From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@datamann.com)
Date: Sat Dec 08 2001 - 08:08:22 MST
Emlyn O'regan wrote:
>
> If it lives up to the description in the Time magazine article, I think the
> Segway has got a lot of potential.
>
> A couple of points buried in the article
>
> - It doesn't go fast enough for people to hurt themselves if they crash,
> but it does go faster than walking.
> - It uses very little power, extremely little; its range should be
> excellent.
It's range is 17 miles, at a speed of 8 mph. That is twice the speed of
a fast walk, and not very useful as a commuter vehicle: the average
commute today is over 25 miles and rising. Are you willing to spend a
couple hours every morning and evening standing up on this thing,
exposed to the elements?
I admit that it will likely be useful in a 'park and ride' environment,
as well as in the 'urban village' environment. The only concern I have
is that you can already go that fast on some rollerblades in the same
environments, and get some exercise as well (and blades don't cost $3k).
> - It's not supposed to compete with cars, it's supposed to compete with
> feet. More correctly, it's supposed to fill a niche that isn't currently
> covered, and support cities that are basically giant pedestrian malls
> surrounded by car parks. Reading between the lines, I think you are supposed
> to bring the Segway to the edge of town in your car (or on the train or
> bus), then zoom around the car-free zone.
Outside of roller blades, there are already a number of electric
scooters and bikes on the market, which are all far cheaper than IT, and
have greater range and maximum speeds. The only real market hook is the
gyrostabilization for the tandem wheels, and that adds nothing to the
actual performance of the vehicle, it sucks power. It's a gimmick, an
overpriced toy.
The whole point of his year-long "this is not a PR campaign, it's a
secret" PR campaign is to generate a 'vaporware' lock on the market,
damaging the sales of other electric scooters and bikes, and generating
the hype to seize market share despite the obvious price and performance
problems of the product compared with the competition.
Mike Lorrey
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