someone. And believe me, as someone who both goes to Penn State and has lived in the town for over a decade, there are *plenty* of people who are both dangerous and inconsiderate.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Just like the Segway.
Spoken like someone who knows absolutely nothing about them. Segways are NOT dangerous on the sidewalks.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:3, Funny)
Unless of course, you're some INCREDIBLY lazy person who can't even walk without getting tired. Bloody hell, no wonder people are so fat these days if they need a $3000 dollar contraption to do all their walking for them!
Personally, I walk 6 miles each way to college and back every day. In the rain. And the cold. And the wind. And the dark. Wearing only a t-shirt. And no hat. And the only thing keeping me going is a portion of sausage and chips picked up from the chippy half way there.
People are far too soft and lazy these days.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Sure, they can, however, in many states bicycles are to behave as automobiles, riding in the street and following traffic laws.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
And as far as powered transportation goes, yes, there's a place for it, and I've seen a wide variety of electric bikes in the ~$1000 range - lots cheaper than Segways, lighter though bigger, and much more versatile. (Also, an electric bike with the batteries run down works a lot better than a Segway with the batteries run down :-) Next step up, things like Vespa scooters in the $1000-2000 range give you a lot more speed and distance, or electric scooters in the $500 range get you Segway-like speed, range, and weight, though they're a lot lamer :-)
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
I can't believe someone invented this. Surely you can all walk, no? Testament to how incredibly lazy some people are.
And I simply can't believe how unimaginative people are when these things come up. Are you seriously suggesting that there's no place for powered transporation?
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:3, Funny)
I believe they already have these places. They're called "roads".
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Considering distance isn't a factor on a bike, the better option is clear. People with Segways will be labeled lazy, it's just bound to happen.
Re:upright wheelchair (Score:2)
Re:It's all about the future (Score:3, Interesting)
It reminds me of some of the criticisms levied against the first cars: it costs too much, the horse carriage is better, it requires changes to the roads, laws are not ready, it will disturb pedestrian circulation (remember laws from the turn of the last century forcing someone WALKING in front of a car to warn people it was coming?), etc.
However, it should be mentioned that the automobile is only one of a large number of transportation innovations to come out of the turn of the century. What about the Stanley Steamer?, the light rail trolley? the ordinary? the interurban? the zepplin? Heck, the compact car was first unveiled at the '49 New York World's Fair "The World of Tomorow" and needed 25 years and an oil embargo to even get market share.
The point I am making is that the objections have some validity, but it doesn't invalidate the usefulness and promise made by the Segway about future human mobility.
The segway would not bother so many people if it were not so overhyped as something revolutionary. It is not all that revolutionary in terms of battery powered transportation. Small battery powered vehicles have been a niche market for over a decade now and don't appear to be on the virge in the near future.
Maybe just cynical, but... (Score:5, Informative)
The domain "bookofseg.com" is registered [register.com] to Phillip Torrone. (listed on the about page [bookofseg.com] as well). According to his site [flashenabled.com], this guy works at Fallon [fallon.com], an advertising company devoted to "generating disproportionate results for our clients through a unique combination of rigor, relentlessness, and surprise" [fallon.com].
What I'm getting at is, how do we know that this site isn't just a plant by Segway's marketing agency?
Aagh (Score:5, Interesting)
What do you mean "how do we know it isn't a plant"? Of course it's a plant.
I don't mind the dupes. I don't mind the mistakes. But blithely posting underhanded ad pitches on the front page cross the line.
I like Slashdot, and I've never before stooped to bitching at the editors... But I can't take it anymore: what the fuck is the matter with you guys? I know VA Linux stock ain't doing all that well, but for christ's sake, you have jobs unlike a lot of Slashdot's readership. If you don't care about this site-- which seems to be the case-- why don't you step down and let someone else take over?
Re:Aagh (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh, look. I got to go to Dean Kamen's house, just like all the other segway owners.
Fuckers. America's turning into the corporations' bitch.
Dave
Re:Maybe just cynical, but... (Score:2, Insightful)
simple, it IS a plant by segway's marketing department. I know people make fan sites ... but some of that stuff goes beyond simple fan-boy articles. He's even got links to buy it at amazon. Its a barely covered astroturf campaign. To top it off he even throws in a great description of Kamen. If I read any more of this site I'm gonna puke.
"over thanksgiving weekend, we went to dean kamen's house for a amazing tour, a great dinner and a glimpse into one of the greatest minds of our time...i'll have a full write up later..."
He's more bought than a hooker's enthusiam. NT though
Do these things have a PDA Mount for my Zaurus? (Score:5, Funny)
I think I'll wait 50 years for the flying model that's only $50,000,000(inflation).
Could the same gyroscoping stabilization scheme used in the seqway be used for stabilizing ultralite airplanes? Just trying to bring the discusion from the advertisement category to the science category.
Only useful in certain environments (Score:5, Insightful)
Before you ask: no, I don't live in the boondocks. I live in a metropolitan area (Tampa, FL, US).
Re:Only useful in certain environments (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Only useful in certain environments (Score:3, Insightful)
This kind of sprawl is the sort of thing the Segway is meant to combat, as sprawl depends on cars. If you get people out of their cars, even up to the 4 or 5 mile limit, smaller stores in a mixed-use environment become more practical, and you can dramatically reduce the imapact that car traffic has on urban environments (stuff like pollution, excessively wide roads that you can't cross safely as a pedestrian, loss of useable space in favor of parking lots or parking garages, etc.)
Re:Only useful in certain environments (Score:3, Interesting)
No mass transit here (Tampa Bay area). Not much chance of a subway - there's water 3.5 feet down. Busing sucks.
There is a nice sidewalk (8ft wide) between my house and the grocery store. I just happen to live in the very back of the neighborhood. However, many of the houses around here (North Pinllas) are in my situation, with considerable distance to shopping, despite this being an overdeveloped county.
Segway Banned in San Francisco (Score:3, Interesting)
The judges claim they banned it because it is "unsafe for city sidewalks", but they also commented that the Segway is "a national threat at least as grave as Iraq" because of laziness. I don't think Iraq is that dangerous, so I don't know exactly what that comment is suppost to mean =) Also they said they didn't want to see a "potential tsunami of lard".
Personally, I don't think Segway is the "future of transportation". I'd much rather see PRT [taxi2000.com] everywhere in the future.
Re:Segway Banned in San Francisco (Score:3, Informative)
The ban was by the "supervisors," presumably the city council equivalent. Not judges who don't (or at least aren't supposed to) make policy.
commented that the Segway is "a national threat at least as grave as Iraq" because of laziness. I don't think Iraq is that dangerous, so I don't know exactly what that comment is suppost to mean =) Also they said they didn't want to see a "potential tsunami of lard".
These comments were made by an editorial writer for the SF Times, not any government official.
Fat Lazy Americans... Not! (Score:5, Insightful)
In this light, the Segway is an ideal tool for getting people who otherwise would have driven the mile or so distance to the grocery store, video rental place, or local strip mall, and putting them on the local streets. Consider this a way of boosting pedestrian traffic by extending the 3-block distance people would choose to walk, and thus displace auto travel. This is what Jobs and other people who saw the Segway meant when they said that cities would be redesigned around them.
Sure, I'll walk, or ride my bike, or ride the bus. But then again, I don't own a car. If a Segway can displace cars for short-distance travel, then all the more power to them, fat lazy Americans be damned!
BTW, 15 miles on a single charge is far more than many people tend to commute, even in their cars, in highly urbanized areas. Hell, I used to bike the 15 miles from West LA to Burbank and back (up the Cahuenga pass and back every day) - that trip took me 1.5 hours (each way). If you're willing to bike that much, more power to you, but complaining 15 miles isn't enough range for a Segway is missing the point - 15 miles is overkill for the purpose the Segway is meant to serve - bridging the gap between the 3 blocks most people are willing to walk, and when they whip out their car keys and start contributing to traffic, pollution, and parking problems.
Also, if you think about it, you get a lot more exercise standing on a Segway than you do sitting in your car...
Sorry Mr. Tarrone, (Score:2)
You'll just have to troll for sales elsewhere.
Segway modding! (Score:5, Funny)
New hobby for those of you with too much money and spare time! Segway modding! New mods include:
User Friendly.. (Score:2)
Segway Type R (Score:5, Funny)
Disneyworld has 32 of them.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Then I thought, "hmm, big distances to cover, maybe not the worst idea I ever heard."
Then I saw the huge Segway display at Innoventions and realized it was just more smart marketing by Dean Kamen. The yokels were all saying "gaaaahlee where's the gas tank?" and similar comments, then getting lessons in gyroscopic stabilization and Michelin tire alchemy from the well-rehearsed cast members. Hey, if they can get high visibility at Epcot, that's better than
I've tried one...yeah they are neat, but at 80 pounds, just too heavy to lug ino my car trunk or public transport and when compared for value with a $150 electric Razor, it loses. But as someone said above..bring em down to $500 and I'll consider it.
Oh, BTW, I lost all respect when I saw them selling whirling Buzz Lightyear lights, glow sticks and flashlight ight-sabers off the Segways at Epcot at night. Gah.
Mirrored, in case of slashdotting (Score:2)
Got my butt kicked by the cool kids again. Maybe I'll see if the geeks at slashdot will respect me instead. Geez this thing sucks. For $3k, I could have bought that snazzy water cooled overclocked P4! Damn!
Amazon.com (Score:2)
I found the page it links to [amazon.com] (if this doesn't work, click the segway logo in the link above) interesting, especially the lengthy Amazon.com Review [amazon.com], which somehow fails to mention once how you charge the damned thing. Although apparently Amazon.com staff got to test-drive it, I doubt they got to play with it above 20 minutes.
[1] This promotion might not be served to logged in users, depending on your shopping preferences. Apparently amazon customizes their content heavily, to the point that some time ago they got in trouble [slashdot.org] for giving different customers different prices.)
I'm happy with my Megway (Score:2, Funny)
Beyond Segway (Score:5, Interesting)
Worst . . . Astroturf . . . Ever (Score:2)
Rips off the Mac face for the icons, uses Windows Media for the video, and posts to /.
Dude, pick a market to target before you start your next ad campaign!
is 70 lbs too much to steal? (Score:2, Insightful)
What the heck is this guy thinking? 70 lbs is NOTHING. Most men ought to be able to pick up 70 lbs and toss it on the back of a pickup. I know I could, and I only weigh 230. I hear about motorcycles being stolen all the time on the news by 3 guys picking it up and putting it in a truck, even heavy harleys.
The guy's a fool if he thinks the weight of the unit will deter anyone from stealing it.
p.s. My 21" monitor weighs 80 lbs, and who do you think carried it in?
i don't understand the fascination (Score:3, Insightful)
try WALKING
i mean really, this segway thing is so ridiculous, i am absolutely ashamed looking at it. can you imagine what other people think of you riding around on this thing? it's like training wheels for our electric scooters [medicequip.com] when we're old, fat, with diabetes. i have nothing but derision for anyone who buys one.
negativity disclaimer: i am an american, i get paid an above average salary, and i am trying to lose weight.
Re:i don't understand the fascination (Score:3, Insightful)
BUT....
How close to reality is that for most people? I'm guessing it's not even close. There are two factors I'm considering that make this true. First of all, most people don't live within 2 miles of work. I don't have the statistics, but I'm dead certain of this. I betting the average is more like 9 miles. Even if we all could walk that far everyday, we don't have time (at least I don't). Secondly, there are many times where a quick trip to the store is warranted (e.g. for milk). Now, assuming I'm not perfect and didn't remember to get it on the way home (ideal of course) and assuming that the store is even within 2 miles of me (which it is not), why should I have to commit to an hour of my time usage just to get the item?
I understand (and agree) that Americans exercise far too little. However, depriving everyone of efficient transportation in the current system is not the solution. That system exists to give us time to do other things and everyone will be loath to give that time back to less efficient transportation methods.
Now, one could argue at this point that the reason we have a transportation system with such sprawl is because we do have efficient transportation, etc. etc. etc. and there would be some truth to that. But then if we're forced to build everything within walking distance of everyone, then other inefficiencies creep into the system. For instance, instead of that one grocery store that stands now, there might need to be 5 of them of smaller size. And those stores need their own product distributions, etc. etc.
The real problem that the Segway attempts to solve is the economics of the single occupant vehicle. If everyone who could were to stop driving a car and took up with a Segway instead, that would represent a *major* savings in roadways, parking ramps, and fuel consumption. And wouldn't it be nice if it worked out that way? I think so!
The Segway doesn't address the problem of exercise because it's not designed for that. Apples and oranges. The responsibility people have is to utilize the most cost effective method of transportation they have available to them. That will translate to less pollution, higher productivity, and higher satisfaction. Walking may or may not fit that bill for some people, but it's definitely not a case of "one size fits all".
Segway marketing desperation (Score:4, Informative)
Just last week, Reuters bought and CNN published as a front page story this Amazon /Segway press release. [cnn.com] Reuters must not employ any of those hard-driving investigative reporters we loved in old 30s movies.
For example the "story" "reports"
- "pre-orders already place the high-tech scooter in the top half percent of sales" Yeah? Each Segway costs $5000, while the average Amazon item costs maybe $50. So if Amazon sells 100 Segways in a month, it's in the same percentile as a book that sold 10,000 copies in the same month--that's pretty impressive sales for a book, pretty lousy sales for an item that got the publicity buzz Segway did, an item featured on Amazon's front page.
- "It's selling better than many of our digital cameras" Yeah? And is Amazon the only retailer selling digital cameras, the way it is the only retailer selling Segways? In fact, do you know anybody who would go to Amazon to buy a digital camera?
- "Frazier declined to provide actual pre-sale numbers" I am sure the carefully phrased hype provided is much closer to what CNN readers care about.
What got left out of the "news story" is also interesting. There is no mention of the financial stake that Amazon has in pumping up Segway sales by releasing phony hype aimed at making the product look more popular than it is. Jeff Marshall at Mercury News has some interesting background on the financial ties [siliconvalley.com] involvedSome Reuters Clark Kent may have added one note of reality in the final sentence: "in San Francisco a debate is raging over whether the human transporter should be allowed on that city's streets. " That debate stopped raging a week before this press release came out. According to the Dec. 20 SF Chronicle [sfgate.com], after extensive public discussion 9 of 11 supervisors have voted to ban the Segway, enough to overturn the mayor's veto if he decides to try one.
wow (Score:5, Funny)
washington is one of the 32+ states that have specific legislation that states that the segway ht can go anywhere a pedestrian can go
Fascinating that they can pass a law that allows the Segway to go up ladders.
My Segway Anecdote (Score:4, Interesting)
The interesting thing about talking to Mr. Kamen while he was standing on the Segway, aside from the fact that he was of course towering a full head above everybody else in the crowd, was the fact that he is one of those people who likes to lean towards you as he talks. As I learned firsthand, talking to one of these people who happens to be standing on an electric scooter that is controlled by leaning your body means that you are constantly being semi-run-over by the thing, in direct proportion to the intensity of the point the other person is trying to make! He kept having to back the thing up a couple feet, like it was an overly-friendly horse that wanted to lick my face (instead of an overly-pricey scooter that wanted to run over my feet).
(I would have liked to have a go with his scooter though, as I was not relishing the prospect of having to slog all the way back across the show grounds to the car yet again!)
mcb
This guy creeps me out... (Score:3, Funny)
On the security page [bookofseg.com] he wrote
since the segway ht is used for our commute, we take it in our office and plug in while we're at work. so the segway is safe and secure at all times. other places, we stick to the guidelines above
Since the damn thing is a single seater (so to speak) who is the "we"? He sounds like Gollum to me...I kept expecting him to refer to it as his "precious".
P.S. "month-iversary" doesn't make sense. Each year does he celebrate his wedding "year-iversary"?
Just one question. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd love to see whether the Segway makes people more or less active.
Superior, cheaper alternative to Segway (Score:3, Interesting)
How many people do you know that can admit to getting too much exercise?
how does it handle the elements (Score:3, Interesting)
siri
Your Alternatives. (Score:3, Interesting)
Segway [segway.com]
Range: Appox 15 miles/charge
Speed: 12mph
Cost: $4,950.00 [Amazon.com]
Viento Scooter [zapworld.com]
Range: Appox. 50 miles/charge
Speed: 30mph
Cost: $2,999.99
There are three main advantages the Segway has over our competitor. 1) It's really compact. 2) It's "sexy" 3) You can drive it on sidewalks, however flawed I may find that. Oh, and auto stabilization for those who didn't learn to ride a bike. That's nice until you realize for about $2,000 less you gain speed, range and utility, only sacrificing some size, percieved coolness and the legalities of driving on sidewalks while gaining Speed, range and utility.
And no, I'm not considering the supposed saftey of the Segway, because people can still be idiots whatever they drive. Mixing a maximum 250lbs at 12mph on a sidewalk full of pedestrians is a BAD idea. But hey, the Segway is still cool. (I'm sure if you looked hard enough you could find a neato looking scooter too).
Revolutionary? It's not as if alternatives didn't already exist.
Why I pre-ordered one. (Score:5, Interesting)
For about a year, I had an older (mid-70's model) "Tomos" 2-cycle 50cc "scooter". (Similar to this [ebay.com], but older and needed pre-mixed fuel.)
Except during the winter when the wind on my face and hands were a bit too cold, I really preferred to take my trips to work and to the grocery store on my scooter. I liked the open-air feeling of gliding on the scooter, and also felt better about not lugging a 3000 lb. car just to carry myself. I was getting about 50 miles to a gallon of fuel + a cup of oil.
One thing that I didn't like about the scooter was having to drive on the street (along the side, like a bicycle) while cars whizzed by me at 45+ mph. On the uphill stretches going home at night, that got scary sometimes. (My uphill speed was about 15-18 mph; flats around 25; and downhill around 32 mph.)
I also didn't like having to worry about the bike's chain maintenance (needed frequent cleaning), and the fact that it was a 2-stroke polluter (today's 4-stroke mopeds should be pretty good in comparison).
When an axel bearing crunched away I couldn't find a convenient place to fix it, I gave it up.
Since then, I've been thinking about buying another, more modern moped. But I just sorta never did. I toyed with the idea of getting a real motorcycle, and got my class-M permit; but I really didn't want a bike because I would have to be IN traffic, and I prefer not to be in between two cars (or SUV's as is likely to happen around here).
When the Segway was first revealed, I thought "neat, cool gadget". But I dismissed buying it for myself.
But, I've been missing that open-air gliding feeling for some time now. The Segway would allow me to get that feeling back (though at 12 mphs, it's a bit slower than I would have liked compared to when I used to pull 20-30). And, since I can used it on sidewalks, I would feel much safer. Since the sidewalks around here (L.A. suburb) are pretty much open, I think I can safely travel at the top speed for most of my travel.
The only concern I have now is the TCO. While a "full charge" is 11 to 17 miles of range, and costs about $0.10, that translates favorably to my car which gives about 20 miles to the gallon at $1.70. But the batteries are rated only for 300-500 full-charge cycles, or about 3,000 (worst case) to 8000 (best case) miles. The power train is supposed to be a "lifetime" design needing no servicing, so I'm hoping that the supposed 5-(active use)-year lifetime of the Segway holds.
It's not clear how much a battery replacement will cost... But I'm guessing it'll be about $1,000. So that then pushes the cost up to as much as $0.55 per mile. Even if the battery is $2,000, that's favorable compared to my 3,000 lb. car.
I can already tell some of my co-workers will approve, and some of them will scoff and ridicule me. But I used to own a scooter, and I liked it. And I've pre-ordered a Segway, and I expect to like it when it arrives. (Yes, it is a small leap of faith.)
Pro/Con article (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Sounds ideal for campus life. (Score:2)
Re:Sounds ideal for campus life. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:replacement for a car?! (Score:2)
Re:replacement for a car?! (Score:2)
I have a driver's license, but not a car (Score:4, Insightful)
I do have a very nice bicycle though.
Try one. I think you'll find it beats the hell out of a Segway. It's certainly more efficient, not to mention cheaper, faster and with greater range. You can "refuel" it with pizza and Coke as well, which I consider one hell of an advantage.
KFG
Re:replacement for a car?! (Score:2)
Its a worthless toy.
Seriously, these are kinda easy to steal.. (Score:2)
Screw going down to K-Mart in one of these only to have some hick throw it in his truck while I run inside.
Sure, the hick won't be able to do anything with it until hacks come online so you can make your own keys and stuff.. but still, these are worth stealing for novelty value alone.
How can you avoid someone stealing these damn things? Get ready for sky high insurance.