Segway Gives an Easy Ride, But It's the Best on Sidewalks

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
> Subject: Segway Gives an Easy Ride, But It's the Best on Sidewalks
> Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 18:05:03 -0700
> MIME-Version: 1.0
>
> April 10, 2003
>
> Segway Gives an Easy Ride, But It's the Best on Sidewalks
>
> By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
>
> I took a drive the other day through downtown Washington, D.C. I
> started at Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House,
> and made my way up busy Connecticut Avenue to DuPont Circle. I
> continued down several streets to The Wall Street Journal's
> Washington bureau. I drove right through the lobby and into an
> elevator. Emerging on an upper floor, I sailed straight into the
> newsroom, maneuvering around cubicles and other obstacles.
>
> All along the way, people smiled and pointed and shouted
> encouragement and questions. Many asked for rides on the unusual
> vehicle I was driving, the new Segway Human Transporter -- an
> electrically powered, two-wheel, self-balancing superscooter that is
> to the sidewalk what a Lexus is to the road.
>
> The Segway has been the subject of more hype and speculation than any
> other recent technology product. Starting well before it was ready
> for production, when it was code-named Ginger, it prompted wild
> stories claiming it would change the world.
>
> Its specs are impressive. The Segway can go up to 12.5 miles an hour
> and travel 10 to 15 miles on a single charge of its batteries, which
> can be recharged overnight via a standard electrical outlet.
> Controlling the thing involves little more than leaning forward
> slightly to move forward, and leaning backward to back up. It's so
> easy to balance you can stand in one spot without effort, and turn
> 360 degrees in place by just twisting the handgrip.
>
> But how does it work in real life? Is it worth the $4,950 price? To
> find out, we conducted an extended hands-on review. For the past
> couple of weeks, my assistant, Katie Boehret, and I have put miles on
> a production-model Segway lent to us by Segway LLC, the Manchester,
> N.H., company founded by Dean Kamen, the scooter's inventor. We rode
> it on city sidewalks, and through parks and public plazas. We glided
> through hotel lobbies and shops, and tooled around suburban
> subdivisions, parking lots and shopping centers. We rode in the rain
> and even in a light snowfall, at day and at night. And we gave
> test-rides to neighbors, co-workers and strangers on the street.
>
> ...
>
> <http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20030410.html>

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