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Chinese Ninebot Buys US Rival Segway
An anonymous reader writes Xiaomi-backed startup Ninebot, a Chinese maker of electric-powered personal transportation products, has acquired U.S. rival Segway – the two-wheeler upright scooter which has become a running joke, synonymous with various comedic appearances (such as in U.S. sitcom Arrested Development and the 2009 comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop), and the death of its owner at the hands of an unfortunate Segway-induced cliff fall. However Gao Lufeng, chief executive, still recognizes the potential of the Segway and has bought the U.S. company for an undisclosed amount. Lufeng confirmed that Ninebot had also secured $80mn in funding from Xiaomi and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.
Can we keep bias out of the summaries, please?
It was supposed to change the world, but it didn't.
But, I was in a busy downtown once and saw an older gentleman with only one leg riding on a Segway ... I bet for him, the Segway was no joke.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
If you're obese or out of shape, I guess. For the rest of us, a walking tour is good exercise.
From (the last sentence of) the linked article:
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
He isn't dead, he's just seg-faulted :-)
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Been having fun with a solowheel clone you can get on bangood and aliexpress for about $400 that is just one wheel. Have taken it camping and ran it on gravel, packed dirt, grass etc and it does a pretty good job. Super fun at campsites particularly. Even last summer in BC I used it to haul stuff to and from the car to the beach. It's infinitely more useful than a Segway since it only weighs like 21 pounds. I used to ride it through downtown on my way to work but haven't felt like it lately since it attracts so much attention, where people stop you to ask all the questions like how fast does it go (12km/h), how far does it go (10km), how much did it cost etc.
Here's a video of when I first started learning it. I'm much more comfortable on it now, I can even pull my 2 kids in a wagon while riding it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I never really understand the comments, particularly on a tech site like this, such as 'why don't you just walk you lazy'... For one thing walking isn't that great of exercise anyway if you are in any kind of shape (ie. not round). Secondly, this thing is twice as fast as walking and effectively doubles your range of parking options etc, and it's actually fun.
-Xoltri
The Segway was framed.
Perhaps, but I'm getting older and walking becomes ever more uncomfortable as my feet and legs get older. The warranty is expiring on everything and the parts just don't like the pounding. I should probably be a good boy and just "man up" and accept the discomfort for health reasons, but why have modern conveniences if you can't use them?
Discipline Smischipline! And git your Segway off my lawn!
Table-ized A.I.
The multi-millionaire owner of the company that makes Segway motorised scooters has died in a freak accident while riding one of his vehicles.
Jimi Heselden, 62, was found dead in a river after plunging 80 feet over a limestone cliff near his home.
He was riding a rugged country version of the two-wheeled Segway when tragedy struck.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1315518/Segway-tycoon-Jimi-Heselden-dies-cliff-plunge-scooters.html
If only there were a two-wheeled vehicle where your legs moved. They could even be used to *power* the device.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Maybe the upshot to the purchase is that the Segway might now be priced in an affordable range. I'll take a Segway for 75% off, please.
If you have places that are spread out over a city, you'll get between them much faster on a bus or in a taxi. Segways are not particularly fast, they just free you from having to walk.
You'll live longer, healthier, and keep your cognitive abilities longer if you "man up."
Walking: 3mph.
Segway: 12mph.
The Segway is already being used to great effect by filmmakers working in close quarters. A handheld active gimbal like the DJI Ronin (and its cheaper, lighter, new brother, the "M" version), rigged on a Segway, and you've got the ability to do some very cool tracking shots. All without having to do a lot of the elaborate staging that might otherwise have been needed, and without needing a as large a crew transporting, deploying, and operating more traditional equipment.
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
This tech is soon going to be coupled with:
a) Robots
b) Self driving 2-wheel vehicles
But here's the more important takeaway from this:
Ninebot stole Segway's technology. Segway sued them and the case went nowhere as Ninebot's profits soared. Then Ninebot bought Segway.
See the business model here?
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
There is! One of these would be great exercise.
Good for you. Not everyone is like you.
Funny. I was thinking the same about you.
Look, the segway is a solution for people who are too lazy to walk, or for people who want to try it out as a novelty. There is nothing wrong if want to use a segway, but it isn't a solution to an existing problem. For faster travel, you can take a bike that doesn't need batteries, for getting a tour around a city it might be fun to use an alternative transport system like the segway, just like some people go sit on a yellow banana when they are at a beach, or hire a Vespa to tour around Italy, or, .... But I would still prefer just walking. I would never go on a holiday to rush from one place to the other, that would not me my definition of a holiday. I would try to be assimilated into the local population as much as possible. A segway just screams 'I'm a tourist, I'm in a hurry to look at your old buildings, move out of my way'
Ah. I see where you are confused. That's not what I'm arguing at all. I'm saying that walking a couple of miles isn't that big of a deal for most people. And while a Segway may be useful, it's not essential. I may like to use one but I don't need to use one. 6 miles is a reasonable morning walk for most people of even slightly below average fitness.
You started amending your case to add more distance and multiple days, along with summer heat. And sure, those would affect one's desire to use a Segway. But it doesn't change the fact that many people can reasonably expect to do 6 miles in an average morning walk in and of itself. Thing about Rome is that it's a big city with plenty of cabs, buses, scooter rentals, and even car rentals. It probably has even more ways of making that 6 mile walk easier. I don't have to choose only between a Segway and walking. I have many choices. And while you may really be excited about using a Segway, it's not the only way to avoid walking long distances. It is one way of avoiding long walks. But not the only way.
"It might this time. Chinese manufacturers may find a way to bring the price down enough to make them so common that they lose their stigma and are affordable to a larger audience."
They already have. Or maybe they haven't. There's technically nothing standing in the way of building cheaper models or clones. Google for: segway unicycle. You'll get links and photos of devices (seems quite odd calling these things vehicles) that look like a Segway without the handles, or a skateboard where you stand facing straight forward rather than sideways. Maybe the gyro patents (as these appear to be the main technical "innovation" of the Segway system) are standing in the way of a massive price drop? They should cost no more than a mid-range laptop at Chinese prices.