Our second Newsletter was published in September 2006, and was packed with the major news including the launch of the brand new second generation (Gen 2) range of Segway Personal Transporters (PTs).
LeanSteer replaced the twist-grip method of turning the Segway PT left or right. LeanSteer was a major innovation, changing the way self-balancing personal transporters would be steered to this day. Now, in addition to leaning forward to go forward, leaning back to stop and reverse, the rider would lean left to turn left and leaning right to turn right - a much more natural way of turning compared with the Gen 1 twist-grip method. Interestingly, Segway's engineers had been experimenting with a "lean steer" method during early development of the original PT, but it hadn't been perfected and ready for unveiling until now (Philip Bendall saw an actual early prototype of such a design during one of his visits to Segway HQ).
The InfoKey provided wireless connectivity, the 'User Interface' information display, toggling between speed modes, and activation of the security alarm. For the first time a speedometer and odometer function were added - features noticeably missing from the Gen 1 machines (in keeping with the ethos of designing an "appliance" machine that offered minimum distraction - it simply went about its task...like magic). The InfoKey also enabled a greater range of useful information for problem solving, by displaying a detailed range of error codes in the event of a problem. By comparison, the original HT could provide very little such information on its simple screen (which, if you look carefully, bore similarity to the Mac OS "face" from the same era).
The sleek new look of the Gen 2 range brought with it a fresh take on Segway's minimalist design language, and we reflected this in the redesigned look of our Newsletter.
The old 'HT' term standing for Human Transporter had been retired, as Chrysler had now granted Segway permission to use the term 'PT'.
Also featured was a dairy of Philip Bendall's second trip to visit Segway, Inc. headquarters in Bedford, New Hamshire, USA. This trip also featured attending the first Segway Global Sales Meeting in Boston with more than 150 Dealers and International Distributors.
The Newsletter also promoted Segway HT Polo, trade-in offers, specials on replacement parts, and information about the new Segway Lithium battery packs.