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.
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.