Dot Com Segway – PWN and FAIL Edition

It was a Segway kind of day today as Michael Kwan, John Chow and I travelled out to Langley, BC Canada for a private test ride of the new Segway x2. The test ride was setup by Larry Runnalls of Segway BC, the sole distributor of the product line this side of Canada. Larry has setup quite the business renting and selling Segways to the movie industry as well as ambulance and police forces across the BC. We were very thankful that he took time out of his day to deal with a group of misfits like us.

The Segway x2, unlike the tamer i2, features large knobby tires that make it useful for both trail and turf. It comes in an adventure version with super knobbies, while a Turf and Golf version use a less environmentally impacting fat tire pattern. Compared to the original models, the new versions, both i2 and x2 use Lithium Ion batteries vs the old NiCads and have increased its performance to a range of 40KM’s per charge. The new Segways also carry a top speed of 20KM/h. The steering has also been greatly improved, using a yoke that tilts left and right versus the old twist turn system of the original Segways. This makes the turning more intuitive.

Unfortunately, this would be the last time you’ll see Michael Kwan smiling as there is a reason this is called the “PWN and FAIL” Edition. Check out the video…

Poor Michael. He’ll never live this or the “Spooning” thing down. Not only did he run over my FLIP Mino, but he ran over himself as well.

Fortunately, the FLIP Mino survived to tell the tale and to film another day. I was surprised that it didn’t crush under the pressure of Michael and the Segway x2 running over it. I guess Pure Video really did do their homework when creating this device as the metal ring protected both the lens and the body from harm with just a few scratches.

Overall, everyone had a lot of fun today and even though a Kwanye and a Flip Mino were harmed in the making of this video, at least both will live to ride again another day. I’m sure we’ll be sharing our war stories at this weekend’s Dot Com Pho.

Stephen Fung’s Gadgets of the Week

Here are a few things that have landed in my lair over the last few days…

EarClicks and Solar Chargers

First up is the Flamingo Music EarClick Headphones (left) by Cellpoint. These unique headphones actually “click” into your ears using a unique retention system for an almost weightless feel. Because they aren’t right inside your ears, you can still hear what’s going on around you. I actually really liked the way they fit and they can be totally customized with a large number of different sized ear pads (or rather, ear nubs) that it comes with. You can barely tell they are on and they won’t come out by accident. These things hit the streets at around $60.

On the right is the Devotec Industries Solar Charger. This device charges up almost any portable electronic device you have with its myriad of attachments. Its small size makes it easy to travel with and can charge up an average cell phone in about an hour. It does iPods and other rechargeable portable gizmos as well. However, it takes about 4 hrs to charge with a plug/USB, or 12 hrs if you leave it in the Sun. They do say it’s for emergency situations so I guess I can let them off the hook for that. It sells for around 19 English Pounds or around $40 US’ish so it really isn’t that pricey especially if it can bail you out in an emergency.

But wait! That’s not all!

Read the rest of this entry »

Supersized Dot Com Pho

Today, we had one of our biggest Dot Com Pho’s yet! Attracting over 16 local bloggers, Mr. Lan was surprisingly calm. Here’s this week’s episode of Dot Com Pho put together by John Chow!

If you want to see who attended, you can check out the credits. There are just too many people to list! Highlights of this week’s episode include inappropriate spooning from Dot Com Whistler, Ed’s new Macbook fetish and John Chow’s weight loss challenge/surrender.

Also featured this week is a quick video review of the Manfrotto ModoPocket Mini Pocket Tripod in our Gadget of the Week segment. For a more thorough review, you can check out the one I wrote at Futurelooks.