3 ms·

James Dyson Sold Us on a $400 Hair Dryer. Now He's Trying a $499 Toothbrush

25 points by fortran77 1mo ago

fortran77 1mo ago
https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/james-dyson-sold-us-on-a-400-hair-dryer-now-hes-trying-a-499-toothbrush-c2740126?st=SzgS6u&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/james-dyson-sold-us-on-a-400-h...
m463 1mo ago
It's a good hairdryer, and cheaper at costco. And I know people who have sprung for those detect laser vacuums and they all seem to love them. EDIT: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525964 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525964
- nancyminusone 1mo ago
  I fished a dyson vacuum out of the trash some time ago. It works good, but I probably wouldn't buy a new one
qwerpy 1mo ago
Needs special toothpaste and rinse, both of which Dyson will conveniently sell you. Don’t know if it’s actually good or not, but it seems everyone wants in on the subscription model.
ElijahLynn 1mo ago
The 10m interview (video) embedded on the article was a great watch (no toothbrush mentioned). https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/how-dysons-founder-picks-what-to-invent-next/ED1EC696-1827-4837-8F07-92A1B41230DC https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/how-dyson... I found it educational on product development (as a new startup founder/product developer myself).
mandeepj 1mo ago
But, he failed to sell us their electric car, which honestly looked great.
dysonophobic12 1mo ago
After buying one of the first bag-less vacuums (animal ball?) I am staying away from anything that man touches. Interesting technology (at least the vacuum, hair dryer less so), but anti-ergonomic and plastic crap that breaks easily.
traceroute66 1mo ago
Not a fan of Mr Dyson politically or "inventor" wise. Politically he was a loud backer of Brexit and then disappeared off to Singapore when it actually happened – he moved back two years later, perhaps having seen the bad PR but that's irrelevant. "Inventor" wise its always the old story of over-engineered stuff of questionable practical quality. For example his "strawberries" are grown by some hyped-up heavily roboticised methodology, but they taste like crap compared to properly grown strawberries, and they are not much better than your average supermarket strawberry either – I did a comprehensive double-blind taste test with some friends. Meanwhile Dyson sells them at a vast markup. He should have stopped at the vacuum cleaner, really. Preferably before then.
- glitchcrab 1mo ago
  Could not agree more on the political side of things. I don't buy Dyson products on principle.
add-sub-mul-div 1mo ago
The only Dyson product I've used is the hand dryer in public bathrooms. I don't know if part of its purpose is to sell people on the brand, but it has the opposite effect on me because I hate using them. Regular old hand dryers work much better.
- Symbiote 1mo ago
  Yeah. I associate Dyson with having my face sprayed with a mist of other people's dirty water while my ears suffer a blast like a jet engine. Generally I wipe my hands on my clothes or shake them around instead.
TitaRusell 1mo ago
The oralb Io is 300 euro.
pretendgeneer 1mo ago
At the repair cafe I volunteer at. Dyson vacuums are the only items I've had to hand back without being able to open up fully to find the problem. I like our Dyson vacuum but now knowing what to expect when it needs fixing. Not a chance I'd buy a dyson anything again.
- nomel 1mo ago
  I bought had one Dyson vacuum, and it was the last. There was no way to access clogs in the main internal bend. It was very clear nobody involved had kids. Companies used to tout that products were "mother approved" for good reason, but I suppose suggesting something adjacent to that would be difficult in modern company, and could probably not be advertised easily.
magixx 1mo ago
RANVOO came out with a similar concept tooth brush a couple of years ago where it kinda looks like it just shoots water though the middle of the brush head. The Dyson one definitely seems to use more tech but probably does a similar thing. I don't know where or not either of them improve brushing by a significant amount but if these companies want to spend their money on research then why not?
- psyclobe 1mo ago
  Love mine battery lasts for days too
ChrisArchitect 1mo ago
Some more discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49527879 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49527879
fdgwhite 1mo ago
I bought my wife the hairdryer (with some trepidation over the price). It has improved MY life because it is so much quieter. I hate the shrieking noise of typical hairdryer

25 points by fortran77 1mo ago

https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/james-dyson-sold-us-on-a-400-hair-dryer-now-hes-trying-a-499-toothbrush-c2740126?st=SzgS6u&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink https://www.wsj.com/cmo-today/james-dyson-sold-us-on-a-400-h...

m463 1mo ago

It's a good hairdryer, and cheaper at costco. And I know people who have sprung for those detect laser vacuums and they all seem to love them. EDIT: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525964 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49525964

nancyminusone 1mo ago
I fished a dyson vacuum out of the trash some time ago. It works good, but I probably wouldn't buy a new one

qwerpy 1mo ago

Needs special toothpaste and rinse, both of which Dyson will conveniently sell you. Don’t know if it’s actually good or not, but it seems everyone wants in on the subscription model.

ElijahLynn 1mo ago

The 10m interview (video) embedded on the article was a great watch (no toothbrush mentioned). https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/how-dysons-founder-picks-what-to-invent-next/ED1EC696-1827-4837-8F07-92A1B41230DC https://www.wsj.com/video/series/in-depth-features/how-dyson... I found it educational on product development (as a new startup founder/product developer myself).

mandeepj 1mo ago

But, he failed to sell us their electric car, which honestly looked great.

dysonophobic12 1mo ago

After buying one of the first bag-less vacuums (animal ball?) I am staying away from anything that man touches. Interesting technology (at least the vacuum, hair dryer less so), but anti-ergonomic and plastic crap that breaks easily.

traceroute66 1mo ago

Not a fan of Mr Dyson politically or "inventor" wise. Politically he was a loud backer of Brexit and then disappeared off to Singapore when it actually happened – he moved back two years later, perhaps having seen the bad PR but that's irrelevant. "Inventor" wise its always the old story of over-engineered stuff of questionable practical quality. For example his "strawberries" are grown by some hyped-up heavily roboticised methodology, but they taste like crap compared to properly grown strawberries, and they are not much better than your average supermarket strawberry either – I did a comprehensive double-blind taste test with some friends. Meanwhile Dyson sells them at a vast markup. He should have stopped at the vacuum cleaner, really. Preferably before then.

glitchcrab 1mo ago
Could not agree more on the political side of things. I don't buy Dyson products on principle.

add-sub-mul-div 1mo ago

The only Dyson product I've used is the hand dryer in public bathrooms. I don't know if part of its purpose is to sell people on the brand, but it has the opposite effect on me because I hate using them. Regular old hand dryers work much better.

Symbiote 1mo ago
Yeah. I associate Dyson with having my face sprayed with a mist of other people's dirty water while my ears suffer a blast like a jet engine. Generally I wipe my hands on my clothes or shake them around instead.

TitaRusell 1mo ago

The oralb Io is 300 euro.

pretendgeneer 1mo ago

At the repair cafe I volunteer at. Dyson vacuums are the only items I've had to hand back without being able to open up fully to find the problem. I like our Dyson vacuum but now knowing what to expect when it needs fixing. Not a chance I'd buy a dyson anything again.

nomel 1mo ago
I bought had one Dyson vacuum, and it was the last. There was no way to access clogs in the main internal bend. It was very clear nobody involved had kids. Companies used to tout that products were "mother approved" for good reason, but I suppose suggesting something adjacent to that would be difficult in modern company, and could probably not be advertised easily.

magixx 1mo ago

RANVOO came out with a similar concept tooth brush a couple of years ago where it kinda looks like it just shoots water though the middle of the brush head. The Dyson one definitely seems to use more tech but probably does a similar thing. I don't know where or not either of them improve brushing by a significant amount but if these companies want to spend their money on research then why not?

psyclobe 1mo ago
Love mine battery lasts for days too

ChrisArchitect 1mo ago

Some more discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49527879 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49527879

fdgwhite 1mo ago

I bought my wife the hairdryer (with some trepidation over the price). It has improved MY life because it is so much quieter. I hate the shrieking noise of typical hairdryer