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In terms of brand image, Segway has a lot of room for improvement. Sure, it is cool technology, and it can make trekking around a tourist trap like Washington DC a bit easier on the feet... but the fact that almost everyone riding one (or is it driving... or steering... or whatever...) is also wearing a fanny-pack, huge helmet, and about 45 pounds of extra body-fat really doesn't help things.
Segways are Geek-mobiles. (This is reinforced by the naming verbal play a techie might come up with - Segue = Segway. Few people can connect with a name that feels like you have to wink when you say it.) All of this is about to become irrelevant. Or perhaps it already has. The Chinese are helping Segways grow a pair.  Yep. They're now Anti-Terrorist Segways. Here's a quote from The Mail Online about it:
Damn.
Did anyone else see all the testosterone rush out of the story at the word "badminton?" Actually, there was still some left. But it vacated the premesis at the close of the article when this fact is mentioned: The two-wheeled self-balancing machine - powered by an electric motor - allows users to travel as fast as 12.5mph while standing up.How a terrorist might find a way to escape one of these two-wheeled man-hunting machines is beyond me. (The average person can sprint a bit faster than these things can move... and a cyclist can hit about double that without much trouble. Okay, so it isn't beyond me... but it might be beyond a really dumb and out of shape bad guy. No fair pointing out that while terrorists might be able to outrun the vehicle they'll probably lose the footrace to the bullet.) ...Of course I suppose many ridiculed the bike cops when they first came on the scene... and though some are still ridiculed, they're not picked on by everyone anymore... so perhaps this new direction for Segways will tic the meter at least a little towards macho. It's like I always say (starting now) - Everything is cooler when associated with weaponry. New Tagline Suggestion: Segway. Who's Laughing Now? Have a great holiday folks! |
