SegwayChat - View Single Post - Developing the Segway into the next decennium

mryang · 04-11-2015, 01:51 AM

As many of you has noticed I'm an idealist. As naive as they come I assume the best of people until proven otherwise. I rarely lock my car. I rarely lock my apartment. I never check my bills. I sleep in my car in the winter. I worked for free 6 months as a digital designer even though I know I can get a top-salary job mostly anywhere. WHY? Because I believe in a free world - Free from greed. Free from wars. Free from egocentric thinking that only profits a close group of people but instead benefits the larger population. But it is possible to cross-think this and gain some monetary profit too, but here we are with a product that just kills itself with protectionistic thinking on steroids.

I love my Segway and think that an eco-driven, non-polluting transportation system should be the leading norm of the world. Here the Segway has a natural place, but yet - is terribly limited by its own design that defeats its world changing goals.

OPEN SOURCE means it is an open software design, but the MEANING is larger than that - It means an invitation for a larger community to be involved and develop whatever suits them best, like Arduino - To join the forces of millions of brains that far out-competes the single brains of an office - Just like Apple Appstore and the open design of it (which in my eyes is a GREAT example of the uncountably variations you can do with an iphone and still make it profitable - EXTREMELY PROFITABLE).

But of course, Segway Inc. could never be that because it is heavily investors based, that frankly wants their money back. That train is already gone, so they need to rethink this completely.

Now, where do we stand? 14 years has passed and a total sales worldwide yet to reach 100.000 - And that sales is represented mostly by TOUR companies, where people basically try the Segway while pretending to discover some city.

Believe it or not I have the recipe for worldwide Segway success.

1. Redesign the battery compartments to allow for a diverse sizes and capacities of batteries.

2. Make an open source software platform.

3. Sell a base unit with this design without batteries, wheels, steering for $999. This is their primary profitable product. By brand, they can also sell a wide range of accessories in the same way Apple sell millions if not billions worth of accessories, even though competitiors sell similar for much much less. When Segway sales reach the millions, they have plenty of margin to experiment with new accessories as the market matures.

Imagine the sheer possibility of the Segway base:

- Moving tables that can carry 150kg
- Mobile platforms for industrial, commercial, private purposes
- Robotics, remote controlled units for automation and / or private use
- etc. etc...

4. SALES would increase ten-fold and profits surpass MILLIONS, every year.

Someone will say why I just don't go and build my own Segway. Why not build my own arduino. Why not build my own Tesla. Because some people already made the Segway great. They just intentionally protected themselves by limiting hardware design, limiting software design, and limiting corporate greed-thinking. This is so sad!

My rant is over. And yes, there are of course many things to it. But that is only excuses to the real problem. Segway is self dying. They need someone like Elon Musk to take over, resuscitate and RECHARGE this company!

See you around

OT:
I recently got a red charging light on my Segway battery. Segway told me it was dead. Segway told me to buy a new battery for +$1000. Their superior built in, on-board charger, developed for 100 million USD sensed that the battery was too risky to charge. I bought my own charger for $73 including shipping from Hong Kong that saved the battery. Segway now defeated by a 73 dollar power supply.

04-11-2015, 01:51 AM	#85
mryang Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sweden Posts: 31	As many of you has noticed I'm an idealist. As naive as they come I assume the best of people until proven otherwise. I rarely lock my car. I rarely lock my apartment. I never check my bills. I sleep in my car in the winter. I worked for free 6 months as a digital designer even though I know I can get a top-salary job mostly anywhere. WHY? Because I believe in a free world - Free from greed. Free from wars. Free from egocentric thinking that only profits a close group of people but instead benefits the larger population. But it is possible to cross-think this and gain some monetary profit too, but here we are with a product that just kills itself with protectionistic thinking on steroids. I love my Segway and think that an eco-driven, non-polluting transportation system should be the leading norm of the world. Here the Segway has a natural place, but yet - is terribly limited by its own design that defeats its world changing goals. OPEN SOURCE means it is an open software design, but the MEANING is larger than that - It means an invitation for a larger community to be involved and develop whatever suits them best, like Arduino - To join the forces of millions of brains that far out-competes the single brains of an office - Just like Apple Appstore and the open design of it (which in my eyes is a GREAT example of the uncountably variations you can do with an iphone and still make it profitable - EXTREMELY PROFITABLE). But of course, Segway Inc. could never be that because it is heavily investors based, that frankly wants their money back. That train is already gone, so they need to rethink this completely. Now, where do we stand? 14 years has passed and a total sales worldwide yet to reach 100.000 - And that sales is represented mostly by TOUR companies, where people basically try the Segway while pretending to discover some city. Believe it or not I have the recipe for worldwide Segway success. 1. Redesign the battery compartments to allow for a diverse sizes and capacities of batteries. 2. Make an open source software platform. 3. Sell a base unit with this design without batteries, wheels, steering for $999. This is their primary profitable product. By brand, they can also sell a wide range of accessories in the same way Apple sell millions if not billions worth of accessories, even though competitiors sell similar for much much less. When Segway sales reach the millions, they have plenty of margin to experiment with new accessories as the market matures. Imagine the sheer possibility of the Segway base: - Moving tables that can carry 150kg - Mobile platforms for industrial, commercial, private purposes - Robotics, remote controlled units for automation and / or private use - etc. etc... 4. SALES would increase ten-fold and profits surpass MILLIONS, every year. Someone will say why I just don't go and build my own Segway. Why not build my own arduino. Why not build my own Tesla. Because some people already made the Segway great. They just intentionally protected themselves by limiting hardware design, limiting software design, and limiting corporate greed-thinking. This is so sad! My rant is over. And yes, there are of course many things to it. But that is only excuses to the real problem. Segway is self dying. They need someone like Elon Musk to take over, resuscitate and RECHARGE this company! See you around OT: I recently got a red charging light on my Segway battery. Segway told me it was dead. Segway told me to buy a new battery for +$1000. Their superior built in, on-board charger, developed for 100 million USD sensed that the battery was too risky to charge. I bought my own charger for $73 including shipping from Hong Kong that saved the battery. Segway now defeated by a 73 dollar power supply.