Is the iPad the New Segway

Consumers have been trying to figure out the latest product from Apple.  Part laptop, part iPhone, it's a new device that comes with a healthy price tag.

There are people far more experienced than I who can rate the attributes of the device, although I'm open to testing one (Hope you heard that, Mr. Steve Jobs).  It sounds like a neat piece of technology but it may fall into a category of brilliant inventions that most people don't need.

I remember back in 2001 when the world was introduced to the Segway.  The personal transportation system was called revolutionary.  City planners were expected to redesign cities based on the two wheeled wonder.  Our landscapes were expected to be filled with these devices.

Nine years later, the Segway remains to be an interesting invention.  But its use seems limited to mostly places like shopping malls and airports.  Was it not a technological breakthrough?  Of course it was and still is.  But sometimes a good idea isn't one that's embraced by people in their everyday lives.

Both devices seem to share certain characteristics.  They showcase new technology, they have high price points, and it can be difficult to market or describe in just one sentence.

I'll be curious to see if the iPad becomes a much loved and used device or whether it will take a place in history as a good machine that eventually led to something better