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RocketSkates let you zip along the sidewalk at a top speed of 12 MPH
- antonioevans 12y agoMore kickstarter Vaporware.
- nickgrosvenor 12y agoVaporware? Have you watched the video?
- EricaJoy 12y agoI confess, the still used as the cover frame for the video put me off of watching it. Is any part of the video not a barely clothed model wearing the skates?
- endgame 12y agoUgh, no kidding. I want to see what the skates look like up close. I want to hear what they sound like without music being played over the top. There's hardly anything useful in the video. That said, I've been looking for a decently portable, medium distance form of personal transport for a long time (preferably wearable so I don't have to lug it). I can't take a bike onto a tram. These might actually fit the bill.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- antonioevans 12y agoI have. It's a kids toy with a slow mo video. But I am sure the founders of this seeded this thread with enough fake accounts to make sure it gets its much deserved publicity.
- hmsimha 12y agoYou realize that all new accounts on HN show up with green usernames. Currently, there are only two 'new' users who have posted in this thread, both expressing negative views about the product. If they've 'seeded' this thread with fake accounts, there's no evidence of it.
- prawn 12y agoI think they mean upvoting the story submission rather than the comments.
- jfoster 12y agoWe'll never get cool things if we automatically dismiss anything cool as vaporware and refuse to engage with it. Granted, sometimes projects like this won't eventuate, but I'd rather be optimistic and get disappointed occasionally rather than cynical and always feel negative about cool new stuff.
- narwally 12y agoYeah, eventually something like this will solve a particular pain point for a subset of people. If this is supposed to just be a recreational thing, then I don't see the advantages it offers over stakes, bikes, scooters, etc.. But as the tech progresses then one day we might find something like this pop up again that is a valuable solution to some legitimate problems.
- antonioevans 12y agoYeah and more crap like Yo! and Make a Potato Salad kickstarters will get funded by people who have 20 bucks to waste. I am not hating on the idea because this isn't new at all. Spend 15 minutes on Alibaba and you'll see most of what most hardware kickstarters are sourcing their stuff. .. And yeah I watched the slickly edited video, but they aren't getting my money. Also this has nothing to do with optimism vs pessimism, it's that stuff like this shouldn't be on hackerne,ws unless they really are hacking something/creating something/showing something innovative (semi innovative works also).
- jfoster 12y agoVaporware is stuff that nobody can get. Alibaba hardware is stuff that anyone can get. It can't be both.
- s4sharpie 12y agoCan't wait for sidewalk/bikelane wars over this. Too fast for the sidewalk with people walking. Will cyclists give up there precious bike lane space?
- glitch003 12y agoI don't think they have to, since this is not a bicycle.
- dublinben 12y agoThese are probably too fast (and powered) to be considered pedestrians. They'll like suffer the same limbo the Segway did, and end up with nowhere to go.
- laughfactory 12y agoNaw, I'd be able to use them on the sidewalks here in San Diego without any issues. And with the range and ride time they have I could get most places I want to go. There are plenty of places which allow electric propelled scooters (for example) or bikes on sidewalks...just so long as they don't go faster than 15 mph.
- TheCowboy 12y agoThe eagerness with which you desire conflict on an issue like this is bewildering. Maybe this isn't the forum for you. I've also shared bike lanes with skateboarders without any issues or "wars".
- jfoster 12y agoYou bring up a reasonable point (could this change road/sidewalk safety, how should that be managed, etc.), but perhaps try changing the tone with which you're raising that issue.
- ripb 12y ago>Will cyclists give up there precious bike lane space? I think you should stick to commenting on YouTube videos.
- justinph 12y agoThis is kind of neat, but it negates one of the great benefits of skating (or walking, or running, or bicycling) which is exercise.
- bignaj 12y agoI agree. They are quite cool but they are solving a problem I never had. If I had a bunch of money laying around and was bored I would buy these but not otherwise.
- Houshalter 12y agoIsn't it sort of similar to segways?
- coreyja 12y agoNot trying to be rude, but why is engadget linked here instead of the actual KickStarter? I can't be the only one who hates struggling to find a source link on most news sites? Wouldn't it be more useful to just link to the KickStarter? Edit: Ok so engadgets source links are easy to find but still why not just link to the KickStarter?
- jfoster 12y agoSo let's also link to the Kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petertreadway/acton-r-rocketskates-worlds-first-smart-wearable-m https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/petertreadway/acton-r-r...
- wmeredith 12y agoI had the same thought. It's basically blog spam. Engadget adds a sentence or two.
- pbhjpbhj 12y ago>why is engadget linked here // I'd guess that engadget is the news aggregator that the OP found the content on. HN should allow this sort of link, as a first submission, but add in source links if not given by the OP. [But HN don't seem interested in changing the interface at all].
- libraryatnight 12y agoI feel like I'll see these in SkyMall some day.
- lelf 12y agoSpeaking of the actual skates. The most real are probably http://boostedboards.com http://boostedboards.com. There are almost here it seems.
- dm2 12y agoThe One Wheel looks pretty awesome too. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/4422853/onewheel-the-self-balancing-electric-skateboard https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/4422853/onewheel-the-se...
- zevyoura 12y agoI've seen a few Boosted boards in the wild, they're definitely real.
- dalek2point3 12y agoI rode one at SXSW in March 2013 -- they're yet to be made available commercially?
- necubi 12y agoYep, I got to ride one a while back. As someone who doesn't know how to skateboard it was pretty much terrifying real.
- duiker101 12y ago$1995 WHAAAT
- tabakd 12y agoI'm not too fond of the design of these things. They look like some kids toy.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- thesimpsons1022 12y agono offense, but quoting paul graham doesn't automatically prove a point.
- tabakd 12y agoI did not intend to repeat something pg said. Citation needed.
- pogue 12y agoI think this is a very interesting concept, but stylistically speaking, they are so ugly.
- efnx 12y agoThese look neat and they made a great kickstarter video. They know who's going to want those (25 - 30 something guys) and they made sure to have lots of shots of cute girls using the skates. I watched the whole thing ;) It was also fun to see my home town of Pasadena all over that video. Now I'm homesick. Good luck to you guys - they do look genuinely fun!
- dublinben 12y agoI was actually put off by the great pains they took to make them look cool in their video. It reminds me of the early promos for the Segway.
- prawn 12y agoThe shirtless guy, the slow-motion, the tricks and then the guy reading notes below the camera - found it off-putting as well. I think that most people who could afford this sort of thing just want a good way to get around rather than show off.
- hawkharris 12y agoThis reminds me of the hover boots from the Zelda: Ocarina of Time game for Nintendo 64. Fun memories! I see a lot of comments concerning the product's ugliness. But, hey, not every product has to be subtle and elegant. Some consumers may embrace the over-the-top, video game-like appearance.
- aheilbut 12y agoI hope they come with a helmet.
- MichaelGG 12y agoThese look like foot-sized Segways.
- whyenot 12y agoThe angry masculine look of these isn't my style but I really like the idea. A 10 mile range is much better than I expected. I could see these becoming quite popular on college campuses. I don't know about "zipping along the sidewalk" at 12mph -- that seems kind of rude anywhere there are pedestrians traveling at more pedestrian speeds. There is also an interesting gray area as far as traffic laws.
- viggity 12y agoIf I wore these, I'd have to kick my own ass.
- shasta 12y agoYou'll have to catch your ass, first.
- overgard 12y agoAs a person that's bought an electric skateboard in the past and a lot of other dumb stuff, I feel like I have a decent grasp on the target market here... but I couldn't buy one of these, they just look so dorky. It's like wearing cement shoes or something. Way too bulky and garish. And the marketing video.. ugh. Like the shirtless dude and the weird slow-mo cuts and the obvious pandering to a male audience? It just gives off a very desperate vibe. If they have to go to such great lengths to make it seem "cool" you can be almost assured they realize exactly how uncool it looks. The other thing is, your target market is basically college students to start with (probably), or kids. 400+ is out of their range. I think you can get away with cheap/functional+dorky (regular skates), or expensive+cool, but you can't do expensive+dorky (segway territory).
- AndrewKemendo 12y ago>but I couldn't buy one of these, they just look so dorky. Congratulations you described why rollerblading really never took off in the 90s. As a rollerblader even I can admit that there is just something about the look that screams "not cool", I'm just not quite sure why.
- tricuspid 12y agoIt mostly has to do with the human tendency to discern an innate level of intuitive ass-kicking power that any given artifact might imbue upon or withold from the wearer. Ask yourself: If I had to fight Chuck Norris, would this magic item improve my chances of winning? When the answer isn't a resounding "yes", the prospects of coolness are in doubt.
- endgame 12y agoThe marketing video is very cringe-inducing for me as well. I think that any time you're playing music over video, there's something in the real sound that you're trying to hide. I would not be surprised if these were annoyingly loud. I'm still looking for a compact, possibly wearable short-medium distance personal transport. The sort of thing that lets you go further than walking when you get off a bus or tram (where you're unable to take a bike).
- laughfactory 12y agoI totally want a pair of these for "commuting" to work! Sure they're a little chunky, but I think they've achieved something remarkable anyway. Besides which it simply takes space for batteries and motors and all the gizmos and what have you. I'm sold. I think these will be a big hit if they work as advertised.
- trhway 12y agothe founder was a teenager in 198x - that explains "Back to the Future 2" design, etc. As another 40+ years old a&& i'd personally feel strange trying to push a "cool and fun" thing to the 20+ years olds. (Even such an unquestionably cool, in my mind, thing as a million bucks is far from being cool for these youngsters :). Wrt. all these new devices, mostly electrical - they are victims of "uncanny valley" effect - unmoving/freezed human body at speeds less than 20mph looks spooky. Even electric bicycles look this way.
- ljsocal 12y agoThat video pitch may be the beginning of the end of Kickstarter...these wheelie things are not a safe, practical product and anyone who buys this wheeliebarrow of overpromises will be disappointed. Is it possible to short a Kickstarter project...maybe that's a Kickestarter project I should launch!
- tlrobinson 12y agoThis guy beat them to it: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/18n331wztgzcyjpg.jpg http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/18n331wztgz...
- tlrobinson 12y agoWhy does everything these days need an "app" with "games" or other gimmicks? Boosted Boards focus on building an amazing electric longboard is much more appealing to me.
- noonespecial 12y agoBased on the name, I was expecting something much more Wile E. Coyote than this. Disappointed.
- TheCraiggers 12y agoSeems like a neat idea if you live in a place with well-built roads. As a resident of Michigan, where the roads typically consist of more pothole than road, this would be useless at best and dangerous at worst. Still waiting for the Kickstarter that brings us the 'spokewheels' from Snowcrash (not sure if that's the actual name, it's been a few years since I've read it). Something that can deal with potholes and road debris alike would be a godsend.