Honda begins selling its silly little briefcase electric scooter in the US | Hacker News Reader

Honda begins selling its silly little briefcase electric scooter in the US

electrek.co

74 pointsCharlesW31 comments

I love it. It's fun. You don't buy it because it's objectively the best option, you buy it because it puts a smile on your face and you enjoy riding it.

Like the Honda Grom/Monkey motorcycles - there are much better options for the same price, but they are _fun_.

I was always envious when I saw packs of Groms passing by and looking like they were having tons of fun. Meanwhile, my bike was fun and all, but there is almost definitely this social element to Groms and the overall culture around them that is something else, and the small size of them just invites you to have fun and not take yourself too seriously. In addition to Groms just being stupid fun to ride, of course.

Disclaimer: I wasn't paid to write this, but upon re-reading it, it definitely could pass as Grom ad comms, but oh well

I predict this will have investment value. Like classic cars.

It’s so absurd / funky there is absolutely going to be hipster like buy in

Silly looking? Perfect - makes it distinctive.

Overvalued? Great. Serves as display of wealth

Uncomfortable? Look at high heels or a lambo Diablo. Comfort does not matter.

"A clever phone app enables riders to adjust their personal settings, including lighting and ride modes, via Bluetooth"

why do these things always need an app?

To nudge you into analytics and surveillance.

This is obviously the real reason. Users can't be tracked, otherwise.

Marketing and advertising. It’s easier to make those two multilingual with an application than by dedicated hardware on the scooter

The real answer is because putting physical buttons or touchscreens on an electric vehicle is a safety risk. (Flaky Bluetooth controllers are also a risk, but a much lower one.)

Taking your phone out of your pocket is an even bigger safety risk.

And they can always lock the controls while in motion.

I think the app is preferred by the manufacturers because it's cheaper and allows them to collect a lot of data (most apps also require an "account" for no reason other than data collection)

You're not supposed to take your phone out the pocket while riding. The app is only for changing certain factory settings or for maintenance.

It's a safety risk because buttons and screens can cause water leaks and/or sparks, which you definitely do not want in any electric vehicle. (Scooters/e-bikes/EUCs don't have many moving parts, but you need to take care of the wiring very seriously.)

So they can sunset the functionality in two years. Looking at you Parrot drones.

I'm sure you're more than intelligent enough to use the one (the user manual isn't actually out yet so I'm guessing) buttons to toggle the eight modes with a magic sequence of press and hold and hold and press, but, well, not everyone is.

For them there's an app.

Extrapolating from your preferred UX and generalizing isn't a winning strategy.

It looks uncomfortable. Plus it uses a cell phone app for your settings "including lighting and ride modes", which violates my "Never buy hardware that requires a cell phone app to use" rule.

Doesn't require it. There are physical controls to adjust ride modes etc.

There are cheaper electric scooters with comparable specs but I guess you are paying for the Honda name and the nice-looking design here. Personally I still don't like scooters due to their small wheels.

Not sure why the original article couldn't figure out the amount of energy stored in the battery (it only says the amount of charge is 6.8Ah) but an article on Car And Driver[0] says the battery is 0.24kWh. It also has other fun spec items like 0.7hp power, 12 lb-ft of torque, and seven seconds from 0 to 15mph.

[0]: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a45684781/honda-motocom...

I've said this elsewhere but the big unanswered question is about ongoing maintenance. How long has Honda pledged to make replacement parts like tires and brake components available? Who does servicing? I'm not sure dealerships would want to do servicing and even if they did, it would likely be pricey.

Another possible pain point I've seen mentioned is that its weight might make it troublesome to move when folded up, e.g. if you're carrying it from the street to your desk. There doesn't seem to be a way to roll it around.

What's that thing on her head. I've seen people endo off a bird several times, they didn't have one of those things on their head.

So it's advertised as $1k but you end up paying $2k when buying from the dealer?

It's $995 near me.

Find a different dealer. Don't buy it from the dealer charging you $2k.

> The front wheel motor measures 490W and the top speed is a mere 15 mph (25 km/h).

So worse in literally every way than a standard Chinese electric scooter?

> US $995

Wait, what?? Lol.

Okay, nice objet d'art, but what is it for? Seems too big to be put on a mantelpiece.

This looks similar to the 'HIMO H1' - some xiaomi miniature e-bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrnhd2PGSqw

I bought one and it sucks.

I feel like Mr. Bean would get a little too much enjoyment out of this!

Why is it silly? Looks more like future than the average truck.

Says I have to pick it up from a dealer. I’ll pass. Car dealers are disgusting.

I’d rather buy an electric Brompton, though this is much cheaper.

looked it up and I see "a phone app on the way that will let you adjust personal settings, change the lighting and ride modes via Bluetooth"

why do these things always need an app?

They don't want to invest in actual hardware to control the machine that might require repairs and additional labor to assemble.

Apologies if this was a rhetorical question.

Makes you wonder why the Sinclair C5 was not a hit!

Are these made in Japan?

Darling!

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