The Segway was first and they figured they'd be able to keep competitors away with patents. That worked for a while and then the patents expired. I don't think they believed that "looking cool" was going to make a difference for adoption and they probably believed that they needed the central stalk for safety.
The Segway was vulnerable from at least two fronts. On one hand you could make something that looks like a Segway but has four wheels and provides the same experience without the technology. Alternately there are all the devices that are similar but much smaller, simpler and cheaper. For that matter there are electric bikes and other things that don't self-balance but are good options to get around. (I was looking at an e-bike the other day that uses structural batteries and other tech which is still beyond state of the art for e-cars.)
They were hung up on their idea of what it was going to be and never tried developing alternatives when they were still protected by patents. I think they never really understood why their product failed in the marketplace.
I grew up in Manchester, NH where the Segway was invented and went back there a few times when it was being test marketed. I'd see people going up a hill on it, going down the sidewalk and forcing pedestrians off the sidewalk, and the cops cruising around behind the K-Mart looking right out of Demolition Man.
It was kinda cool but obviously not a revolution and how they couldn't see that was beyond me. For one thing it doesn't give the protection from the elements which is an important attribute cars have if you live in a place like the Northeast U.S. where winter and rain are a part of life.
The Segway was vulnerable from at least two fronts. On one hand you could make something that looks like a Segway but has four wheels and provides the same experience without the technology. Alternately there are all the devices that are similar but much smaller, simpler and cheaper. For that matter there are electric bikes and other things that don't self-balance but are good options to get around. (I was looking at an e-bike the other day that uses structural batteries and other tech which is still beyond state of the art for e-cars.)
They were hung up on their idea of what it was going to be and never tried developing alternatives when they were still protected by patents. I think they never really understood why their product failed in the marketplace.
I grew up in Manchester, NH where the Segway was invented and went back there a few times when it was being test marketed. I'd see people going up a hill on it, going down the sidewalk and forcing pedestrians off the sidewalk, and the cops cruising around behind the K-Mart looking right out of Demolition Man.
It was kinda cool but obviously not a revolution and how they couldn't see that was beyond me. For one thing it doesn't give the protection from the elements which is an important attribute cars have if you live in a place like the Northeast U.S. where winter and rain are a part of life.