I don't want to sound cocky, but I could have saved Dean a lot of grief and time if I had the chance before he launched the segway. The reason the segway failed is because people look like fucking dorks when they ride them. I'm surprised Jobs didn't make that remark (maybe thats what he meant when he was criticizing the design).
When they revealed it on the Today show they had people riding around on them with bike helmets, sweater vests, and bowties. I've ridden one, mind you, and it is an incredible machine.. but I wouldn't be caught dead riding one of those things in public. There's a reason Jobe rides one in Arrested Development.
For all Dean's smarts, it was his inability to connect with the every day person that caused the flop. Never underestimate the power of cool.
I've never ridden a Segway (although I certainly would like to) but having owned motorcycles for over 15 years (mostly sport bikes), I'm having a hard time understanding this analogy.
To be fair - I've used a similar analogy for a modern sportbike. "It's like running really fast" - most modern sportbikes are so compact that they aren't anywhere in your field of vision.
The reason the segway failed is because people look like fucking dorks when they ride them.
Congratulations, you just killed the bicycle!
It's more than just looking like a dork... it's the image of laziness that you get from riding a Segway. The thing is useless for travelling anywhere you couldn't otherwise walk. It's fine in limited situations where one would have to walk a beat all day, or travel around a large factory floor, but most of us will never have to do that.
Awesome to read a detailed account of instant-on insight and tough questions from two giants. Steve's intolerance of business as usual is particularly inspiring.
"You have a product so revolutionary, you'll have no problem selling it. The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it?"
That's Segway's problem right there. Just because something is revolutionary, doesn't mean it will sell. These business giants made the exact same mistake we all make - assume other people will get as excited as we are.
They didn't miss the obvious. I think in your quote they're talking about legal obstacles to widespread adoption.
Then the next paragraph, Jobs and Bezos make your point:
Jobs said he lived seven minutes from a grocery and wasn't sure he would use Ginger to get there. Bezos agreed.
It should have been written "'Too lazy to walk, ya fuckin' homo?'"
Although I'm not entirely sure of his conclusion that bike-like styling would be a solution to this problem. Plenty of us get the occasional homophobic insults from jagoff motorists.
On that topic, I think another reason the Segway wasn't very successful is that it has few compelling advantages over a $300 bike-- it has the same speed, has a lower range and is harder to refuel, doesn't fit in that well with existing infrastructure, and doesn't get you exercise. The only upside I can think of is that, because you aren't exercising, you don't sweat (slow down riding your bike or take a shower!) and that it's high-tech.
It's easy: any code can easily be reverse- or re-engineered.
In a world where people crack encryption schemes or write open-source drivers for hardware without any documentation or specifications to speak of -- for fun, mind you -- it's the height of either arrogance or ignorance to assume that something won't be re-created just because it's hard.
I read it back in 2003 I believe, just after I got into Macs and got really interested in studying about Steve Jobs. It was an entertaining read for sure. Nothing spectacular but this particular chapter is the one that stands out to me after all these years.
I found this illuminating. Are there any other accounts of Jobs in action? He's very direct here, and to-the-point, and just so sure of what's right, and what's not.
The problem with the Segway is that it is too slow for a motorised vehicle. Even though it moves a lot faster than walking, I bet it feels really slow because you're not doing anything else while riding it. If I'm not exerting physical effort to move, I want the damn thing to move fast. Unlike with a bicycle or car, there is no link between what you are doing and your speed.
Maybe they should add some kind of stepper thing which speeds up the thing. So, old people can just cruise at the base speed and others can step up the speed.
The book, "Code Name Ginger" is actually great. It's a complete 180 from the Steve Blank model of Customer Development and is a good reminder of how great teams can create the biggest craters.
When they revealed it on the Today show they had people riding around on them with bike helmets, sweater vests, and bowties. I've ridden one, mind you, and it is an incredible machine.. but I wouldn't be caught dead riding one of those things in public. There's a reason Jobe rides one in Arrested Development.
For all Dean's smarts, it was his inability to connect with the every day person that caused the flop. Never underestimate the power of cool.