If any of the Shark folks are reading, I'm looking for a remote job. I have an ILife robot and tell my friends all the time about features I'll be implementing into it with my own hacks just like the ones iRobot is suing you for -- and some that are even better.
Except for perhaps the automatic dust bin emptying, these "features" should all be firmware upgrades customers get for free with hardware they have already bought and could implement themselves if iRobot would treat their hardware like the computer that it is with software that can be modified and loaded onto it.
I should be able to do that myself, but you want me to have to buy more hardware from you at an even higher price than the existing robot I already have.
If I want to add software to my phone or my laptop or my desktop computer, I don't have to buy a new phone.
Your robot is supposed to be helping me clean up the world, not create more junk just because you don't want to let me upload new software to something I already own and is just fine.
Your robots not being able to remember where they left off before the bin was full just goes to show you aren't innovative enough. It's an obvious feature. No one thinks it makes sense to have to retrace steps you've already made and only get to go farther on the next go around because the bin didn't get too full this time.
This is absurd. Using our courts of law to distract your competition is an abuse of our justice system.
If you want to win the robot war, do your jobs better -- don't make the courts do your dirty work.
Never was impressed with iRobot for many of the reasons you bring up. Had one and never again. I don't think in this day and age it's too much to have something like this be able to map and use the map to better vacuum. iRobot seems to resist this for some reason - stubborn pride or whatever, it stinks.
I also one an self-emptying unit that can integrate with my central vac so I never have to empty it.
Anyone with experiences with both mind commenting on the performance of their SharkNinja? I have a 660, but I'm thinking of passing it on and upgrading.
It's a healthy competition. Nothing wrong with that. If it's possible to get a product with the same functionality but for half of the price, why not? It will make iRobot Corp. even better (long term)! Not sure about price cuts but iRobot Corp. will def figure out how to balance margins the right way.
Competitor's solution might be using cheaper materials with not as polished design (google's pixel vs Apple's iPhone analogy is perfect here) but there is definitely an inferior but still profitable market for that!
At the end of all this consumers will end up with even better solution as a result of the healthy market competition.
Except for perhaps the automatic dust bin emptying, these "features" should all be firmware upgrades customers get for free with hardware they have already bought and could implement themselves if iRobot would treat their hardware like the computer that it is with software that can be modified and loaded onto it.
I should be able to do that myself, but you want me to have to buy more hardware from you at an even higher price than the existing robot I already have.
If I want to add software to my phone or my laptop or my desktop computer, I don't have to buy a new phone.
Your robot is supposed to be helping me clean up the world, not create more junk just because you don't want to let me upload new software to something I already own and is just fine.
Your robots not being able to remember where they left off before the bin was full just goes to show you aren't innovative enough. It's an obvious feature. No one thinks it makes sense to have to retrace steps you've already made and only get to go farther on the next go around because the bin didn't get too full this time.
This is absurd. Using our courts of law to distract your competition is an abuse of our justice system.
If you want to win the robot war, do your jobs better -- don't make the courts do your dirty work.