More bad news for that quirky gadget known as the "Segway Personal Transporter". You know- that two wheeled oddity of a scooter that many remember best from that infamous clip when George W. Bush fell off the thing. For the second time in 3 years, the device has been recalled. Today’s New Hampshire Union Leader reports
Segway Inc. is recalling all 23,500 of the self-balancing scooters it has shipped to date because of a software glitch that can make its wheels unexpectedly reverse direction, causing riders to fall off — and in at least one incident, break some teeth. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, with whom Segway is cooperating on the voluntary recall announced yesterday, said consumers should stop using the vehicles immediately.
As I read the story, my question, as it has been since the debut of the Segway, is what "consumers" use this thing in the first place? While my fellow ‘Grokster Skip thinks that they’re "neat", I still believe it’s a product in search of an actual use.
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Click the link below to read what I wrote last year in my weekly newspaper column about this native NH "vehicle."
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From the August 11th, 2005 "Exercising the First" column in the Laconia Daily Sun:
The headline seemed to say it all: “Police: Thieves Apparently Couldn’t Sell Stolen Segways”. The AP story reported,
“The thieves who wheeled 10 Segway scooters from a truck dealership in April apparently couldn’t figure out how to sell their loot, police said. Police found the motorized scooters last week stowed in a Manchester garage collecting dust and in perfect condition.”Hopefully the thieves aren’t being too down on themselves. After all, the manufacturer hasn’t figured out how to sell them either! While appreciating the cool technology the NH product incorporates, I have never figured out anything really worthwhile that would cause a consumer to actually need to own a Segway. I guess I’m not alone…
