n/a
11-24-2002, 11:10 AM
Brooster posted this in the ibot thread:
quote:Originally posted by Brooster
quote:
The way things seem to be going with Segway, ibots may sell better than Segways. Hardly anybody would say that a $5000 Segway would have a significant impact on their lives, but they could legitimately claim that with the ibot.
I personally feel that you're a bit premature with that comment Lawrence, but we'll see what happens. I've been meaning to ask you ... if the i-Series Segway was to be made available in Norway for the same price, and you had an opportunity to be one of the first to have one, would you do it?
Lawrence, you've always been one of the biggest supporters of Dean Kamen and his vision. I'm a bit surprised at your comments. Please explain.
Thanks. Broo
Brooster
Brooster,I still admire Kamen and his visions and hope those visions can be realized but that doesnt mean I dont question some of the decisions being made by Deka & co.
Making the first models of Segway available to the public even at $5000 may have been a good idea. I dont know all the arguments for doing so. Telling the public not to expect drop in prices is understandable in the short term. Sales people rarely suggest to customers to wait a week or a month before buying a product because there will be a price reduction on a product or that a cheaper model is in the works. Though I did not see the GMA announcement, from what I have read, Kamen and Bezos may have disappointed a lot of people by telling them not to expect less expensive Segways. Elsewhere Kamen and other have hinted that prices will fall, cheaper models will be produced. Cheaper Segways have to become available if Kamen wants to sell them to the masses, especially to the poorer nations. If it is all the computing power in the Segways that make it so expensive, we know the trend, computers become more powerful and cheaper at an amazing rate. The computer I type on costs about 1/10 of what I paid for it about 4 years ago.
In my view Kamen & Bezos should have made it clear on GMA that the first Segways are relatively expensive and intended for special groups, that prices will drop and that they do plan to come out with less expensive models. By not having done so, I think a lot of potential buyers were disappointed and perhaps dismissed the Segway as a ritch man's toy. If Kamen was telling the truth, that prices are not likely to drop significantly, I think Segway will remain a nich product and wont have the impact Kamen envisioned.
As to the rest of your question: would I be interested in being among the first in Norway to buy a Segway at the current prices, the answer is: yes and no.
Having read and discussed Ginger/Segway/Kamen for almost 2 years I am obviously very interested in the topics and the Segway. Being an admirer of Kamen, his work and his visions I want him to succeed. However, I dont think that the general public, even in the most affluent societies, is going to be willing to pay $5000 for a transportation device that at best will get them to their destination at 3 times (at best) faster than walking. I could see myself being an ambassadorfor Segway and be among the first in Norway buy a Segway at its current price if I there was sufficient evidence that in the not to distant future, prices would fall, and I was convinced that Segway could become a solution to congestion and pollution problems. I could then justify to myself and others for spending the money. But the justification would be based on idealism, ie., that I saw myself as an ambassador for a product that I believed could have significant social impacts. The justification would not be that Segway makes me more productive and saves me money or that I couldnt resist buyin one because it is so much fun.
BTW I do think it would be a good idea for Segway LLC to recruit and nurture ambassadors for Segway and the vision behind it. Apple has had a cult like following. I dont really know how much that has meant for Mac's survival. When the Mac came out, I was a big Mac enthusiast and was instrumental in starting a number of Macintosh user groups in Norway. Eventually I even got a job in a firm that was to develop and sell pedagogical programs. I very quickly became disillusioned with the cynical "business" approach.
I think Segway may need some idealistic enthusiasts, I call them ambassadors here, to promote the Segways, especially if they cant get prices down to a level where people will want to buy them primarily because they consider them to be economically justifyable productivity tools and/or must-have recreational vehicles.
I wonder how many of u would be willing to be ambassadors for Segway?
quote:Originally posted by Brooster
quote:
The way things seem to be going with Segway, ibots may sell better than Segways. Hardly anybody would say that a $5000 Segway would have a significant impact on their lives, but they could legitimately claim that with the ibot.
I personally feel that you're a bit premature with that comment Lawrence, but we'll see what happens. I've been meaning to ask you ... if the i-Series Segway was to be made available in Norway for the same price, and you had an opportunity to be one of the first to have one, would you do it?
Lawrence, you've always been one of the biggest supporters of Dean Kamen and his vision. I'm a bit surprised at your comments. Please explain.
Thanks. Broo
Brooster
Brooster,I still admire Kamen and his visions and hope those visions can be realized but that doesnt mean I dont question some of the decisions being made by Deka & co.
Making the first models of Segway available to the public even at $5000 may have been a good idea. I dont know all the arguments for doing so. Telling the public not to expect drop in prices is understandable in the short term. Sales people rarely suggest to customers to wait a week or a month before buying a product because there will be a price reduction on a product or that a cheaper model is in the works. Though I did not see the GMA announcement, from what I have read, Kamen and Bezos may have disappointed a lot of people by telling them not to expect less expensive Segways. Elsewhere Kamen and other have hinted that prices will fall, cheaper models will be produced. Cheaper Segways have to become available if Kamen wants to sell them to the masses, especially to the poorer nations. If it is all the computing power in the Segways that make it so expensive, we know the trend, computers become more powerful and cheaper at an amazing rate. The computer I type on costs about 1/10 of what I paid for it about 4 years ago.
In my view Kamen & Bezos should have made it clear on GMA that the first Segways are relatively expensive and intended for special groups, that prices will drop and that they do plan to come out with less expensive models. By not having done so, I think a lot of potential buyers were disappointed and perhaps dismissed the Segway as a ritch man's toy. If Kamen was telling the truth, that prices are not likely to drop significantly, I think Segway will remain a nich product and wont have the impact Kamen envisioned.
As to the rest of your question: would I be interested in being among the first in Norway to buy a Segway at the current prices, the answer is: yes and no.
Having read and discussed Ginger/Segway/Kamen for almost 2 years I am obviously very interested in the topics and the Segway. Being an admirer of Kamen, his work and his visions I want him to succeed. However, I dont think that the general public, even in the most affluent societies, is going to be willing to pay $5000 for a transportation device that at best will get them to their destination at 3 times (at best) faster than walking. I could see myself being an ambassadorfor Segway and be among the first in Norway buy a Segway at its current price if I there was sufficient evidence that in the not to distant future, prices would fall, and I was convinced that Segway could become a solution to congestion and pollution problems. I could then justify to myself and others for spending the money. But the justification would be based on idealism, ie., that I saw myself as an ambassador for a product that I believed could have significant social impacts. The justification would not be that Segway makes me more productive and saves me money or that I couldnt resist buyin one because it is so much fun.
BTW I do think it would be a good idea for Segway LLC to recruit and nurture ambassadors for Segway and the vision behind it. Apple has had a cult like following. I dont really know how much that has meant for Mac's survival. When the Mac came out, I was a big Mac enthusiast and was instrumental in starting a number of Macintosh user groups in Norway. Eventually I even got a job in a firm that was to develop and sell pedagogical programs. I very quickly became disillusioned with the cynical "business" approach.
I think Segway may need some idealistic enthusiasts, I call them ambassadors here, to promote the Segways, especially if they cant get prices down to a level where people will want to buy them primarily because they consider them to be economically justifyable productivity tools and/or must-have recreational vehicles.
I wonder how many of u would be willing to be ambassadors for Segway?