Well, I’m at the IAC building on the West Side of Manhattan, but GM already announced Project PUMA and I feel stupid for having trekked all this way for it.

10:17 AM – And here we go.
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UPDATE: Check out our test drive…

General Motors and Segway have teamed up on Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), a two-wheeled city vehicle capable of reaching speeds up to 35 miles per hour, and going 35 miles on a single charge at a cost of 35 cents per charge.

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What won’t this country of maniacs think of?

via Giz

Segway by itself? Dumb. Segway with lots of big tires? Dumber. This monster BigFoot Segway has six full-sized tires and can barely turn but just think of how many cars you could crush if you could make this thing go over anything higher than a four inch curb.

Toyota says it’s newest invention, the Winglet, is a personal assistant robot but their move rather resembles an open attack at Segway. The vehicle the world’s biggest manufacturer of automobiles presented today will feature an electric motor, two wheels and a set of sensors to ensure stability.

Just like its American counterpart, the Winglet (odd name) is ridden in a standing position. You will be able to move forward or backward or take turns by shifting your body weight.  Three versions will be available: S (1.5 feet tall), M (2.2 feet) and L (3.7-feet). The S-Model weighs 9.9kg, while the M and L versions will be a little heavier at 12.3kg.

A full charge takes just one hour, enough for a driving range of 5km for the mini-Winglet and 10km for the bigger models. The maximum cruising speed is 6km for all Winglet versions.

Segway doesn’t have much time to react to Toyota’s new vehicle. The Japanese mega-company scheduled the start of production at 2010. Consumer testing will begin as early as this fall, in a marine resort complex in Aichi prefecture (central Japan) and at Nagoya airport. Prices and availability are unknown at this point.

Full press release in English after the jump.

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Flickr’d

The Segway, seen here in all its inelegance, was a milestone in something or other. All the more reason, then, to applaud the company’s CTO for accepting a position at Apple. Doug Field, if we’re to believe random posts on a Segway message board, will become Apple vice president of product design.

When the Segway was first introduced, it was universally teased for being, among other things, laughably silly looking. (That’s how I remember it, at least.) Steve Jobs, iLounge reminds us, was one of the many to have a problem with the device.

Let’s all roll our eyes together, in unison.

via iLounge

Did anyone know that Jackie Chan is the owner of a Segway dealership in Hong Kong? Me either. The action superstar is hoping that Segway will allow the scooters to be assembled in China to help drive down the costs, which would in turn drive sales. The Segway currently retails for $10,000 in China and that’s double what we here in the US would pay. However, Segway doesn’t want any part in it because they fear someone will steal the technology and start making knockoffs.

“They’re afraid of people stealing the technology,” the 54-year-old action star said Wednesday at a security fair in Hong Kong.

Chan and his business partner, Matt McGuire, hope to sell between 600 and 1,000 units this year in China. If you’re going to the Olympics this summer you’ll probably see staffers cruising around the venues.

Sadly, this odd platform wasn’t working today due to firmware problems. However, as you can see from the video, it’s basically a moving platform that can move in any direction without turning. You can basically turn at a 90 degree angle while moving forward and the thing runs as if it were on rails.

It’s a Segway prototype right now and can be embedded in almost any configuration, including this odd table thing that never falls over. The devices move so smoothly it’s eerie.

Ferrari is really starting to cause me agony. It’s one of my favorite supercar brands, but they’re ruining it by putting that horse on everything. Here it is on a Segway scooter. Yes, one of those Segway scooters.

It’s not much different than an ordinary Segway, other than it’s Ferrari-red and has the Scuderia logo. Oh, and the handlebars are wrapped in leather. Lux!

Is it faster than other Segways? No. Is it more expensive? Yes. If that’s what you’re into, I’ve got a special edition Kia iBook you should consider.

Limited Edition Ferrari Segway PT i2 [Sybarbites]

Ever notice how the fancier electronics get, the less productive they become? Yea me too, and it’s a problem. Sure that 16,000 function cell phone/PDA/radiation detector/meteor deflector/oral hygiene device looks cool, but do you really need all of that crap? The answer is no, you don’t. And I’ll tell you why.
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Love it or hate it, the Segway does allow you to move a bit quicker than the average human. So it makes perfect sense why law enforcement and college campuses across the nation have chosen the Segway as the security personnel carrier of choice. Last Thursday however, the Segway received instant respect from the Long Beach Police Force.

Officer Jose Miguez was patrolling the streets on his Segway when he saw a group of teenagers driving a Mercedes-Benz out of a Burger King. Suspicious and standing 9-inches higher than normal, Miguez wheeled over to investigate and discovered one of the youth wearing a black leather glove. The teens floored it when confronted and Miguez pursued the thieves on his Segway. Two blocks later, they ditched the car and were later apprehended thanks to both Officer Miguez and his Segway. So the next time you get caught by campus security for underage drinking, don’t even think about trying to run.

Long Beach cops boast first Segway-borne bust [The Register]

Thanks to uber-commenter sacherjj for writing a little ditty to go along with the above image. Click through to read the entire comment.

White and Lazy

You see me walkin’
My baby
I know they’re all thinkin’ I’m so white and lazy,
Think I’m just too white and lazy
Think I’m just too white and lazy
Can’t you see I’m white and lazy?
Look at me, I’m white and lazyy
I wanna roll with
My segway
But so far they all think I’m too white and lazy
Think I’m just too white and lazy
Think I’m just too white and lazy
I’m just too white and lazy.
Really really white and lazy.

Time, Place, Event: Segway’s Sign of the Times

It’s amazing the sports people will come up with when given a little extra time. This time it’s polo–for Segway, and it’s pretty silly looking. It’s basically just some guys playing polo on their Segways and occasionally falling off. If competitive eating can be considered a sport, I don’t see why this can’t. With all those spills though, maybe they should take a look at that recall.

Further Fallout From Segway Recalls [Consumerist]

Segway has announced that it is recalling about 23,500 of its Personal Transporters due to a software glitch that has caused injuries. The software related error causes the wheels to start spinning in the opposite direction, which I can imagine would be a shocker to one using the device.

This recall involves all Segway PT i167, i170 and i180 (“i Series”) models, the p133 (“p Series”), XT (“cross-terrain transporter”), GT (“golf transporter”) and i2 models. These units were sold to consumers and commercial customers. All e167 (“e Series”) models, which were sold to commercial users, also are included in this recall. No other models are involved in this recall. The name, “Segway”, appears on the front bumper and/or on the handlebars of the personal transporter.

It affects models sold from March 2002 through mid-September 2006 for prices ranging from $4,000 to $5,500 So if you got one of those, you should probably get it checked out. The most incredible thing to me is that 23,000 people have bought Segways. That’s about as shocking as wheels suddenly going in reverse.

Segway Inc. Announces Recall to Repair Segway® Personal Transporters [via The Inquirer]