Word: segways
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Segway this week will roll out a slickly upgraded $4,995 PT, which it hopes will revitalize consumer interest. The new model is, predictably, a feat of engineering. It comes with a souped-up wireless key, which doubles as an alarm and display module. But the real breakthrough is the ride. If the first Segway felt intuitive-lean forward to go forward, lean back to stop and reverse, twist your wrist to turn-the latest models (the i2 and off-road x2) respond like they're controlled by mere thought. The secret is in its new control shaft, which...
...Still, it isn't clear that such wizardry will-or can-do anything to change the firm's fortunes. The early adopters have already snapped up their Segways. Now the company has to convince everybody else that they need this thing. To help give people a feel for the machine, Segway has established a network of 102 independent dealerships operating in 116 locations across the country, many of which try to gin up business by running Segway-powered sightseeing tours. David Floyd, a dealer in Estes Park, Col., says about one tourist in 30 returns to buy a PT from...
...Segway's executives are aware that novel technologies rarely establish themselves first in consumer markets. "It's a chicken or egg problem," says Klee Kleber, vice president of marketing. "People won't buy it until their peers do, and their peers won't buy one until they buy it." Marketers call this treacherous patch of a new product's path to the mass market "the chasm." Companies typically cross it by getting a foothold in a commercial market until consumers grow accustomed to the technology. The pager, for instance, was used mainly by doctors before everybody else caught...
...Segway has identified the commercial security and police markets as its chasm-crossers. Today more than 150 law enforcement agencies globally are using Segways to boost the range, visibility and visual field of their beat cops. The Chicago Police Department, for instance, has 38 Segways, which cops use to patrol the airports and large public events. It will soon buy 20 more. "It's a low-key force multiplier," says Jonathan Lusher, senior V.P. at the mall security firm IPC International, which owns scores of Segways. "It allows us to have our officers in more places in less time...
...accounts, Segway's commercial sales are picking up fast. But is this business sustainable? Curtis Carlson, ceo of SRI International, an innovation consultancy and research institute, has his doubts. Segways, he notes, are competing with established products, like electric golf carts, and stealing only a share of their market. Price is a problem, too. "Value is benefits per dollar," says Carlson. "For a lot of the world, a small lightweight bike is a good alternative to a $5,000 Segway...