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Why Segway Failed To Reshape The World

7 points by jmarbach 16y ago

SamAtt 16y ago
I sincerely doubt any amount of invention would change the fact that it costs $4,000 and essentially does the same thing as a $140 scooter.
- InclinedPlane 16y ago
  It does less than a $140 scooter. A scooter can carry more cargo than a segway, has a greater range, can be refueled at many more locations outside the home, and can be driven on roads.
one010101 16y ago
Price!
ams6110 16y ago
Without having read this or the referenced PG essay beforehand, my thought was that the Segway did not take off because it makes you look like a dork. Similar to a unicycle in that regard. Some people don't care about that; most do and that's the big problem with the device.
InclinedPlane 16y ago
The Segway is a good example of the pepsi challenge / demo vs. reality problem. Just because some product comes across favorably in demos doesn't mean that it won't get mugged by cold, harsh reality. There's a huge gulf between "oh my god that is so awesome and cool" and "here's X months of my discretionary spending budget, I want this". The segway just isn't very practical, regardless of price. Once price is factored in it's a non-starter. It has less speed, range, safety, off-road capability, and cargo capacity as scooters costing 1/10th or less. It can't be used on roads as a scooter or bicycle can. It has roughly the same capabilities as a battery powered skateboard (an incredibly niche vehicle) at an order of magnitude higher price. Consider that for the price of a segway someone could buy an carbon fiber bicycle (for when you want to exercise), a gas powered scooter (for when range / speed are a necessity), and a battery powered skateboard (when you don't want to contribute to traffic / pollution). Sure, the segway is based on really amazing technology, but that's utterly irrelevant to practicality. I a motorcycle with an EFI system written in Erlang is still just a motorcycle, how it's made is beside the point. The fact that the segway could get so far without taking any criticism seriously is a testament to the human abilities in rationalization and group-think.
joshkaufman 16y ago
Great example of the Iron Law of the Market: markets that don't exist don't care how smart you are.

7 points by jmarbach 16y ago

I sincerely doubt any amount of invention would change the fact that it costs $4,000 and essentially does the same thing as a $140 scooter.

InclinedPlane 16y ago
It does less than a $140 scooter. A scooter can carry more cargo than a segway, has a greater range, can be refueled at many more locations outside the home, and can be driven on roads.

one010101 16y ago

Price!

ams6110 16y ago

Without having read this or the referenced PG essay beforehand, my thought was that the Segway did not take off because it makes you look like a dork. Similar to a unicycle in that regard. Some people don't care about that; most do and that's the big problem with the device.

InclinedPlane 16y ago

The Segway is a good example of the pepsi challenge / demo vs. reality problem. Just because some product comes across favorably in demos doesn't mean that it won't get mugged by cold, harsh reality. There's a huge gulf between "oh my god that is so awesome and cool" and "here's X months of my discretionary spending budget, I want this". The segway just isn't very practical, regardless of price. Once price is factored in it's a non-starter. It has less speed, range, safety, off-road capability, and cargo capacity as scooters costing 1/10th or less. It can't be used on roads as a scooter or bicycle can. It has roughly the same capabilities as a battery powered skateboard (an incredibly niche vehicle) at an order of magnitude higher price. Consider that for the price of a segway someone could buy an carbon fiber bicycle (for when you want to exercise), a gas powered scooter (for when range / speed are a necessity), and a battery powered skateboard (when you don't want to contribute to traffic / pollution). Sure, the segway is based on really amazing technology, but that's utterly irrelevant to practicality. I a motorcycle with an EFI system written in Erlang is still just a motorcycle, how it's made is beside the point. The fact that the segway could get so far without taking any criticism seriously is a testament to the human abilities in rationalization and group-think.

joshkaufman 16y ago

Great example of the Iron Law of the Market: markets that don't exist don't care how smart you are.