The Segway was developed in New Hampshire, and is apparently well suited to myriad environments, including the slushy snowy streets of the northeast.

The Segway is the next CB radio and will be either ignored by the market or the bane on pedestrians for the next few years.

Well I think their vision of Segway being used by lots will never be a reality, well not for a while. $5,000.00 US is just to much money to chuck into a little stand-up scooter. I don't even think doctors would pay that kind of money for one.

I'm sure in the next 5 years a cheaper alternative will come out and strive the middle class society.

I agree, those are quite expensive. But still, some highly paid technology people might want em. Say you work in a large building, and have to go to a meeting in an office 100 metres away. Hop onto your Segway and ride on down. If it catches on they'll have to build little Segway parking lots outside the board rooms :)

In 1986, I saw pilots getting around the Amsterdam airport standing up on moving platforms a foot by two feet with handlebar controls. People clearly felt had to dodge out of the way and the incresaed elevation of their heads gave a false appearance of importance to the person on the conveyance. Why a Segway when you can use a bike?

Man, I can't wait for these things to arrive. If they were a couple thousand cheaper... I think the potential use for this kind of transportation is a lot greater than as an expensive bike or scooter substution. I'm thinking anyplace that is a kind of community already... campuses, hospitals, industrial parks, factories, golf courses-- these places will integrate this kind of technology more quickly, effectively and profitabley than, say, dr. bob on his way from the summer house to the train station. I think there's also an underestimation of how far along some communities (California for example) are in their emissions standards-- and it's only going to become more of a factor. I can see entire city cores closing down to automobile traffic, and solutions are being sought. Count me in, baby! This is as close as I'll get to my flying car.

You may as well wait for the City cores to be closed to all but skateboarders...

I think this could really catch on in Europe. In Canada we still usually travel such long distances, even from our house to work, that a Segway isn't feasible. On the other hand, in somewhere like Rome, scooters are hugely popular. There are literally thousands of scooters parked in the downtown core and everyone from students to business people commute via scooters. Scooters are more expensive, louder, and take up more room than Segways. They're alread cutting down on gas scooters (electric scooters are allowed) in cities like Florence's downtown because of the noise and pollution. A segway is quiet, small, and cheaper.

I agree with Nick here. In addition to distance, climate is a bit factor too. Apparently the Segway performs well on snow and ice (as demonstrated in this impressive video). However, that does keep me from freezing my ass off on my ten-minute scoot (?) to work when it's -10 degrees in February.

On most days, I travel less than five miles. The drive to work and back makes up 90% of my driving. I hate that I have to own a car. I would absolutely own a scooter if it were drivable all-year-round. The trouble is, if I need a car for a few months a year (winter), then I need a car. Once I own it a car, I'm not going to park it in the garage all summer and buy a scooter too.

Then again Nick, you could always just cycle around Amsterdam like a granny.

On a bit of a tangent, I followed Rob's link to the website for the city (town?) of Sackville, New Brunswick, where he's getting all learned-up.

Sackville is a lovely little place that I've been through several times - both intentionally and otherwise. However, I found their slogan, "Where you belong" to be somewhat creepy.

It's creepy, but ineffective. After 4-5 years, graduates grab their dimplomas and run, and spend years saying stuff like "Wow. We have a Futureshop... in town? And it's open on Sunday?!".

I feel Segway lost their 15 minutes. If they were ready to sell when it initially came out —to the public— they could have sold a ton. But now, I feel they've lost their momentum with the Avg Joe. $5k for a Scooter? The wow factor has evaporated for people to be impetuous. They've now had time to get over it.

Don't get me wrong, they're still a cool thing, and I think it'll find buyers in corporate and industrial settings, Post Office, Police, perhaps. I saw it used during 4th of July festivities in Boston this year. The EMTs riding them probably spent more time with by-standers gawking then helping the heat-stricken (and it was F'n hot, for reference). But the public, in North America, in this economy at that price. Their time has past.

Clearly, the market will determine the price of these things...once a competitor (patents?) emerges and/or demand surges, they will become more affordable.

Just think of all the no-longer-expensive gadgets that used to be outrageously priced: DVD players, digital cameras, Apple Powerbooks (wait...)

My real concern isn't the price or relevance; only time will tell. Instead I'm thinking of the obesity epidemic in the industrialized West - as if we need one less way for people to avoid exercise...

Nathan, I think these babys have a 250 pound weight limit. No doubt it was designed that way in case people used the segway and gained weight due to lack of exersize.

What's the word on the inevitable lawsuits that will stem from these when some jackass does something stupid (tries to 'walk on water', etc.) and gets hurt? Will there be some binding waiver you have to sign, effectively saying you take full responsibilities for whatever you do, and you've read the instructions?

There will certainly be some accidents involving these (probably mostly between pedestrians and segways). The company will have a hard enough time selling these without the story of 'innocent pedestrian struck; injured' headlines ripping through consumer reports.

In short, what are the liability aspects of the segways?

i have a question to nick, who thinks that they are great for a city like rome.
would you like to get around rome with a weird segway, doing about 5 km per hour? i rather use a really cool scooter, which costs about one fifth of the price and has the ability to do over 90mp/h?